Indianetzone.com - Web Portal on Indian Culture & LifestyleArt & Culture  •  Health  •  Movies & Entertainment  •   Society  •  Reference  •   Sports  •  Travel  

  Home >> Reference >> Geography of India >> The Damodar Valley Project
Forum
Forum on Geography of India
Discuss Now
Free E-magazine
Subscribe to Free E-Magazine on Indian Culture & Lifestyle.
Learn More
Interesting Readings
  - Indian Crops
  - Indian Subcontinent
  - Demographies of India
  - Dams of India
  - Indian Railways
  - Indian National Highways
  - Indian Roads
  - Indian Mines
  - Indian Forests
  - Indian Rivers & Lakes
  - Himalaya Mountains
  - Indian Mountains
  - Indian Astronomy
Jimtrade.com : India Business to Business Directory
Business Directory of Indian Suppliers Manufacturers and Products from India.
India`s leading Yellow pages directory.
India`s leading Yellow pages directory.
The Damodar Valley Project

Based on the Tenesse Valley Authority of the United States of America, this project is handled by the Damodar Valley Corporation(DVC). Launched on the river Damodar, this project benefits the states of West Bengal and Bihar.An important feature of this project is the 692 metres long and 11.6 metres high barrage constructed across the Damodar at Durgapur. The Right Bank canal and the Left Bank canal , originating from the barrage are used for irrigation and navigation respectively. This project constitutes three thermal power houses at Bokaro, Chandrapur and Durgapur.The following dams are a part of this project:

(1)The Tilaiya dam: Built across the river Barakar, the main tributary of the Damodar, this dam is 30 metres high and 366 metres long. There are two powerhouses, each having a capacity of 2000 kw.

(2)The Konar dam: It is located in the Hazaribagh district on the Konar river, a distributary of the Damodar. This dam has a height of 49 metres and length of 3548 metres.

 Maithon dam(3)The Maithon dam: The main purpose of this dam is flood control. Constructed on the Barakar river, 26 kilometres away from the Asansol railway station, it is 94 metres high and 144 metres long. There are three hydel power units, each with a capacity of 20,000 kw.

(4)The Panchet Hill dam: The speciality of this 2545 metre long and 45 metre high dam is that it is made of earth.It is constructed across the river Damodar in the Dhanbad district. Its single hydel power unit has a capacity of 40, 000 kilowatts.

Let us study the Damodar Valley project in details under the following heads.

Functions of DVC
1.Producing electricity: DVC has under its operation four coal based thermal power stations, three hydel power stations and one gas turbine station having a cumulative generating capacity of 2796.5 MW .In order to increase the capacity by another 1000 MW through four extension units ( two at Mejia and two at Chandrapur are under construction and are expected to be completed by the end of the10th Five Year Plan.

DVC is also working on reframing its old units.
2.Distributing electricity: DVC has devised a dense network of 220 KV and 132 KV Transmission and Distribution system for supplying power to its consumers via the power stations. This system comprises about 4,761 circuit Km Transmission Lines, and 44 Sub-stations .

3.Managing the water resources: DVC’s network of four dams, one barrage and a canal checks floods and provides for irrigation.

4.Conserving forests: Activities like watershed management and other allied tasks are performed periodically. Watershed management mainly constitutes controlling soil erosion and augmenting the life span of DVC reservoirs by curtailing the flow of debris that lead to silt deposition. The other tasks include planting trees, managing the soil, building check dams, protecting or reviving the land and rehabilitating denuded forests. More than 16000 check dams and silt detention structures have already been built.

5.Community service: A ‘Social Integration Programme’ was started in 1981 by DVC . The programme is aimed at developing agriculture, education, health, self employment, social forestry, sports and culture, infrastructure and rural electrification.

The eventual benefits of the project can be summarised as follows:

  • Building of dams and thermal power stations.

  • Irrigating large hectares of land in Hooghly, Howrah, Bankura and Burdwan districts in West Bengal

  • Controlling floods

  • Transportation through canals

  • Checking soil erosion by planting trees

  • Anti-malaria drives


  • Pisciculture
    All these facilities make Damodar Valley one of the key industrial regions of West Bengal.Moreover, the forests, hills and large beautiful lakes attract a large number of tourists.

    Recently updated articles in Geography of India
    • Ravi River
      The Ravi River was known as Iravati in Sanskrit, which arises in Bara Banghal a branch of the Dhauladhar range.
    • Bhimtal Lake , Uttarakhand
      Bhimtal Lake is situated in the town of Bhimtal in Nainital district of Uttarakhand.
    • Bhima River , Maharashtra
      The Bhima River rises from Bhimashankar hills near Karjat on the western side of the Western Ghats and empties into the
    • Rajrambha Peak , Uttarakhand
      The Rajrambha Mountain is a part of the Himalayan mountain ranges, which lie in the Kumaon region.
    • Saser Muztagh Mountain Range ,India
      Easternmost subrange of the Karakoram Range ,located in the Kashmir region in India.
    Home | Sitemap | Contact Us