Chambal
Chambal is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. 3 dams stand on this watercourse and are written up below. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Dams Recorded
- 3
- Coordinates
- 25.53°, 76.27°
About Chambal
The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in Central and Northern India, and thus forms part of the drainage system of the Ganges. The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, briefly flowing through Rajasthan, then forming the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before turning southeast to join the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh state.
The Chambal finds mention in ancient Hindu scriptures. The Hindu epic Mahabharata refers to the Chambal River as Charmanyavati: originating from the blood of thousands of cows sacrificed by the King Rantideva.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Chambal River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Chambal in Depth
History
During the Vedic era, the ancient name of Chambal river was Charmanvati, meaning the river on whose banks leather is dried. In due course of time, this river became famous as the river of ‘charman’ (skin) and was named as Charmanvati.
The epic Sanskrit narrative the Mahabharata, refers to the Chambal river as the Charmanyavati: originating from the blood of thousands of animals sacrificed by the King Rantideva.
"So large was the number of animals sacrificed in the Agnihotra of that king that the secretions flowing from his kitchen from the heaps of skins deposited there caused a veritable river which from this circumstance, came to be called the Charmanwati."
Chambal area was part of Shakuni's kingdom and the dice-game played thereabouts.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Chambal River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dams on the Chambal
3 dams on the Chambal, ordered by structural height, with their reservoirs and generating capacity.
| Dam | Height | Capacity | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gandhi Sagar Dam | 62.17 m | 115 MW | 1960 |
| Ranapratap Sagar Dam | 54 m | 172 MW | 1970 |
| Jawahar Sagar Dam | 45 m | 99 MW | 1972 |
Gandhi Sagar Dam
Masonry Gravity dam · Madhya Pradesh, India
Gandhi Sagar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Chambal in Madhya Pradesh, India, standing 62.17 m (204 ft) high and completed in 1960. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 115 MW. The structure impounds Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary Reservoir.
The Gandhi Sagar Dam is one of the four major dams built on India's Chambal River. The dam is located in the Mandsaur district of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is a masonry gravity dam, standing 62.17 metres (204.0 ft) high, with a gross storage capacity of 7.322 billion cubic metres from a catchment area of 22,584 km2 (8,720 sq mi). The dam's foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 7 March 1954, and construction of the main dam was done by leading contractor Dwarka Das Agrawal & Associates and was completed in 1960. Additional dam structures were completed downstream in the 1970s.
The dam sports a 115-MW hydroelectric power station at its toe, with five 23-MW generating units each providing a total energy generation of about 564 GWh. The water released after power generation is used for the irrigation of 427,000 hectares (1,060,000 acres) by the Kota Barrage, which is located 104 kilometres (65 mi) downstream of the dam, near the city of Kota in the state of Rajasthan.
It attracts many migratory and non-migratory birds throughout the year.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Gandhi Sagar Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Masonry Gravity
- Structural height
- 62.17 m (204 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 115 MW
- Impounded river
- Chambal
- Reservoir
- Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary Reservoir
- Location
- Madhya Pradesh, India
- Year completed
- 1960
- Height rank
- #68 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #81 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- 24.7042°, 75.5564°
Notable: First and largest of the four dams on the Chambal River, impounding a vast 726 km² wildlife reservoir.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Gandhi Sagar Dam ranks #68 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #81, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
Nearest cities: Kota (60 km), Bhilwara (117 km), Ratlam (160 km).
More about Gandhi Sagar Dam
Construction history
The Chambal River Valley Development marked one of the landmark actions of the First Five-Year Plan launched by the Government of India in 1951, after India attained independence in August 1947. The Chambal River had not until then been used for any major developmental works, and was proposed to be developed under a joint initiative of the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The three-stage proposal, drawn up in 1953, called for three dams to provide hydroelectric power generation, and a downstream barrage to use stored waters released from the upstream dams for irrigation.
Geography
The Chambal River (known in ancient times as the Chamranyavati River) raises in the Vindhya Range at an elevation of 853 metres (2,799 ft), 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west-southwest of the town of Mhow, near Indore. It flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, runs for a time through Rajasthan, then forms the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before turning southeast to join the Yamuna River in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Its total length from its source to its confluence with the Yamuna River is 900 kilometres (560 mi).
The Chambal and its tributaries drain the Malwa region of northwestern Madhya Pradesh, while its tributary, the Banas, which rises in the Aravalli Range, drains southeastern Rajasthan.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Gandhi Sagar Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ranapratap Sagar Dam
Masonry Gravity dam · Rajasthan, India
Ranapratap Sagar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Chambal in Rajasthan, India, standing 54 m (177 ft) high and completed in 1970. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 172 MW. The structure impounds Rana Pratap Sagar.
The Rana Pratap Sagar Dam is a gravity masonry dam of 53.8 metres (177 ft) height built on the Chambal River at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan in India. It is part of integrated scheme of a cascade development of the river involving four projects starting with the Gandhi Sagar Dam in the upstream reach (48 kilometres (30 mi) upstream) in Madhya Pradesh and the Jawahar Sagar Dam on the downstream (28 kilometres (17 mi) downstream) with a terminal structure of the Kota Barrage (28 kilometres (17 mi) further downstream) in Rajasthan for irrigation.
