Planning Studio-II (CE-642)

A PROPOSAL FOR

Rubber balloon barrage

On the tapi river
SUBMITTED BY
NIKUNJ RATHOD
(P15UP010)

FACULTY ADVISOR
Dr. Krupesh A.
Chauhan

PG URBAN PLANNING
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, M.TECH. (URBAN PLANNING), SEMESTER-2

Contents
Introduction
Rubber balloon barrage
Construction and
operation of rubber dam
Automatic control
mechanism
Advantages of rubber dam
Rubber dam on river Tapi
Need of present study
Objectives

Salient feature
Scope of the study
Applications
Maintenance
Feasibility study
Comparison
Urban features
conclusion

INTRODUCTION
As we are knowing that Surat stood 4th in the list of
proposed 20 smart cities, Surat is going to get around
500crore . So, so many smart as well as mega projects
are proposed in Surat.
And some of mega infrastructure
proposed before few years ago.

projects

were

Some of projects were already executed, where some

projects are under execution or construction.
Most of these major projects are executed by special
cell of Surat Municipal Corporation.

Work related to Special Cell

Flood protection scheme
Construction and modification of sluice regulator structures.
Structure related to river engineering
River embankment road
Rubber balloon barrage
Interceptor drain on banks of river
SMC new office building
Outer ring road
Metro rail project

Projects Executed
Singanpor Weir cum Causeway project.
Control Tower Building at Singanpor Weir.
Construction of Flood Protection Gates (22Nos) on outlets of
different storm water drains leading to river Tapi.
Bank Protection work at different places like singanpor, rander
and bharimata.
High Mast tower for lighting at singanpor.
Construction of Sluice regulator at village Tunki.
Construction of Flood Gate structure for singanpor STP and
storm drain at Bharimata.

Major Projects under execution

1. Construction of Sluice
Chhaprabhatha Khadi

Regulator

structure

on

Costing Rs. 6.67 crores.

This will relief about 2.00 lac population of the Amroli, Chhaprabhatha,
Kosad etc areas during flood situation.

2. Rubber Balloon Barrage Project

3. Outer Ring Road

63 km long
Under execution of SMC as well as SUDA
Costing around Rs. 3570 crores
Major objective is to provide a bypass to industries at Hazira and
connect NH-8 at Palsana location and to link residential and
commercial localities of Surat and Navsari.

RUBBER BALLOON
BARRAGE PROJECT

 Urban planners of the city have set their eyes on the

construction of another engineering wonder the state's
first balloon barrage or rubber dam in the downstream
of river Tapi at Rundh.
A huge amount of water released from the Ukai dam
during the monsoon season flows down the river into
the Arabian Sea. However, the Surat Municipal
Corporation (SMC) has zeroed in on the rubber dam
between weir-cum-causeway reservoir and the Magdalla
bridge to save this water for generating hydroelectricity,
satisfying the water needs of the citizens and the
irrigation needs of the farmers.

What is rubber dam?

Basically rubber dams are fabric reinforced rubber
bags, which can be inflated or deflated by water or air.
The fabric gives the necessary strength where as
rubber acts as a shock absorber and water proofing
material.
It function as a reliable crest-adjustable water gate.
The rubber dam, which resembles a cycle tube, can be
inflated for increased height to store more water and deflated
when excess water is to be let out.
The rubber is 10 mm thick and is reinforced with three layers
of nylon mesh.

Overview of rubber dam

Construction and operation

mechanism

Inflation and deflation of a

rubber Dam

Bridgestone Inflatable /Deflated Dam on Susquehanna River at Sunbury, Pennsylvania

Future plan of work in India

Gujarat's first rubber dam to be built over river Tapi at Rundh.
Source: The times of India, Surat. Jun 8, 2010, 10.40pm IST

Expert team inspects site for rubber dam in Pampa River.

Source:

The Hindu Kerala.July 28, 2007.

First rubber dam in India is being built in Andhra Pradesh,

over the Janjhavathi river in Vizianagaram district.
SEVERAL STATESincluding Jharkhand and West Bengal, have
shown interest in rubber dams. Jharkhand Water Resources
Department officials said that they have approached Hydroconstruct to build a dam. Source: Tehelka.com August 28, 2010, Issue 34 Volume 7.
Installation and evaluation of Rubber Dams at various
watersheds at Bhubaneshwar, Orissa.
The steel industrial kerala limited a public sector company,
has entered into an agreement with an australian firm(hydro
construct) for the construction of rubber dams in kerala. Source: The
times of India, Thiruvananthapuram. Mar 3, 2002, 11.40pm IST

Many more

Rubber Dam on river Tapi

As we know that Surat is situated at the mouth of river
Tapi where it meets the Arabian Sea.
Tapi river is having length of around 724km and it is one
of major rivers of peninsular India.
It is one of three rivers apart from Narmada and Mahi,
which runs from east to west.
One weir cum cause way is already there at singanpore.
And to store more amount of water and use it for
irrigation as well as recreational purpose, one more weir
is proposed at Rungh area near piplod.

