Kol Dam Lake " A beautiful Man-made lake result of Kol Dam on river Satluj in districts Bilaspur and Mandi, Himachal Pradesh."

 When ever we think of world's highest gravity dam "Bhakra Dam ",the memories get afresh, Pt. Jawhar Lal Nehru our beloved first hon'ble Prime Minister had delivered a speech describing the Bhakra dam as " New temple of Resurgent India. " The speech of this great man , visionary and architect of modern India has very deep meaning. Today if we have an insight on the development and prosperity of modern India, it is only the result of these new temples of modern India. 

In the chain of these new temples of modern India, Kol Dam is one another gem constructed on river Satluj in districts Bilaspur and Mandi just upstream of Dehar Power House  about  18 Km from Bilaspur and 25 Km from Sundernagar in Himachal Pradesh. 

                               View of Kol Dam

The foundation stone of this project was laid on 5 th of June 2000 by the then hon'ble Prime Minister of India Shari Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Kol dam is an earthen dam is accessible on Chandigarh - Manali National Highway 21,the road bifurcates from Dehar about 18 km from Bilaspur and is situated just at a distance of 5 Km from Dehar. 

                          View of Kol Dam Lake

Though the foundation stone was laid in June 2000 but the land acquisition and forest clearance took time and the actual work was started on January 14 th 2004 and was completed and commissioned in 2015.The main purpose of the the project is hydro-electric power generation. This project is generating 800 MW from four generating units of 200 MW each. 

                         View of Kol dam lake

The project is the miracle of National Thermal Power Corp. Ltd. Engineers who have achieved this mile stone in spite of various difficulties. The society salutes to whole engineering community in India and in the world who is associated in the service of mankind. 

The salient features of the project :- 

1. Earthen dam height including foundation -167 mt. 

2. Ht. above Ground - 153 metres. 

3. Elevation of crest :- 648 metres from M. S. L. 

4. Normal Elevation of Lake :- 542 mt. from M. S. L. 

5. Length at Top of dam :- 474 metres. 

6. Width at Top of dam :- 14 metres. 

7. Dam volume :- 120,00000 cubic metres. 

8. Spillway capacity :- 16500 cubic metres per sec. 

9. Length of Lake :- 40 Km. 

10. Lake capacity :- 576000,000 cubic metres. 

11.Hydraulic Head :- 131.2 metres. 

12. Annual power generation is 3055 million unit. 

The Lake and dam is a very beautiful tourist spot for every one and a good source of technology to students of engineering. To visit this project permission is to be sought from NTPC Ltd authority. One must visit this lake and enjoy the nature here. 

The project is a venture of agreement between NTPC Ltd, HP State Electricity Board and Government of Himachal Pradesh. 

We thank all the National thermal power corporation Engineers, other workers who have their contribution to build this new temple of modern India. 

                   Always associate with nature

                                         

                                          By :- Er. R C Verma.