World Longest Dam: Everything you Need to know

The longest earthen dam on the Mahanadi river is the Hirakud dam, the longest dam in the world. The whole dam drains a total area of 1,33,090 sq.Kms. It is said that the drained area is more than twice the area of Sri Lanka. The colossal dam was constructed with earth, concrete, and masonry materials. The overall width of the road on the Hirakud dam is nearly 8 metres wide. As the dam is the longest, it creates the largest artificial lake, which has a total area of 746 sq.Kms. Not only that, but also the shoreline is more than 640 Km. In this article, you can find many more details regarding the Hirakud dam in Odisha.

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How to reach the Hirakud dam?

To reach the Hirakud dam, you can avail of several transport services. These are as follows:

• By air: The nearest airport to the Hirakud dam is the Swami Vivekananda International Airport situated in Raipur, 265 km away. Another well-known airport is Biju Patnaik International Airport, located 300 km away in Bhubaneswar. There is another airport named Jharsuguda, located 68 km from the dam.
• By train: nearby rail stations from the Hirakud dam are Sambalpur(Khetrajpur, Sambalpur Road (Fatak), Sambalpur City, and Hirakud. You can reach from all major metro cities to the Hirakud dam easily.
• By roadway: National Highway 6 passes by the Hirakud dam, which connects Mumbai and Kolkata directly. Well-connected Bus services and routes are also available to reach Hirakud dam.

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Detailed information about the Hirakud dam

• Coordinate: 21.57°N 83.87°E
• Construction started: 1947
• The opening year of the Hirakud dam: 1957
• Type of the physical dam: Composite dam and reservoir
• Height of the Hirakud dam: 60.96 m (200 ft)
• Spillways of the dam: 64 sluice gates, 34 crest-gates
• The capacity of the spillways: 42,450 cubic metres per second
• The capacity of the reservoir: 5,896,000,000 m³
• The catchment area of the reservoir: 83,400 km²

 

Technical details of the Hirakud dam

• The total length of the Hirakud dam: 25.79 km
• The total length of the main dam area: 4.8 km
• The total area of the artificial lake: 743 km²
• Irrigated Area that comes under the dam: 2,355 km²
• Total lost area for the construction of the dam: 596 km²
• Installed capacity of the dam: 347.5 MW
• Dead storage level: 179.830 m
• The total quantity of earthwork in the dam: 18,100,000 m³

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History of the construction of the Hirakud dam

Sir Hawthorne Lewis was the then governor of Odisha in 1946. He was the first to start the plan for the longest Hirakud dam in Odisha near Sambalpur. On 12 April 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru laid the first concrete batch to inaugurate the structure.

The Mazumdar Committee was working on the project mentored by the government to oversee all kinds of detailed structures and related issues if any. On 13 January 1957, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru officially opened the whole facility to the public.

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Benefits of the Hirakud dam in Odisha

The Hirakud dam, located in Odisha, is the longest artificial dam in the world. The dam provides a lot of benefits in various sectors. Here are the benefits of the dam:

• Prevention of flood: Previously, the Mahanadi river had a lot of floods, especially in the rainy season. During the monsoon, almost every part of the area got flooded due to heavy water flow. After the dam’s construction, a total of 9500 km² was saved from unwanted flooding.

• Benefits of irrigation system: Hirakud dam facilitates irrigation for a 75000 km² area. This irrigation system aids in various crop cultivation.

• Electricity generating: With the help of the electricity generating system, a total of 347.5 MW of electricity can be easily generated. This electricity is supplied to various corners of Sambalpur, Subarnpur, Bargarh, etc.

 

FAQs

Hirakud dam is constructed on which river?

The Hirakud dam is built on the Mahanadi river in Odisha.

Is it true that a lot of temples are submerged under the dam?

Yes, it is reported that many temples are submerged in and around the Hirakud dam.

What is the main benefit of the Hirakud dam?

The main benefit of the Hirakud dam is to save the lower area of Sambalpur in Odisha from heavy floods.

Who was the initial engineer of the Hirakud dam?

Sir M. Visvevaraya was the initial engineer of the Hirakud dam.

Got any questions or point of view on our article? We would love to hear from you. Write to our Editor-in-Chief Jhumur Ghosh at jhumur.ghosh1@housing.com