Need of the present study

Conservation and storage of river water post monsoon flow
before it is merged into tidal water.
To fulfill the water need of 700 cusec in dry season.
Development of water body in Rundh Singanpor stretch of
river passing through city.
Create raw water source for Athwa, Dumas, Adajan, Hajira and
villages having no source of water (113 Nos or so) in Khar land
and 88 village water ponds.
Stabilize river regime and prevent sloughing and sliding of
banks under tidal cyclical changes from weir-cum causeway to
Rundh.

Salient Features
This rubber barrage which will take place, is air filled
barrage, which is made of high strength fabric adhering
with rubber, which forms a rubber bag.
According to hydraulic engineer Jatin Shah, the total
length of the dam would be 500 mt and it will have an
estimated capacity to store about 16 million cubic mt of
water.
The whole project will cost about 120 crores.

Scope of the study

SUDA areas- satellite townships.
Department of Sports youth and athletics for water sports,
swimming, boating etc.
Architect Engineers and Builders for riverfront development.
Department of Horticulture.
Campus starved of water, even at price, like South Gujarat
University, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology,
ONGC, Reliance Colony.
Jilla and Taluka Panchayat for
(Government of Gujrat)schemes

activating

village

ponds

Applications of Dam
Flood Control
Irrigation
Water conservation
Watershed

Feasibility study
WEPCOS Ltd, Gandhinagar, was assigned for checking
feasibility of this rubber dam project, and they were
asked to make a feasibility report on it.
But they have suggested to construct a conventional
weir instead of rubber barrage.
To check its feasibility, GERI (Gujarat Engineering
Research Institute), Vadodara was assigned to work on
run study of this project. They also suggested to make
conventional weir in stead of rubber barrage.
The conventional weir projects may cost Rs 150 crores.

Rubber dam is advantageous then conventional dam in the

following aspects.
Cost aspects
Flexibility of operation
More water inflow
Installation
Silt and sedimentation removal
Water tightness
Capital cost
Transportation convince
Impact of soil

Urban features developed by

this project

As shown in earlier slides, from this weir around 16 million cubic meter
of water can be stored. This water can be used for irrigation purpose,
and to provide fresh water to nearest villages.
Right now, there is a huge silting in the 10km long river stretch in
between singanpor weir and umra, during dry season. From this weir,
aesthetic view of this stretch will be changed as there will be no silting
take place.
In future, it can be developed for recreational purpose by providing
different recreational facilities like boating, river front etc.
It can be a connectivity between two banks of river by means of
boating system.
Ground water level can be increased and concentration of salty water
can be decreased.

Singanpor Weir cum

Causeway

Proposed Rubber barrage

project

Conclusion
Rubber dam is flexible in operation. So that, it can be used as a
temporary dam for the construction of a conventional dam because
of its transportation convenience.
Overcall cost of rubber dam is lower compared to other conventional
type of dams. So that rubber dam becomes more cost effective with
the increase of the length of it span.
If the weir at umra will be constructed, there will be wide scope of
applications like irrigation, water supply, power generation, flood
control, environmental improvement, and recreation. And rubber dam
will be more effective because of its structural simplicity, being
inflatable and deflatable.
Thus, if rubber barrage work will take place, it will add one more
feather to the crown of Surat city after proposed cable stayed bridge.

Reference
Vipin Yadav, Darshan Mehta, Sahita Waikhom,
Suitability of Rubber Dam as a River Water
Management Tool, National Conference on Recent
Research in Engineering and Technology (NCRRET
-2015).
Sagar D Patel, Kiran R Shah, Prof R B Khasiya, Use of
Rubber Dam In Tapi River Front Development At Surat
City, Indian Journal of Research, volume-1, 122-124,
2012.

Webliography
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/rubber-dam-dedic
ated-to-the-nation/article3234241.ece
http://www.slideshare.net/
http://content.magicbricks.com/industry-news/ahmedabad
-real-estate-news/gujarats-first-rubber-dam-to-be-buil
t-over-tapi/6921.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Gujarats-f
irst-rubber-dam-to-be-built-over-Tapi/articleshow/602527