Bhakra Dam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bhakra Dam

The Bhakra Dam

Official name

Bhakra Dam

Impounds

Sutlej River

Creates

Gobindsagar Reservoir

Locale

Punjab-Himachal Pradesh India

Length

1700 ft

Height

741 ft (226 m)

Width (at base)

625ft

Construction began 1948

Opening date

1963

Geographical Data 312439N 762600E31.41083, 76.433333Coordinates: 312439N

762600E31.41083, 76.433333

Coordinates

Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam across the Sutluj River, near the border between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam was part of the larger multipurpose Bhakra Nangal Project whose aims were to prevent floods in the Sutlej-Beas river valley, to provide irrigation to adjoining states and to provide hydroelectricity. Construction began in 1948 and was completed in 1963. The dam, at 741 ft (226 m), is one of the highest gravity dams in the world (compare Hoover Dam at 732 ft). The 166 km Gobindsagar Reservoir, named after Guru Gobind Singh, is created by this dam. The dam provides irrigation to 10 million acres (40,000 km) of fields in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan. Two power houses with a total capacity of 1000 MW flank the dam, on either side of the river. A smaller subsidiary dam, called the Nangal Dam is located a little downriver from the Bhakra Dam.
This dam is situated in the city "Bhakra" and its Asia's biggest dam. And is built on the "Sutlej River". It is 225.55 m (740 ft) high above sea- level. The length of the dam (the road above it) is 518.25, and 304.84 m broad. Its huge reservoir known as the "Gobindh Sarovar", stores up to 9621 million cu m, of water enough to drain the whole of the Chandigarh, parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi, there were several problems while clearing the area of the village. It also has 4 flood gates which are fully functional during the period of floods and also has 2 powerstations situated on the either sides of the dam, which receives water through huge pipes which are directly connected from the dam's reservoir to each power- plant. Each of the power plants comprise of 5 generators, and a power station. The total electricity produced in both of the generators is 1325 MW. A generator is actually a reverse of a motor; it has 3 metal plates fixed to an axle coiled with wire, inside a case of 2 magnets (or vice versa) the fast flowing water hits the blades fixed to the axle and is left into the river. This causes the blades to move and, results in the spinning of the wire around the magnets, which causes the formation of electricity. There are further more 2 electrodes randomly fixed around the axles, further connected to 2 separate wires. This causes the potential of the water to be converted into electrical energy. It also is used for breeding fishes, and also controls the flow of water through small tubes in its structure. There is also a net to separate out the floating impurities to block the tubes. Thus, to sum up a dam is a multipurpose project. Purpose of Bhakra Nangal Dam : Bhakra Dam also taps water from the River Beas which is used for the purpose of irrigation by the north Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. The Dam is at the height of 226 meters and is 90 km long. The view of the vast dam and the surrounding jungles is absolutely marvelous.

ADVANTAGES: 1. Once a dam is constructed, electricity can be produced at a constant rate. 2. If electricity is not needed, the sluice gates can be shut, stopping electricity generation. The water can be saved for use another time when electricity demand is high. 3. Dams are designed to last many decades and so can contribute to the generation of electricity for many years / decades. 4. The lake that forms behind the dam can be used for water sports and leisure / pleasure activities. Often large dams become tourist attractions in their own right. 5. The lake's water can be used for irrigation purposes. 6. The build up of water in the lake means that energy can be stored until needed, when the water is released to produce electricity. 7. When in use, electricity produced by dam systems do not produce green house gases. They do not pollute the atmosphere.

DISADVANATGES: 1. Dams are extremely expensive to build and must be built to a very high standard. 2. The high cost of dam construction means that they must operate for many decades to become profitable. 3. The flooding of large areas of land means that the natural environment is destroyed. 4. People living in villages and towns that are in the valley to be flooded, must move out. This means that they lose their farms and businesses. In some countries, people are forcibly removed so that hydro-power schemes can go ahead. 5. The building of large dams can cause serious geological damage. For example, the building of the Hoover Dam in the USA triggered a number of earth quakes and has depressed the earths surface at its location. 6. Although modern planning and design of dams is good, in the past old dams have been known to be breached (the dam gives under the weight of water in the lake). This has led to deaths and flooding. 7. Dams built blocking the progress of a river in one country usually means that the water supply from the same river in the following country is out of their control. This can lead to serious problems between neighbouring countries. 8. Building a large dam alters the natural water table level. For example, the building of the Aswan Dam in Egypt has altered the level of the water table. This is slowly leading to damage of many of its ancient monuments as salts and destructive minerals are deposited in the stone work from rising damp caused by the changing water table level