Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 September 2017 inaugurated the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat on his 67th birthday. The foundation stone was laid by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru nearly six decades ago, on April 5, 1961. But, the construction began only in 1987.
Here are 10 facts on the Sardar Sarvovar Dam:
- The Sardar Sarovar project is the biggest dam in terms of volume of concrete used in it. The project, on the Narmada river, is the third highest concrete dam in India.
- The 1.2-km-long dam, which is 163 metres deep has till date produced 4,141 crore units of electricity from its two power houses — river bed powerhouse and canal head powerhouse — with an installed capacity of 1,200 MW and 250 MW, respectively.
- The dam has earned over Rs. 16,000 crore — more than double the cost of its construction, said a government spokesperson. Each gate of the dam weighs over 450 tonnes and it takes one hour to close them.
