Sardar Sarovar Dam , Gujarat

NARMADA - The lifeline of Gujarat 

The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a gravity dam on the Narmada River near Navagam, Gujarat, India. It is the largest dam and part of the Narmada Valley Project, a large hydraulic engineering project involving the construction of a series of large irrigation and hydroelectric multi-purpose dams on the Narmada River. The project took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity.

It is the 30th largest dams planned on river Narmada, Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) is the largest structure to be built. It has a proposed final height of 163 m (535 ft) from foundation.The project will irrigate more than 18,000 km² (6,900 sq mi), most of it in drought prone areas of Kutch and Saurashtra. The dam's main power plant houses six 200 MW Francis pump-turbines to generate electricity and afford a pumped-storage capability. Additionally, a power plant on the intake for the main canal contains contains five 50 MW Kaplan turbine-generators. The total installed capacity of the power facilities is 1,450 MW. Critics maintain that its negative environmental impacts outweigh its benefits. It has created discord between its government planners and the citizens group Narmada Bachao

Narmada Canal

The dam will irrigate 17,920 km² (6,920 sq mi) of land spread over 12 districts, 62 talukas and 3393 villages (75% of which is drought-prone areas) in Gujarat and 730 km² (280 sq mi) in the arid areas of Barmer and Jalore districts of Rajasthan. The dam will also provide flood protection to riverine reaches measuring 30,000 ha (74,000 acres) covering 210 villages and Bharuch city and a population of 400,000 in Gujarat.

narmada dam over flow

 ^{Sardar Sarovar Dam image in hd}

Project at a Glance:

Estimated Cost - Rs. 392.4 billion (8 billion USD)

Main Dam - 1,210 m long, 163 m high from the deepest foundation level

World's Second Largest Concrete Gravity Dam (by volume) after Grand Coulee

World's Third Highest Spillway discharging capacity - 87,000 m3/second

Designed Live Storage Capacity of the Reservoir 5860 MCM (4.75 million acre feet)

Hydropower - 1,450 MW installed capacity (1 billion kWh every year)

Irrigation - 1.905 million Ha (1.8 million Ha. in Gujarat benefitting 1 million farmers)

Drinking Water - 9633 villages and 131 towns (29 million people)

Canal Network - 75,000 km length

Main Canal - 458.318 km long, capacity 1,133 m3/second, 633 structures

No. of Employees – 4673

Sardar Sarovar Dam
The Sardar Sarovar Dam, partially completed in August 2008
Location of Sardar Sarovar Dam
Country	India
Location	Navagam, Gujarat
Coordinates	21°49′49″N 73°44′50″ECoordinates:  ,21°49′49″N 73°44′50″E
Status	Operational
Owner(s)	Narmada Control Authority
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity, concrete
Height (foundation)	163 m (535 ft)
Length	1,210 m (3,970 ft)
Impounds	Narmada River
Spillway capacity	84,949 m3/s (2,999,900 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Capacity	9,500,000,000 m3 (7,701,775 acre·ft)
Active capacity	5,800,000,000 m3 (4,702,137 acre·ft)
Catchment area	88,000 km2 (34,000 sq mi)
Surface area	375.33 km2 (144.92 sq mi)
Normal elevation	138 m (453 ft)
Reservoir length	214 km (133 mi)
Max. reservoir width	16.10 km (10.00 mi)
Power station
Operator(s)	Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited
Commission date	June 2006
Turbines	Dam: 6 x 200 MW Francis pump-turbine Canal: 5 x 50 MW Kaplan-type
Installed capacity	1,450 MW