The direct benefit from the dam is hydropower generation of 172 MW (with four units of 43 MW capacity each) at the dam toe powerhouse adjoining the spillway, with releases received from the Gandhi Sagar Dam and the additional storage created at the dam by the intercepted catchment area. The estimated generation potential of 473.0 GWh of generation has been exceeded in most years since its commissioning. The power station was officially declared open on 9 February 1970 by Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. The dam and power plant are named after the warrior Maharaja Rana Pratap of Rajasthan.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Rana Pratap Sagar Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Masonry Gravity
- Structural height
- 54 m (177 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 172 MW
- Impounded river
- Chambal
- Reservoir
- Rana Pratap Sagar
- Location
- Rajasthan, India
- Year completed
- 1970
- Height rank
- #81 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #77 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- 24.9286°, 75.5861°
Notable: Second stage of the Chambal Valley project; provides cooling water to Rajasthan Atomic Power Station.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Ranapratap Sagar Dam ranks #81 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #77, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
Nearest cities: Kota (38 km), Bhilwara (107 km), Tonk (137 km).
More about Ranapratap Sagar Dam
History
An integrated development planning was launched in 1953, envisaging development of the irrigation and hydropower potential (386 MW from the three power stations) as part of the Chambal River Valley Development. This planning was done during the First Five-Year Plan, 1951–1956 launched by the Government of India, after India attained independence in August 1947; the Chambal River with annual flow of 3,400,000 acre-feet (4.2 km3) had till then remained untapped from any major developmental works.)
Geography
The dam is located on the Chambal River near Rawatbhata in Rajasthan. The dam drains a total catchment area of 24,864 km2 (9,600 sq mi), of which only 956 km2 (369 sq mi) are in Rajasthan. The free catchment intercepted at this dam site, below Gandhi Sagar Dam, is 2,280 km2 (880 sq mi).
The Chambal River (known in ancient times as the Charmavati River), a perennial river, which is first tapped at the Gandhi Sagar dam as part of its cascade development, raises in the Vindhya Range of hills at an elevation of 853 metres (2,799 ft), south of Mhow (15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west-southwest of Mhow).
Description
The Rana Pratap Sagar Dam is a straight masonry gravity structure of 53.8 m (177 ft) height with a length of 1,143 m (3,750 ft). The reservoir stretch is -km and its surface area at the Full Reservoir Level is 198.29 km2 (76.56 sq mi). The dam has created a storage capacity (Gross Storage) of 2,898,000,000 cubic metres out of which the utilizable storage (Live Storage) is 1,566,520,000 cubic metres. The dam is designed to pass a designed flood discharge of 18,408.00 m3/s through a spillway structure which is provided with 17 crest gates of 18.3 mx8.53m size above the spillway crest for the purpose. In addition, sluice gates have also been provided in the body of the dam at lower levels to remove silt deposited in the dam.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Rana Pratap Sagar Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Jawahar Sagar Dam
Concrete Gravity dam · Rajasthan, India
Jawahar Sagar Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Chambal in Rajasthan, India, standing 45 m (148 ft) high and completed in 1972. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 99 MW. The structure impounds Jawahar Sagar.
The Jawahar Sagar Dam is the third dam in the series of Chambal Valley Projects on the Chambal River, located 29 km upstream of Kota city and 26 km downstream of Rana Pratap Sagar dam. It is a concrete gravity dam, 45 meters high and 393 meters long, generating 60 MW of power with an installed capacity of 3 units of 33 MW. Its construction was completed in 1972. The dam's gross storage capacity is 67.07 million cubic meters (2.37 tmcft). 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 dam is located after the Gandhi Sagar Dam and Rana Pratap Sagar Dam, but before the Kota Barrage.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Jawahar Sagar Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Concrete Gravity
- Structural height
- 45 m (148 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 99 MW
- Impounded river
- Chambal
- Reservoir
- Jawahar Sagar
- Location
- Rajasthan, India
- Year completed
- 1972
- Height rank
- #95 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #84 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- 25.0500°, 75.6722°
Notable: Third dam in the Chambal cascade, operating as a peaking power station.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Jawahar Sagar Dam ranks #95 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #84, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
Nearest cities: Kota (22 km), Bhilwara (110 km), Tonk (123 km).
More about Jawahar Sagar Dam
Construction History
The Chambal River Valley Development marked one of the landmark actions of the First Five-Year Plan launched by the Government of India in 1951, after India attained independence in August 1947. The Chambal River had not until then been used for any major developmental works, and was proposed to be developed under a joint initiative of the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The three-stage proposal, drawn up in 1953, called for three dams to provide hydroelectric power generation, and a downstream barrage to use stored waters released from the upstream dams for irrigation.
Geography
The Chambal River (known in ancient times as the Chamranyavati River) raises in the Vindhya Range at an elevation of 853 metres (2,799 ft), 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west-southwest of the town of Mhow, near Indore. It flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, runs for a time through Rajasthan, then forms the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before turning southeast to join the Yamuna River in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Its total length from its source to its confluence with the Yamuna River is 900 kilometres (560 mi).
The Chambal and its tributaries drain the Malwa region of northwestern Madhya Pradesh, while its tributary, the Banas, which rises in the Aravalli Range, drains southeastern Rajasthan.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Jawahar Sagar Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Chambal: Quick Answers
- Where is Chambal?
- Chambal is located in India, at 25.5294° N, 76.2705° E.
- Are there dams on the Chambal?
- Yes. YearMaps records 3 dams on the Chambal: Gandhi Sagar Dam, Ranapratap Sagar Dam, Jawahar Sagar Dam.
- What is the tallest dam on the Chambal?
- Gandhi Sagar Dam is the tallest dam recorded on the Chambal, at 62.17 m (204 ft), completed in 1960.
- Which dam on the Chambal generates the most electricity?
- Ranapratap Sagar Dam has the largest installed hydroelectric capacity on the Chambal: 172 MW. Installed capacity is the maximum rated output, not the annual average.