Tarbela Dam I Architectural Wonder of Pakistan I Largest Earth-filled Dam in the World I River Indus

#tarbeladam #tarbela #tarbelalake
Tarbela Dam I Architectural Wonder of Pakistan I Largest Earth-filled Dam in the World I River Indus

Special Thanks: Amjad Zaman Khan, Ex Director Legal, WAPDA (Khalabat Township)
Muhammad Ali (Please subscribe his channel ‪@Explorewithalibhai‬)
Music: Binu kumar, Kerala, India
‪@SoundSFX‬ (Under License)

Tarbela Dam (تربیلا بند) is an earth-filled dam along the Indus River in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is mainly located in Haripur Tehsil. It is about 20 km (10 mi) from the city of Swabi KPK, 105 km (65 mi) northwest of Islamabad, and 125 km (80 mi) east of Peshawar. It is the largest earth-filled dam in the world. The dam is 143 meters (470 ft) high above the riverbed and its reservoir, Tarbela Lake, has a surface area of approximately 250 square kilometers (97 sq mi).

The Tarbela Dam is located on the Indus River near the village of Tarbela in Bara, approximately 30 kilometers from the town of Attock. Positioned where the Indus River emerges from the foothills of the Himalayas and enters the Pothohar Plateau, the dam features a reservoir for water storage. The average annual flow available is 101 billion cubic meters (3221 m3/sec). It stands 143 meters tall and covers an area of 243 square kilometers. It has a storage capacity of 11.9 billion cubic meters of water and has nine gates to control the outflow of water. The dam was completed in 1976 and was designed to utilize water from the Indus River for irrigation, flood control, and the generation of hydroelectric power[6] by storing flows during the monsoon period while subsequently releasing stored water during the low flow period in winter. The installed capacity of the 4,888 MW Tarbela hydroelectric power stations will increase to 6,418 MW after completion of the planned fifth extension financed by Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the World Bank. Then, it will be the 12th largest hydroelectric dam in the world, for electricity production capacity.

Tarbela Dam was constructed as part of the Indus Basin Project after signing of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan. The purpose was to compensate for the loss of water supplies of the eastern rivers (Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) that were designated for exclusive use by India per terms of the treaty. By the mid-1970s, power generation capacity was added in three subsequent hydro-electrical project extensions which were completed in 1992, installing a total of 3,478 MW generating capacity.

Construction of Tarbela Dam was carried out in three stages to meet the diversion requirements of the river. Construction was undertaken by the Italian firm Salini Impregilo.

In the first stage, the Indus River was allowed to flow in its natural channel, while construction works commenced on the right bank where a 1,500 feet (460 meters) long and 694.8 feet (211.8 meters) wide diversion channel was being excavated along with a 105 feet (32 meters) high buttress dam that was also being constructed. Stage 1 construction lasted approximately 2½ years.

The main embankment dam and the upstream blanket were constructed across the main valley of the river Indus as part of the second stage of construction. During this time, water from the Indus river remained diverted through the diversion channel. By the end of construction works in stage 2, tunnels had been built for diversion purposes. Stage 2 construction took 3 years to complete.

Under the third stage of construction, works were carried out on the closure of the diversion channel and construction of the dam in that portion while the river was made to flow through diversion tunnels. The remaining portion of upstream blanket and the main dam at higher levels was also completed as part of stage 3 works, which were concluded in 1976.

Because the source of the Indus River is glacial meltwater from the Himalayas, the river carries huge amounts of sediment, with an annual suspended sediment load of 200 million tons. Live storage capacity of Tarbela reservoir had declined more than 33.5 per cent to 6.434 million acre feet (MAF) against its original capacity of 9.679 MAF because of sedimentation over the past 38 years. The useful life of the dam and reservoir was estimated to be approximately 50 years. However, sedimentation has been much lower than predicted, and it is now estimated that the useful lifespan of the dam will be 85 years, to about 2060.

Pakistan plans to construct several large dams upstream of Tarbela, including the Diamer-Bhasha Dam. Upon completion of the Diamer-Bhasha dam, sediment loads into Tarbela will be decreased by 69%.

Follow us on:
Facebook:
  / gilanilogs1  
Twitter:
  / gilanilogs  
Instagram:
  / zulfiqargil.  .
WhatsApp:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaBl...