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Introduction:
Famous Dams in Pakistan hold significant importance when it comes to the agriculture and energy demands of a country. Every country responds to its water demand by constructing bigger or smaller dams.
Being an agricultural country, the economy of Pakistan is fundamentally dependent on agriculture. To boost its agriculture through an adequate water supply, Pakistan has constructed more than 150 dams.
These dams are helpful in agriculture, controlling floods, storing water, generating electricity, and benefiting the local population. Apart from being water reservoirs, these dams also serve to be tourists destinations due to their scenic views and landscapes. People use the destination for swimming, boating activities, and fishing.
Below is the list of some of the famous dams in Pakistan.
Tarbela Dam:
The construction of this dam has been initiated in 1968, and after eight years, the project has been completed in the year 1976. Tarbela dam is regarded as the largest dam in Pakistan and holds the title of the largest earth-filled dam in the World. It is also considered the most famous dam in Pakistan.
This dam is constructed on the Indus River, with a height of 143.26 meters and a length of 2,743.2 meters. The basic purpose of constructing this dam is to generate electricity and to meet the demands of irrigation. This dam is the biggest source of hydropower electricity in Pakistan.
Location of Tarbela Dam:
The location of Tarbela Dam mainly falls mainly in Swabi and some of it comes under the Haripur district of the province. The dam is almost 30 km away from the city of Swabi, 105 km northwest of Islamabad, and 125 km east of Peshawar. You can reach the dam at a drive of 2 hours from Islamabad.
The capacity of Tarbela Dam:
Tarbela Dam has an overall water capacity of 13.69 cubic km. It can generate 4888 Megawatts of electricity. The dam contributes 70% to the total power generation in the country.
Mangla Dam:
Among Famous Dams in Pakistan the Mangla Dam is the second-largest dam in Pakistan and the sixth-largest dam in the world, Mangla Dam is a part of the international agreement, known as the Indus Waters Basement Treaty.
The construction of this dam has been initiated in 1961, and the project has been completed in the year 1967. The dam is one of the most visited places in Pakistan by tourists and locals and is listed among the famous dams in Pakistan.
This dam is constructed on the Jhelum River, with a height of 147 meters and a length of 3140 meters. The dam has been initially built to store water, however, owing to the growing demand for electricity, the dam is also used for power generation. The Dam also serves the purpose of swimming, fishing, boating, rafting, and jet skiing.
Location of Mangla Dam:
Mangla Dam is located in the Mirpur District of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. It is the sixth-largest dam in the world. The dam is named after the village Mangla that is situated nearby. You can reach the dam at a drive of 2 hours from Islamabad and 4 hours from Lahore.
The capacity of Mangla Dam:
Mangla Dam has an overall water capacity of 7.39 million acre-feet (M.A.F) and can generate 1,150 megawatts of electricity.
Hub Dam:
The construction of Hub Dam has been initiated in 1963 and, after almost 20 years, completed in 1981. Since then, the dam is open to the public and is considered one of the famous dams in Pakistan.
People come here to enjoy fishing, boating, and camping. In 1974, the government of Sindh has declared the dam as a wildlife sanctuary. The locals quite often see a lot of ducks, pelicans, waders, cranes, and other seasonal birds in the area.
Hub Dam is regarded as the third-largest dam of Pakistan that spans over an area of 23400 acres. It is constructed at the cost of ₨ 1191.806 million. The dam is built on the Hub River for the purpose of supplying clean drinking water to the locals of Karachi. The dam also provides irrigation water to the nearby farmlands.
Location of Hub Dam:
Hub Dam is situated 56 km from the city of Karachi, between the border of Sindh and Balochistan.
The capacity of Hub Dam:
Hub Dam has an overall storage capacity of 857000 acre-ft (0.847742 km3).
Rawal Dam:
Rawal Dam has been constructed in 1962 to supply water to the twin cities, i.e., Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It is considered to be one of the best places to visit in Islamabad and comes on the list of famous dams in Pakistan. Rawal Dam features stunning scenery of the Margalla Hills that surround the dam.
Rawal Dam has resulted in the creation of Rawal Lake that is a famous tourist destination in the capital. You can enjoy an awe-inspiring sight of the dam, Margalla Hills, and twin cities from the highest point of the lake.
This dam is constructed on the Korang River, with a height of 40.7 m (133.5 ft) The dam is built to store water, and supply it to the twin cities.
Location of Rawal Dam:
Rawal Dam is located in Village Malpur, Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad.
The capacity of Rawal Dam:
The water storing capacity of Rawal Dam is 47,508 acre-ft.
Mirani Dam:
Mirani Dam is among the famous dams in Pakistan. The work on Mirani Dam Project has been initiated in 2002 and completed in July 2006. Out of the 29 dams in Balochistan, Mirani Dam is the largest and most famous dam. The dam gets its water supply from the Kech River and the Nihing River.
The purpose of constructing the Mirani Dam is to supply water to Gawadar and Turbat City. It also stores water during floods and in the summer season. The dam is 127 ft in height and 3,080 ft in length. Mirani Dam also serves as one of the famous tourists’ spots in the province.
Following are the features of Mirani Dam:
- Gross Storage: 302,000 acre-ft (373,000,000 m3).
- Live Storage: 52,000 acre-ft (64,000,000 m3).
- Average Annual Releases: 114,000 acre-ft (141,000,000 m3).
