Railway Exam » Railway Exam Study Materials » Geography » The Bhakra Nangal Project

The Bhakra Nangal Project

The Bhakra Nangal project was assigned to be built as the second tallest dam in Asia, the Nangal Hydel Channel and the empower houses of 1204 megawatt capacity.

The Bhakra Nangal project was the formation of

  1. Two dams at Bhakra & Nangal,
  2. The Hydel channel at Nangal, &
  3. Powerhouses are projected with a total capacity of 1204 megawatt.

The Bhakra Nangal Dam has a height of approximately 207.26 metres, which holds the position of Asia’s second tallest dam after the Tehri Dam. The Bhakra Nangal project is located on the borders of Punjab & Himachal Pradesh. It is also the highest straight gravity dam in India, which runs across 168.35 km. This dam holds a length of 1700 ft and a width of 30 ft.

History of Bhakra Nangal Project

The Bhakra Nangal Project is one of the oldest development projects for river valleys established after the Independence of India. This project was operated by Sir Chhotu Ram, the minister of Punjab Revenue and the king of Bilaspur in 1944. This project got the consent of the Indian government on January 8, 1945. The construction of this Dam was started in 1984 by Sir Louis Dane, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab. Thereafter, this project was delayed and started again under the surveillance of Sir Rai Bahadur, the chief architect of Punjab. This project was finished in 1963 and Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of that time, dedicated the dam to the nation. The total cost of this project was approximately 245.28 crores INR and the total steel used in this project was approximately 101600 tonnes. 

Location and Features of the Bhakra Nangal Project

The Bhakra dam is placed on the Sutlej River in Himachal Pradesh and Bhakra Village near Bilaspur and the dam makes the Gobind Sagar reservoir. The uses of the Bhakra Nangal dam play important roles in the life of the people of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana. The uses of this dam are as follows:

  • The most important use of the Bhakra Nangal dam is the use of stored water in irrigation and it provides the needed water for irrigation for the states of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana
  • The stored water in the Bhakra dam is also used to generate hydroelectric power and the power is used to provide the needed electricity in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana. The two powerhouses in the dam have twenty power generators, ten on each side

Relation of Bhakra Nangal Dam with the neighbour states

The Bhakra Nangal Project is located on the Sutlej River and it is supposed to hold the water of the river and rainwater. The neighbouring states take electricity and irrigation water from this dam. The Bhakra Nangal project is related to the purpose of giving irrigation water to some states. Therefore, the Bhakra Nangal project is related to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Rajasthan. These states also take the required electricity from the power stations of this dam and so, the Bhakra Nangal project is related to the power supply of these states. The Bhakra Nangal Project is located on the borders of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh with the Gobind Sagar reservoir. The left powerhouse in the dam has a total installed capacity of approximately 550 MW and the right powerhouse has a total capacity of 750 MW of hydroelectric power generation.

Conclusion 

Bhakra nangal dam is symbolised as the second tallest dam in the entire Asia. This particular dam is primarily located on the border between Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Hence it is primarily concluded that the Bhakra nangal dam is considered one of most valuable tourist spots and also the agricultural spectrum. One of main purposes to create this dam is to provide irrigation water to multiple agricultural states, such as Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. Hence the Bhankra nangal dam primarily produces 31,691 cusecs of electricity per day; however, Punjab is initially getting 50 lakhs units more current consumption than the previous year. 

faq

Frequently Asked Questions

Get answers to the most common queries related to the Railway Examination Preparation.

What is the main purpose of the Bhakra Nangal project?

Ans. The main purpose of building the Bhakra Nangal dam is to store rainwater and to use the stored water for irriga...Read full

What is the most important feature of the Bhakra Nangal project?

Ans. The Bhakra Nangal project can generate a massive amount of electricity. The powerhouses are the most important attraction of this project. The...Read full

What will happen if Bhakra Nangal Dam breaks?

Ans. The Bhakra dam holds a massive amount of water. It will deal massive damage if the dam is broken and around 150...Read full

Why are dams called multipurpose projects?

Ans. The reason behind calling a dam a multipurpose project is as follows....Read full

Crack Railway Exam with Unacademy

Get subscription and access unlimited live and recorded courses from India’s best educators

Notifications

Get all the important information related to the Railway Exam including the process of application, important calendar dates, eligibility criteria, exam centers etc.

Access more than

6,505+ courses for Railway Exams 

Get the learning app

Download lessons and learn anytime, anywhere with the Unacademy app