History
The Bhakra-Nangal multipurpose dams were among the earliest river valley development schemes undertaken by India after independence though the project had been conceived long before India became a free nation. Preliminary works commenced in 1946. Construction of the dam started in 1948, Jawahar Lal Nehru poured the first bucket of concrete into the foundations of Bhakra on 18 November 1955 and the dam was completed by the end of 1963. Successive stages were completed by the early 1970s.
Initially, the construction of the dam was started by Sir Louis Dane, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab. But the project got delayed and was restarted soon after Independence. In October 1963 at the ceremony to mark the dedication of the Bhakra–Nangal Project to the Nation, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said, "This dam has been built with the unrelenting toil of man for the benefit of mankind and therefore is worthy of worship. May you call it a Temple or a Gurdwara or a Mosque, it inspires our admiration and reverence".
Read more about this topic: Bhakra Dam
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“I think that Richard Nixon will go down in history as a true folk hero, who struck a vital blow to the whole diseased concept of the revered image and gave the American virtue of irreverence and skepticism back to the people.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)
“We aspire to be something more than stupid and timid chattels, pretending to read history and our Bibles, but desecrating every house and every day we breathe in.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Psychology keeps trying to vindicate human nature. History keeps undermining the effort.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)