Kota Barrage 4 gates were opened yesterday night along with gates of other Chambal river dams. Due to the weather circulation system, Gunjali, a tributary of Chambal, overflowed after heavy rains in the catchment area of ​​Rana Pratap Sagar Dam. Because of the water inflow, water flow was started on Sunday by opening one Rana Pratap Sagar Dam gate. Due to this, two gates of Jawahar Sagar and four gates of Kota Barrage were also opened.
This time, for the first time in October, the gates of Chambal dams have been opened. However, the Kota Barrage dam gates were previously opened in the year 2022 in October month. Before this, people living in the downstream area were alerted by sounding sirens.
Kota- Rawatbhata Rana Pratap Sagar Dam’s superintending engineer Ejazuddin Ansari said that the gates of the Chambal River dams have always been opened in August and September. So far for the first time after three decades, the Chambal River dams gates have been opened in October.
46164 cusecs of water drained from Kota Barrage
By opening gate number 11 of Rana Pratap Sagar dam at 12:26 PM on Sunday, 34,330 cusecs of water were released. Additionally, 8,868 cusecs of water were released per second by generating electricity. 43,198 cusecs of water are flowing into the Rana Pratap Sagar dam. Moreover, 34,248 cusecs of water are being drained out by opening two gates of Jawahar Sagar Dam. 46,406 cusecs of water are arriving at Jawahar Sagar Dam. Furthermore,12258 cusecs of water are being released by generating electricity. The water level of Gandhi Sagar Dam was recorded at 1311.60 feet against its full filling capacity of 1312 feet. The inflow of 3919 cusecs of water is still there. Electricity generation here continues to drain out 2811 cusecs of water. Additionally, 46,164 cusecs of water are being drained by opening four gates of Kota Barrage.
Chambal River Dam
The Chambal River, a major tributary of the Yamuna River in India, has several dams and reservoirs constructed along its course for irrigation, hydroelectric power generation, and flood control. The most prominent dams on the Chambal River are part of the Chambal Valley Development Project, which was undertaken by the Indian states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. These include:
1. Gandhisagar Dam
- Location: Madhya Pradesh (near Mandsaur)
- Purpose: This is the first dam built on the Chambal River, primarily for hydroelectric power generation and irrigation.
- Reservoir: Gandhisagar Lake
- Height: 62.17 meters
- Capacity: Around 7.32 billion cubic meters.
2. Rana Pratap Sagar Dam
- Location: Rajasthan (near Rawatbhata)
- Purpose: This dam generates hydroelectricity and provides irrigation facilities.
- Reservoir: Rana Pratap Sagar Lake
- Height: 54 meters
- Capacity: About 2.9 billion cubic meters. Moreover, it is the biggest dam in the Rajasthan.
3. Jawahar Sagar Dam
- Location: Rajasthan (near Kota)
- Purpose: Hydroelectric power generation and irrigation.
- Height: 45 meters
- Capacity: 0.67 billion cubic meters.
4. Kota Barrage
- Location: Kota, Rajasthan
- Purpose: The Kota Barrage primarily facilitates irrigation by diverting water to canals but does not have a hydroelectric component like the other dams upstream. Instead of the hydroelectric project, a Super Thermal Power Plant is running on the bank of the Chambal River near the Kota Barrage.
- Height: 27.8 meters
- Capacity: N/A for electricity still a large amount of water is used in the thermal power plant. Kota Barrage mainly controls water flow for irrigation.
These Chambal River dams have created a chain of reservoirs along the Chambal River. Moreover, they are providing substantial benefits in terms of water resources management for agriculture and power generation. However, they have also affected the river’s ecosystem, especially impacting the habitats of species like the Gharial (a type of crocodile) and freshwater dolphins.
