Hirakud dam

5.0

Location: Sambalpur, Odisha, India

Estimated Visiting Time: 1 hour

Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, Hirakud dam is about 15 kilometers from Sambalpur in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the widest fictile dam in the world. Hirakud Reservoir, 55 km long, behind the dam extends a lake. Starting after India’s independence, it is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects.

Attraction

An amazing place to visit. It helps to control floods in the Mahanadi river. More than twice the area of Sri Lanka, it drains an area of 133,090km square.

History

The Governor of Odisha, Sir Hawthorne Lewis, laid the foundation stone of the Hirakud Dam, on 15th March 1946. In June 1947, a project report was submitted to the government. On the Year of 1948, 12 April, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the first batch of concrete.

Inside/Outside Views

With a gross of 8.136 km3, the reservoir has a storage capacity of 5.818 km3. In districts of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolanqir, and Subarnpur, the project provides 1,556 km2 of Kharif and 1,084 km2 of rabi irrigation. In the Mahanadi delta, the water released by the power plant irrigates another 4,360 km2 ) of CCA. Through its two power plants at Burla, the dam can generate up to 307.5 MW of electrical power on the dam’s right bank and Chiplima, 22 km (14 mi) downstream from the dam. In the district of Cuttack and puri, the project provides flood protection to 9,500 km2 (2.3×106 acres) of the delta area.

Opening Hours

It is open 24 hours a day.

Entry & Others Fees

There Is No Entry Fee Needed TO Play

Near Restaurants

Near Hotels

How to Reach

By Air: To other major cities of the country, Sambalpur is not very well linked via regular flights. In Raipur, Raipur Airport the nearest airport is located at about a distance of 232 km.

By Train: From other major cities of the country, you can easily get regular trains to Sambalpur. Sambalpur railway station at Sambalpur city is the nearest railway station.

By road: Sambalpur is also not very well connected to the other parts of the state through the roadway. From the nearest cities such as puri, and Bhubaneswar, you can hire public or private transport to reach the city of Sambalpur.