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Ranjitsagar Dam

About the Ranjitsagar Dam

The Ranjitsagar Dam, famously known as the Thein dam is a portion of the hydroelectricity project built by the Punjab Government on the Ravi River in Punjab. The project has been commenced near the Pathankot city in the Gurdaspur region of Punjab. The project is till date the largest hydroelectricity projects held in the state of Punjab. The town of the place is known as ShahpurKandi Township. It is also the biggest earth fill dam in India. The complete length of the dam is around 2024 feet. The dam was a joint effort of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh along with Jammu and Kashmir. It was decided that all the three states will gain from this dam project. Apart from the purpose of generation of the hydroelectric power and irrigation services, the dam also created great employment opportunities for the youth of the State. The dam has potentially increased the tourism. The dam serves as a great tourist attraction with amazing water spots and fisheries.

Objective

With the Indus Water agreement signed between Pakistan and India in the year 1960, India got exceptional rights on the River Ravi water. The Unit – I scheme of the Ravi River of the RanjitSagar Dam along with Shahpurkandi Dam was regarded for the complete utilization the Ravi Tiver water in the state of Punjab for the generation of hydroelectricity power and irrigation.

History

The initial recorded application of storing the water of the Ravi was mooted in the year 1912 for a dam of 200ft near the Thein village. Examined by the committee supervised by Mr. Willey in the year 1926-27, survey of the area was conducted. However, till 1953 nothing in particular was done for this project by the Geologists. The practicability studies for the dam project began in the year 1953 while the geotechnical investigation went on till 1982. The process of construction commenced in 1981, while the generators were appointed in 2000. The project was completed in March 2001. It is used for irrigation purpose as well as generation of power with an installed capacity of 600MW.

Area

Covering an area of 6086sq. km of the catchment area and 87sq. km of the reservoir area, with a complete storage capacity of 3280 million, the RanjitSagar dam is a massive project. The live storage capacity of the dam is 2344 million cum. The dam renders irrigation facilities to a total land area of 1.33 lakh acres in the manjor regions of Kathua District and possibly helps in the production of 2066 lakh of food grains.

Salient Features of the RanjitSagar Dam

  • The power plant project of the RanjitSagar Dam contains the second largest Hydro-turbine in India
  • It has the greatest dia. Penstock in the country
  • The Rockfill dam for the foundation gallery has been seen for the first time in the nation.

National Wetland

The Indian Government has acknowledged the RanjitSagar Dam reservoir as National Wetland. The project is now handled under the National Wetland Conservation Programme.

Advantages of the RanjitSagar Dam

  • Enhancement of the tourism spots and recreational services in the areas near reservoir in Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Punjab
  • Growth of fisheries in the reservoir along with the social and monetary upliftment of the people living in the areas.
  • Flood controlling for the areas of Gurdaspur and Amritsar
  • Escalation in the irrigation intensity along with hydroelectricity from UBDC Power House.

Best Time to Visit

Great time duration to pay a visit to RanjitSagar Dam is from July to October as the reservoir reaches its highest capacity of the water storage due to the Monsoons.

Tourist Attraction

The place transforms into a major tourist destination after the monsoons with an amazing weather and beautiful scenic views. Check out the reservoirs, fisheries and amazing water spots. As the dam is outside Basohli, you can book hotels, Government rest houses and dak bungalow. For cheaper accommodations, you can also go for charitable dharamshala.

How to Reach

Once you reach Basohli, you can easily make your choice between Jammu and Kashmir tourism buses or self-hired taxis to reach the dam.

Related Image

Ranjitsagar Dam
Ranjitsagar Dam
Ranjitsagar Dam
Ranjitsagar Dam
Ranjitsagar Dam
Ranjitsagar Dam

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