The Supa Dam Home > Karnataka > Attractions > Dams > The Supa Dam

The Supa Dam

Supa Dam is the second biggest dam in the state of Karnataka and is one of the major thermal power generating units that have been built across Kali River. The dam derives its name from Suparulu (God of forests). It is a belief that the blessings of the Jungle God are still on the area and this area is blessed by the river Kali which is always nourishing it with water.

Location

Supa Dam is situated in Joida taluk of Uttara Kannada (North Canara) district of Karnataka. It is located near the town of Dandeli at a distance of about 25 km. This dam is at a distance of 2km from Ganeshgudi.

Construction

The dam is operated by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL). This dam was constructed by HSCL (Hindustan Steel Works Construction Limited). This dam is built to manage the water of the Kali River so that irrigation facilities can be provided to the surrounding areas. The construction of the dam was started in 1974 and was completed in 1987. The mechanical plant of the dam was commissioned in 1985. It took a long time of 13 years for the completion of this project. Political and financial issues were responsible for the delay in construction of the dam.

Technical Portion

The height of this dam is 101 metres and it is 332 metres long. This dam has a powerhouse at its foot with two electric generators of 50 megawatts each. The dam has a live storage capacity of 145000 million cubic feet and a catchment area of 1057 square kilometers. The dam has three radial gates of dimension 10m x 15m. The filling period for the dam is from June to November and the depletion period is from November to May. The spillway capacity is 2825 cumec. The gross storage capacity is 4178 Mcum and the live storage is approx. 4115 Mcum. The dam has a generator voltage of 11KV. The total output is 100 megawatts with 2916 terminal amp/unit and a line voltage of 110 KV. The annual power output is 542 million units. The grid of the dam is divided into four substations. The substations at Ponda and Ambewadi share equally the output four lines of the grid. Francis Turbines engines have been installed at this dam.  

History

Before the dam was built, there was irrigation problem in the surrounding fields since the water of Kali River was not diverted towards their fields in a proper way. The farmers of the area were dependent on monsoons for irrigating their fields. Also, the river overflows during the monsoon season. So the surrounding areas were always facing a hazard of floods. This is the reason behind the construction of dam in this area so that water can be managed in a better way.

Attractions

This dam is a very good picnic spot. The tourists can enjoy various activities like boating and water scooting. 

Nearby Tourist Attractions

  • Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is the nearest place of interest and is worth visiting.
  • Shri Mallikarjuna Temple near Ganeshgudi
  • Dandelappa Temple near Ganeshgudi
  • Anshi National Park

How to Reach

By Bus

State-owned bus services connect Dandeli with Alnavar (35 km), Dharwad (55 km), Hubli (72 km) and Belgaum (90 km).
There are bus routes to Dandeli from Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Ahemdabad, Pune, Kolhapur, Mangalore, Aurangabad, Thane, Mumbai, Goa, Mysore, Panjim and Kolkata.

Taxi services are also easily available from these cities.

By Train

Dandeli does not have a railway station, and the nearest railhead is Alnavar, which is 35 km away from Dandeli. Alnavar is well connected to Belgaum (Rani Chennamma), Bangalore (Chalukya Express) and Hubli (Haripriya Exp).

By Air

The nearest major airport is at Hubli. This airport has domestic flights from Hubli and is 76 km Dandeli. Another major airport is Belgaum Airport, which has domestic flights from Belgaum and is 113 km from Dandeli.

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