The Maithon Dam is located at Maithon, 48 km from Dhanbad, in the state of Jharkhand. It is 15,712 ft (4,789 m) long and 165 ft (50 m). high.
This dam was specially designed for flood control and generates 60,000 kW of electric power. There is an underground power station, the first of its kind in the whole of South East Asia. The dam is constructed on the Barakar River. The lake is spread over 65 square kilometres (25 sq mi).
History of Maithon Dam
In 1942, during the course of World War II, a flood occurred in the Damodar valley region that cut Calcutta off from the rest of the country for a period of 10 weeks. Soon the government sprang into action & called Mr. W.L.Voord, a civil engineer of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He designed the plan of the dams by 1945. Finally the first dam of independent India came up on July 7, 1953 at Tilaiya. Soon Konar, Maithon & Panchet Dam followed in its footsteps in 1955, 1957 and 1959 respectively.
Operation
Damodar river is a seasonal river, basically 82% of which is filled up by rainfall in July–September. 1 June to 31 October is the filling period during which rainwater is stored and the stored rainwater is used for irrigation by the downstream areas of Burdwan, hydroelectric power generation and scores of other activities……
Maithon Hydel Power Station
Maithon Hydel Power Station (MHPS) is located on the river Barakar about 12.9 km above its confluence with the Damodar near the border of Dhanbad & Burdwan districts of the states of Jharkhand & West Bengal respectively. The unique feature of this is that it is located underground in the left bank of the river and is the first of its kind in India. The power station has a total generating capacity of 60 MW with 3 units of 20 MW each. MHPS is located at almost 100.