Tilaiya Dam

Tilaiya Dam

Tilaiya Dam was the first of the four multi-purpose dams included in the first phase of the Damodar Valley Corporation. It was constructed across the Barakar River, at Tilaiya in Koderma district in the Indian state of Jharkhand and opened in 1953

The Tilaya Dam is located in the upper reaches of Barakar River, about 64.4 kilometres (40.0 mi) downstream of its source. The river at this site passes through a narrow gorge approximately 91.4 metres (300 ft) wide with banks steeply rising about 45.7 metres (150 ft) on either side. The dam has a catchment area of 984 square kilometres (380 sq mi) comprising mainly forests, pastures, cultivated lands and waste lands. The annual rainfall in the area is 127 centimetres (50 in).

The Tilaiya Dam is a concrete gravity dam with a maximum height of 30.2 metres (99 ft) above the river bed. The spillway has 14 tainter type crest gates of 3.05 m x 9.1 m, with a maximum discharge capacity of 3852 m³/s. Two modified butterfly type under sluice gates 1m high and 1.7 m wide with a discharge capacity of 14.2 m³/s are provided in the body of the dam mainly to supply irrigation water during the dry season.

Tilaiya Dam was inaugurated on 21 February 1953. It has a power generation capacity of 2 x 2 MW.

The main (Patna-Ranchi) road from Barhi on Grand Trunk Road passing through hills overlooking the reservoir is picturesque.