Dam And Spillways

Reservoir

This dam is being constructed on the River Chambal and it is one of the dams out of four which are being constructed on this river. The location of the dam is Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh State. It is a dam with masonry gravity and height of the dam is 62.17 meters i.e. 204.0 feet. This dam is having a total capacity of 7.322 billion cubic meters from the area of catchment and the total area of catchment is 22584 km2 i.e. 8720 sq mi. The foundation of this dam is kept by the India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the year 1854 in the month of March on dated: 7th, however, the construction of the dam was over in the year 1960.

In the toe of the dam there is an hydroelectric station of power with a capacity of 115MW, however, in totality there are 5 23MW units which generates energy approximately 564 GWh. Water is also released when the work of power generation is over and this water is used for the purpose of irrigation and approximately 427000 hectares i.e. 1060000 acres land is drained by this water through Kota barrage which is having its location 104 kilometers far in downstream direction near to Kota city of Rajasthan.

Reservoir area of the dam is considered as a 2nd largest in the country as Hirakud Reservoir is the first one and numerous numbers of birds also get attracted with this dam i.e. both non-migratory and migratory bird all over the year. International Bird Life Agency has provided this reservoir the criteria of “A4iii”. However, the congregation i.e. waterbirds reach to 20000 points at various points.

Geography

In ancient time Chambal River is known as Chamranyavati River which rises from the Range of Vindhya which is having a height of 853 meters, fifteen kilometers from the town of west-southwest known as Mhow near the city Indore. The flow of the river is through north-northwest from the state of Madhya Pradesh which runs from Rajasthan but also covers the boundary of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan but it is before turning point i.e. southeast in order to join the River Yamuna which is in the state of Uttar Pradesh. However, the total length from the source with the River Yamuna is nine hundred kilometers i.e. 560 mi.

The tributaries and Chambal drain the region of Malwa which is located in northwestern in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The tributaries which are in the range of Aravalli such as Banas drain southeastern Rajasthan with the confluence of the River Yamuna. The Chambal is attached to other four rivers known as Pahuj, Sind, Kwari and Yamuna at Pachnada near the place Bhareh in the State of Uttar Pradesh with the border areas of Etawah and Bhind Districts. However, the drainage of the river completely depends upon the catchment area which is having an annual rainfall approximately 860 millimeters. Temperature of this area is in between 2 °C (36 °F) and 40 °C (104 °F) and the relative humidity are measured between 30% - 90%.

The area of deep gorges is between 344 Km to 440 km from the source of Chambal. The location of the dam known as Gandhi Sagar Dam is in the centre of the gorge section. The dam is located 168 km i.e. 104 mi from the administrative headquarters of the district of the place known as Mandsaur.

Construction History

Development Authorities of River Valley of Chambal laid landmark actions for the first 5 year plan which was launched by Indian Government in the year 1951 after the independence in the year 1947 in the month of August. Before that this river is not used for any type of developmental work and this project was the joint venture of state governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In the year 1953, the plan was laid out which was a 3 stage plan in order to develop hydroelectric power as well as to utilize the water which is being stored in the dams for the purpose of irrigation. River drop is six twenty five meters i.e. 2051 feet and the source is in between the two cities known as Kota and Mhow which shows an exit point of river from the area of its gorge section to the plain area of Rajasthan and is having a great potential for hydroelectric production.

Stage I

Initial phase i.e. 1st stage of the Gandhi Sagar Dam mainly engaged in the construction work with a height of 62.17 meters i.e. 204.0 feet. This dam can store the water for about 7322000000 cubic meters in the State of Madhya Pradesh and can use this stored water in order to produce hydroelectric power which is followed by the irrigation Kota Barrage in the state of Rajasthan which is 104 kilometers downstream of Gandhi Sagar Dam. In the toe of this dam there is a powerhouse to develop power which is having a total capacity which is installed is 115MW which is being divided into 5 units i.e. 23MW. Kota Barrage is a masonry and earth structure which is 37.34 meters in height i.e. 122.5 feet and was constructed to help irrigation system through a procedure of canal system. However, there are 2 main canals one is on the left and the other is on the right bank. The construction work of these projects was started in the year 1953-54 and both of these projects started their work in the year 1960. Now, here the water which is received or stored in Kota Barrage is equally distributed in between the states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for the purpose of irrigation.

Stage II

Second phase of this project whose main goal is to use the water which was released from dam through other dam known as Rana Pratap Sagar Dam which is located 48 Kilometers downstream of Gandhi Sagar Dam situated at Rawatbhata in the district of Chittorgarh which is in Rajasthan State. Addition in storage of water helps to increase the benefits of irrigation from Kota Barrage as the area of irrigation get increased from 445000 hectares i.e. 1100000 acres to 567000 hectares i.e. 1400000 acres. However, an extra powerhouse is also being installed in the toe of the Gandhi Sagar Dam which extends the capacity of hydroelectric power up to 172 MW and that too from 4 turbo generators having the capacity of 43MW each. In the year 1970 the second stage gets completed and the power which is being developed in Rana Pratap Sagar Dam is equally shared with the state of Madhya Pradesh however, Gandhi Sagar Dam is the source for stored waters for the dam.

