Bhakra Nangal Project

The Bhakra Nangal Project is a joint venture of the governments of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab.

The project had some primary objectives such as the construction of two dams at Bhakra and Nangal; creating the Nangal hydel project; establishing four power houses at Ganguwal and Kotla and construction of transmission lines to distribute electricity to nearby states.

• The Bhakra Nangal project is the biggest multipurpose project in the country.
• The Bhakra Dam was built in 1963 across the River Sutlej.
• The dam is considered as the highest gravity dam in the world and is India’s second tallest dam, the first being the Tehri Dam.
• The reservoir of the Bhakra Dam, known as Gobind Sagar, has the capacity to store 9.34 billion cubic metres of water.
• This reservoir is the second largest in India, the first being the Indira Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh.
• The Nangal dam too stands on the River Satluj, but at a distance of 13 km from the Bhakra Dam.
• The dam acts as a balancing reservoir and counter-checks the daily fluctuations from the Bhakra Dam.
• The Nangal Hydel hydel channel provides water to the Bhakra irrigation canal and uses turbines to generate electricity.
• The four powerhouses proposed under the Bhakra Nangal project are situated in Ganguwal, Kotla and the left and right banks of the river. The combined capacity of the hydel power generated by the Bhakra Nangal project is 1205 MW.
• Transmission lines measuring a total of 3,680 km have been laid down and they distribute power to several cities situated near the Bhakra Nangal project. The power from the hydel project is also used to run tube wells in Punjab and Haryana and operating trains between Delhi and Ludhiana.
• Under the project, an efficient canal system has also been established to provide water for irrigation purposes.
• The Bhakra Main Canal has two branches which break down into smaller tributaries and distributaries and provide water to districts in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
• The project was conceived much before Independence and the preliminary work had already begun in 1946.
• The construction of the dam was supervised by the Lieutenant Governor Sir Louis Dane.
• However, the project got delayed and had to be restarted post Independence.
• The first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, had poured the first bucket of concrete into the foundation of the dam.
• The project was completed in subsequent phases and became operational in 1963.
• However, of late the dam is facing problems of siltation due to deforestation in the Himalayas.
• This siltation has reduced the capacity of the dam’s reservoir.
• Bhakra Nangal Dam is also an important tourist destination. The beautiful landscape and the fact that the dam is the second highest in India attracts hordes of tourists every year.
• The former Prime Minister of India, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, had called it the New Temple of Resurgent India.