Answer: Option D
Answer: (d)
Damodar River Valley Project: This was the first multipurpose project constructed after independence. It was a joint venture of former Bihar and the Paschim Banga States. River Damodar rises in the Chhotanagpur plateau of Jharkhand. But, its floods caused a lot of destruction in Paschim Banga. It was called the ‘Sorrow of Bengal’. The objectives of this project were to control floods, provide navigation, hydroelectricity, fish culture, recreational facilities afforestation and prevention of soil erosion. It has a 2495 km length of canals and 4.5 lakh hectares of land under irrigation. Dams are constructed across river Damodar and its tributaries at Tilaya, Konar, Maithon and Panchet hill.
Thermal power stations are constructed at Bokaro, Chandrapur and Durgapur, Jharkhand and Paschim Banga benefit from this project. Bhakra-Nangal Project: It is the highest multi-purpose river valley project in India. It is a joint venture of Punjab. Haryana and Rajasthan.
Dams are constructed across the river Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh at Bhakra and Nangal. Bhakra Dam is 226 m high and is the highest dam in Asia. The canals of this project are 3402 km long and provide irrigation to 14.6 lakh hectares of land. Delhi and Himachal Pradesh also get irrigation water and hydroelectric power. The reservoir, which is created is called ‘Govind Sagar’.
The Hirakund Project: Flood control, irrigation and production of hydroelectric are the main purposes of this project. This project is constructed across the river Mahanadi at a distance of 10 km from Sambalpur in Odisha. River Mahanadi was called the Sorrow of Odisha.
The Hirakud Project has the longest dam in India with a length of 4801 m. It irrigates almost 2.54 lakh hectares of land. The States of Odisha, Bihar and Chhattisgarh are provided with irrigation and hydroelectricity.