Tehri Dam is the highest dam in India. It also happens to be the fourth highest dam in the world. It also is the tallest dam in our country and the 10th tallest dam in the world. Let us know in detail about the dam below.
Tehri Dam: Highest Dam in India
- It is almost 260.5 metres high and is 592 metres long, located in the Tehri district of Uttarakhand.
- The dam is a part of the Tehri Dam and Hydro Power Project which is a multipurpose river valley project.
- The dam is constructed on the Bhagirathi river. It taps its potential for irrigation and hydroelectric purposes.
- It is an earth and rock fill dam.
- The dam is a spillway system and consists of a chute spillway and a four-shaft spillway.
- The dam can stand flood as well. It is designed for the Probable Maximum Flood of 15540 cumec and a drop of 220m.
- The reservoir's gross storage capacity is also 3540 MCM and the effective storage capacity of 2615 MCM.
- The dam’s reservoir surface area is 52 km square (20 square miles ) with a total capacity of 4 km cube (3.2 million acre-ft).
Benefits of Tehri Dam:
The power gets distributed to the following states:
- Uttarakhand
- Punjab
- Haryana
- Uttar Pradesh
- Delhi
It supplies over 250 million gallons of drinking water to Delhi, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
The Tehri Hydropower Complex also includes the 400 MW Koteshwar Dam.
Tehri Dam: History
The pilot investigation for the Tehri dam project was conducted in 1961. The design was completed in 1972. The construction began only in 1978 after the feasibility studies but got delayed due to financial, environmental and social impacts.
However, it wasn’t until 1988 that the government transferred the project to the Tehri Hydro Dam Corporation (THDC) for its rehabilitation work. 75% of the funding was provided by the Central Government and the remaining 25% was funded by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh, which also financed the entire irrigation portion of the project.
Due to the formation of this dam, the Tehri lake formed.
The lake led to the submergence of over 24 villages while 88 others were also affected. The town of Tehri was submerged as well.
Construction of the Tehri Dam got completed in the year 2006.
Cost of the dam: How much money has been spent by the Indian Government?
The cost of construction of the dam was almost US $ 1 billion. A cost-benefit analysis done by India National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) concluded that the construction cost of the dam is twice the benefits of the project.
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