Have you ever wondered what is the second tallest dam in Asia and where is it located? If you guessed Bhakra Nangal Dam in India, you are right! This amazing structure is not only a feat of engineering but also a source of irrigation, hydroelectricity, tourism and pride for the nation. Bhakra Nangal Dam is actually composed of two dams: Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej River in Himachal Pradesh, and Nangal Dam downstream in Punjab. The construction of this project started in 1948 and was completed in 1963. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who called it "the temple of resurgent India". The Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam with a height of 226 meters (740 feet), making it the second tallest dam in Asia after Tehri Dam. It has a length of 518 meters (1700 feet) and a width of 9 meters (30 feet). The dam creates a huge reservoir called Gobind Sagar, named after Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru. The reservoir has a capacity of 9.34 billion cubic meters (7.57 million acre-feet) of water, which can flood the whole of Chandigarh and parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi.
The Nangal Dam is an earthen dam with a height of 29 meters (95 feet) and a length of 305 meters (1000 feet). It serves as an auxiliary dam to channel the water released from Bhakra Dam to two powerhouses: Ganguwal Power House and Kotla Power House. The Bhakra Nangal Dam project has multiple benefits for India. It provides irrigation water to about 10 million acres (4 million hectares) of land in Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. It also generates about 1500 MW of hydroelectricity for Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana and Delhi. Moreover, it offers opportunities for tourism, recreation and water sports at Gobind Sagar Lake. If you ever get a chance to visit this magnificent structure, don't miss it!