- Type: Concrete-faced rock-filled
- Height: 127 ft. (39 m)
- Length at Crest: 3,350 ft. (1,020 m)
- Top Width: 35 ft. (11 m)
- Clear Waterway: 344 ft. (105 m)
- Designed Capacity: 205,800 cu ft./s (5,830 m3/s)
- Maximum Capacity: 384,300 cu ft./s (10,880 m3/s)
- Tunnel Diameter: 8 ft. (2.4 m)
- Capacity: 377 cu ft./s (10.7 m3/s)
- Irrigation System Command Area & Capacity:
- Right Bank Canal: 20,800 acres (84 km2) & 36 cu ft./s (1.0 m3/s)
- Left Bank Canal: 12,400 acres (50 km2) & 141 cu ft./s (4.0 m3/s)
- Total: 33,200 acres (134 km2) & 377 cu ft./s (10.7 m3/s)
Location of Mirani Dam:
Mirani Dam is located in Dasht River in the south of Central Makran Range in the Kech District of Balochistan.
The capacity of Mirani Dam:
The dam has the capacity to store 302,000 acre-feet of water.
Diamer Bhasha Dam:
Diamer Bhasha is among the latest and famous dams in Pakistan and is in the initial stages of development. the project has been put forward in the tenure of Gen. Pervez Musharraf. As per the sources, the project of Diamer Bhasha Dam is expected to complete in the year 2028. Once the project is complete, the dam will become the largest roller-compacted concrete dam in the world.
The word ‘Bhasha’ is named after a place Bhasha at Diamer district in Gilgit. The Dam is built on the River Indus. The total expenditure on the dam has been initially expected to be 12 billion dollars, however, the experts now suggest that it can exceed up to 20 billion dollars. Diamer Bhasha is expected to bring an economic surge in Pakistan and increase the lifespan of the Tarbela Dam by 35 years.
Location of Diamer Bhasha Dam:
Diamer Bhasha Dam is located in Gilgit Baltistan between Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer district in Gilgit Baltistan.
The capacity of Diamer Bhasha Dam:
The overall water storing capacity of Diamer Bhasha Dam is 8,107,132 acre-ft. The Dam is capable of producing hydroelectricity of 4500 MW through its 12 turbines.
Warsak Dam:
Warsak Dam is another famous and concrete dam of Pakistan located in Peshawar. The dam is the result of joint efforts and cooperation between Pakistan and Canada. The construction of the dam has been initiated under the Colombo Plan by the Canadian government in the year 1949 and completed in 1960. The dam is built to meet the exceeding water demand of the country.
Warsak Dam has a total height of 76.2 m (250 ft) and length is about 140.2 m (460 ft). It is built on the Kabul River of Peshawar. The dam is frequently visited by the local population for boating, skiing, and fishing and is regarded as a worth-visiting place in Peshawar.
Location of Warsak Dam:
Warsak Dam is located in the valley of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is situated 20 kilometers northwest of Peshawar.
The capacity of Warsak Dam:
Initially, the total installed capacity of Warsak Dam has been 243 MW. Owing to the growing demand of the population, WAPDA, in 2012, further added 375 MW and increased the capacity to 525 megawatts. Warsak Dam can store 25300 acre-feet of water.
Khanpur Dam:
Khanpur Dam is another tourist destination in Pakistan that is famous for its landscape and blue-green shore. The Dam has been installed on the Haro River in 1983 to control the flow of water in the river. Construction of the dam has taken 15 years to complete. The dam has resulted in the formation of Khanpur Lake that supplies clean water to the twin cities.
Khanpur dam is built to store water during the rainy season and supply drinking and irrigation water to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, and Haripur. The total construction of Khanpur Dam is Rs. 1,385.10 million. The dam has a total height of 51 m (167 ft).
Khanpur dam is quite famous among the locals and tourists. It is most visited in the summer season. the place attracts tourists for cliff jumping, jet ski, kayaking, and camping. Moreover, there is a beautiful water resort where people can stay with their loved ones and enjoy the stunning views of the dam.
Location of Khanpur Dam:
Khanpur Dam is situated in Tehsil Khanpur, District Haripur of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is at a distance of 50 kilometres from Islamabad.
The capacity of Khanpur Dam:
As per the information by WAPDA, Khanpur Dam has a total water storage capacity of 79,980 acre-feet.
Namal Dam:
Constructed in 1913 by the British Government, Namal Dam is considered to be one of the best picnic spots in Punjab. The dam features spectacular views of the mountains on its western and southern sides. The north and east of the dam mainly contain the agricultural areas of the city.
The dam has resulted in the formation of Namal Lake that is frequently visited by tourists for fishing, boating, hiking, and bird-watching activities. Namal Dam features a surface area of 5.5 km². Namal Dam has been built to supply irrigation water to the surrounding farmlands. For a century, the dam has supplied tons of water to the farmlands for irrigation.
Location of Namal Dam:
Namal Dam is located near a village Rikhi that is situated in Namal Valley. The dam is 32 kilometres distant from Mianwali.
Conclusion:
Famous Dams in Pakistan are many but others include a total of 150 dams that are significantly important for improving its agriculture and economy. These dams are a huge source of power generation. Also, they supply water for storing, drinking, irrigation, and domestic usage.
The dams discussed in this article are among the top tourist destinations and famous dams of Pakistan. People visit these dams to enjoy the beautiful scenery and do fishing, boating, and skiing.