Stage III

Last stage of the dam was involved in the construction of middle dam in between the KotaBarrage and Rana Pratap Sagar Dam known as Jawahar Sagar Dam. This dam architecture is concrete gravity and 45 meters in height i.e. 148 feet which is situated approximately twenty three kilometers i.e. 14 mi of Kota Barrage upstream in the direction of southwest and it also develop a hydroelectric power having the capacity of 99 MW, having generator units 3 in number and each unit is having the capacity of 33MW. In the year 1972 the project is being commissioned.

Features

This dam architecture is of masonry gravity having the elevation of 62.17 meters i.e. 204.0 feet having the length of 514 meters i.e. 1686 feet. Total capacity of storage of the dam is 7.32 billion cubic meters however; the live storage is of only 6.79 billion cubic meters which is considered the full capacity of the reservoir up to 400 meters i.e. 1300 feet. The architecture of the spillway is such that it can discharge the water up to 21238 cubic meters in a single second. There are ten spillway spans designed in order to pass flood discharge.There are about nine river gates to control water, but these gates are not being used at now.

Station of Hydroelectric power is being located in the areas of toe of Gandhi Sagar Dam which is on the right bank.However, in totality the flow of 5 turbines is approximately up to 311.15 m3/s. Power Station has being installed with five turbines and in total the capacity of these turbines is 142 MW and each unit is having the capacity of 27 MW. The length of the station is sixty five meters i.e. 213 feet and fifty six feet wide i.e. 17 meters. Power which is generated here is supplied to the local districts and after it is distributed in other states and regions such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The total cost in developing this project i.e. Power Station and Gandhi Sagar Dam is approximately Rs.2.3 billion.

Reservoir

The reservoir of this dam is the 2nd largest in the country as first one is Hirakud Reservoir, having the gross area of 723 km2 i.e. 279 sq mi. The area of catchment of the River Chambal is from Vindhyachal which ranges in the direction of south and in northeast in the area of Aravalli which covers the drainage area of 22584 km2 i.e. 8720 sq mi. However, the essential tributaries which discharge into upstream of Chambal of the reservoir includes Ansar, Kalisindh, Chhoti, Shipra and Rupniya which is on eastern side as well on the western side Shivna, Retum, Edar and Tilsoi. The length of the reservoir is sixty eight kilometers i.e. 42 mi and twenty six kilometers wide i.e. 16 mi. Wild Life Sanctuary of Gandhi Sagar is having a total area of 3700 hectares i.e. 91000 acres which is shared by Neemuch and Mandsaur districts of catchment area of Gandhi Sagar Dam Reservoir. This area was considered as a hunting area at one time for the family of Holkar Royal which is based in Indore. Although reservoir is being controlled, by the joint venture of fisheries and irrigation departments which are controlled by Madhya Pradesh Govt. This reservoir water is mainly used for the development of fisheries.

According to statistical view mean depth of this reservoir is approximately 11.73 meters i.e. 38.5 feet having a development of shore index of 4.78 and the volume index development is of 0.601 when the reservoir is full on its level. According to scientific studies it has been found that this reservoir is very good in the development of fisheries as scientific studies indicate that water in this reservoir is very good for primary productivity of fisheries. However, in the year 1959 and 1960 commercial fisheries were also introduced in this dam and have got the credit for best reservoir managed in the entire state. Capturing of fish is strictly prohibited in this reservoir in the months of June, July and August. All over the year numerous numbers of non-migratory and migratory birds are attracted and that too in a very large number. Although this reservoir is also certified by “A4iii” criteria as congregation of birds is in large number i.e. 20000 waterbirds.

Attractions

Sailana

This place is situated ninety kilometers from an ancient city known as Ujjain on the highway of Ratlam-Banswara. Sailana is a famous place and is very well known for the tradition of culinary and the garden of cactus is also very famous here and one can find more than 1200 species of plants. This proper location of this garden is old fort of Sailana which was once considered as a princely state of Sailana. Other attraction includes Kedareshwar and Sailana Bird-Santacturary.

Mandsaur

This place is situated one hundred one kilometers far from the city of Ujjain. This place is very famous for Ashtamukhi Pashupatinath Temple which is located on the banks of River Sivana and this temple is also very rich in historical heritage and in archaeological styles. This temple is famous for Shivlinga for its uniqueness which reflects eight faces of Hindu’s Supreme Lord Shiva. Other attractions include the fort which was constructed by Hushang Shah Gori.

Agar

This place is located sixty six kilometers away from Ujjain and is having an archaeological site. Although this, place was famous as a Military Camp (Chhavani) at the time of British Period. This place contains numerous ancient temples, churches and mosques. However, temple of Baijnath Mahadev is a primary attraction for the people.

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