Dams On The Chambal
In a stretch of 96 km, from km 344 to km 440 from its source, the Chambal flows through a deep gorge, while lower down, there are wide plains. The Gandhisagar Dam is located near the center of this reach. As there is a deep gorge immediately upstream of the dam, the reservoir has a large storage capacity despite its comparatively low height. For the next 48 km, the river flows through the Kundal Plateau, and the Rana Pratap Sagar Dam is constructed at the lower end of this reach, about 1.6 km upstream of Chulia Falls. Again, the topography permits fairly good storage upstream of the dam. Further down, the Jawahar Sagar Dam is located in the middle of the Kota gorge. The Kota Barrage is located near Kota town, where the river emerges from the gorge section into the plateau. The total area draining the Kota Barrage is 27,319 km2.
The Chambal River is utilized for hydropower generation at Gandhi Sagar dam, Rana Pratap Sagar dam and Jawahar Sagar Dam and for annual irrigation of 5668.01 square kilometres in the commands of the right main canal and the left main canal of the Kota Barrage.
The Gandhi Sagar dam is the first of the four dams built on the Chambal River, located on the Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh border. It is a 64 metre high masonry gravity dam, with a live storage capacity of 6,920 Mm³ and a catchment area of 22,584 km², of which only 1,537 km² is in Rajasthan. The dam was completed in the year 1960. The hydro-power station comprises five generating units of 23 MW capacity each. The water released after power generation is utilised for irrigation through Kota Barrage.
The Rana Pratap Sagar dam is a dam located 52 km downstream of Gandhi Sagar dam on across the Chambal River near Rawatbhata in Chittorgarh district in Rajasthan. It was completed in the year 1970 and it is the second in the series of Chambal Valley Projects. It is 54 meters high. The power house is located on the left side of the spillway and consists of 4 units of 43 MW each, with firm power generation of 90 MW at 60% load factor. The total catchment area of this dam is 24,864 km², of which only 956 km² are in Rajasthan. The free catchment area below Gandhi Sagar dam is 2,280 km². The live storage capacity is 1,566 Mm3.
The Jawahar Sagar dam is the third dam in the series of Chambal Valley Projects, located 29 km upstream of Kota city and 26 km downstream of Rana Pratap Sagar dam. It is a concrete gravity dam, 45 meter high and 393 m long, generating 60 MW of power with an installed capacity of 3 units of 33 MW. The work was completed in 1972. The total catchment area of the dam is 27,195 km², of which only 1,496 km² are in Rajasthan. The free catchment area below Rana Pratap Sagar dam is 2,331 km².
The Kota Barrage is the fourth in the series of Chambal Valley Projects, located about 0.8 km upstream of Kota City in Rajasthan. Water released after power generation at Gandhi Sagar dam, Rana Pratap Sagar dam and Jawahar Sagar Dams, is diverted by Kota Barrage for irrigation in Rajasthan and in Madhya Pradesh through canals on the left and the right sides of the river. The work on this dam was completed in 1960. The total catchment area of Kota Barrage is 27,332 km², of which the free catchment area below Jawahar Sagar Dam is just 137 km². The live storage is 99 Mm³. It is an earthfill dam with a concrete spillway. The right and left main canals have a headworks discharge capacity of 188 and 42 m³/sec, respectively. The total length of the main canals, branches and distribution system is about 2,342 km, serving an area of 2,290 km² of CCA. The Barrage operates 18 gates to control flow of flood and canal water downstream, and serves as bridge between parts of Kota on both side of the river.
Read more about this topic: Chambal River