Longest dam in India

Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur in the state of Orissa in India. Built in 1957, the dam is one of the world's longest earthen dam.Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud Reservoir, 55 km long. Hirakud Dam is the longest man-made dam in the world, about 16 mi (26 km) in length. 

It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley project started after India's independence. The name of the dam is mostly mis-pronounced in North India as Hirakund which is actually Hirakud.

Before the devastating floods of 1937, Sir M. Visveswararya proposed a detailed investigation for storage reservoirs in the Mahanadi basin to tackle the problem of floods in the Mahanadi delta. In 1945, under the chairmanship of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the then Member of Labour, it was decided to invest in the potential benefits of   controlling the Mahanadi for multi-purpose use.

 

The total cost of the project was Rs. 100.02 crores in 1957.