Hirakud Dam

Hirakud Dam (Odia: ହୀରାକୁଦ ବନ୍ଧ) is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur in the state of Odisha in India. Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud Reservoir, 55 km long. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects started after India's independence.

Construction history

Before the devastating floods of 1936, Sir M. Visveswararya proposed a detailed investigation for storage reservoirs in the Mahanadi basin to tackle the problem of floods in the Mahanadi delta. In 1945, under the chairmanship of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Member of Labour, it was decided to invest in the potential benefits of controlling the Mahanadi for multi-purpose use. The Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission took up the work. On 15 Mar 1946, Sir Hawthrone Lewis, the Governor of Odisha, laid the foundation stone of the Hirakud Dam. A project report was submitted to the government in June 1947. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the first batch of concrete on 12 April 1948. The dam was completed in 1953 and was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 January 1957. The total cost of the project was Rs.1000.2 millions in 1957. Power generation along with agricultural irrigation started in 1956, achieving full potential in 1966.

Hirakud

Hirakud is a small township located in Sambalpur in Odisha. It was a Notified Area which finally included along with Burla in Sambalpur city to obtain the Corporation tag. It was earlier a village which came to the industrial limelight in 1956 when Hirakud Dam was built and thereby clearing the path for industrial growth in this earlier known rustic small township. Presently, this town is known for being industrialized with a few of the largest companies, to cite as example is the HINDALCO. Hirakud Dam, with its potential for irrigation and production of hydroelectric power, has also been able to attract tourists for it being the largest manmade artificial lake in Asia and one of the longest and largest dams in the world. It has been constructed on the Mahanadi river between the Gandhi Minar in North and the Nehru Minar in the South which connects these two well known hills. The shoreline spans around 640 km.At the base of Hirakud Dam Burla power house present with generating capacity 290MW.