The Anangpur Dam is an Indian hydraulic engineering structure built during the reign of the King Anangpal I of the

Tomara dynasty The Tomara dynasty (also called Tomar in modern vernaculars because of schwa deletion) dynasty ruled parts of present-day Delhi and Haryana in India during 8th-12th century. Their rule over this region is attested to by multiple inscriptions ...

in the 8th century. It is located near the Anangpur village in

Faridabad district Faridabad district is one of the 22 districts of the Indian state of Haryana with Faridabad city being the district headquarters. The Delhi-Mathura-Agra National Highway 44 (Grand Trunk Road) passes through the centre of the district, which o ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

, India.

History

The king Anangpal Tomar I declared himself an independent ruler and established the Tomar Dynasty of Delhi in the early 8th century. He built his capital at the Anangpur village in Haryana and expanded his kingdom from there. He is said to have built numerous palaces and temples during his reign, majority of which are now completely diminished. Anangpal I is often misunderstood to be Anangpal II.

Structure

File:Stepped "downstream" side of dam.jpg, Downstream view of the dam File:Steps going into the dam1.jpg, Gallery entry into the dam File:Steps going into the dam.jpg, Steps into the gallery inside the dam File:Sluice_(Anagpur_Dam).jpg, Sluice inlet in the dam The ancient and solid

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation to oppose the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. ...

structure, a pre-Islamic structure that fords a local nala (stream) is in height and in length between the two banks. It has been built with

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

stones (locally available), duly chiselled and dressed, as a regular dam section with downstream base width increasing in steps with depth up to the foundation. It has entry manholes from the top of the dam, which lead into the body of the dam for inspection and control of flow through

sluices Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

for downstream uses. The intake entry into the sluice is on the upstream side. The downstream outlet end leads to the flat terrain below the dam at the ground level. The reservoir created by the dam is mostly silted over the centuries, but it is said to be in use.

Topography

A local nala (stream) originating in the

Aravalli hills The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana, Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad Gujarat. ...

was intercepted by building a dam at a chasm to store rain water. It is basically a water harvesting structure meant to store rain water during the monsoon season for beneficial uses of irrigation. It is an important

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

area within the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor stretching from

Sariska Tiger Reserve Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. It stretches over an area of comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills. This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwa ...

to Delhi. Historical place around sanctuary are

Badkhal Lake Badkhal Lake was a natural lake situated in Badkhal village near Faridabad, in the Indian state of Haryana, about 32 kilometers from the national capital of Delhi. Fringed by the hills of the Aravalli Range, this was a man-made embankment. Owin ...

(6km northeast), 10th century ancient

Surajkund Surajkund is an ancient reservoir of the 10th century located on Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli range in Faridabad city of Haryana state about 8 km (5mi) from South Delhi. Surajkund (literally 'Lake of the Sun') is an artificial Kund (' ...

reservoir,

Damdama Lake Damda reservoir in Sohna, near Gurugram city in Gurugram district in the Indian state of Haryana.Rajiv Tiwari"Delhi A Travel Guide" . Damdama Lake is a small lake in Haryana and was formed when a stone and earthen dam constructed by the British ...

Tughlaqabad Fort Tughluqabad Fort is a ruined fort in Delhi, built by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, of the Delhi Sultanate of India in 1321, as he established the third historic city of Delhi, which was later abandoned in 1327. It l ...

and Adilabad ruins (both in Delhi), Chhatarpur Temple (in Delhi).ASOLA BHATTI WILD LIFE SANCTUARY
, Department of Forest, Delhi Government It is contiguous to the seasonal waterfalls in Pali-Dhauj-Kot villages of Faridabad, the scared Mangar Bani and the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.पाली गांव की पहाड़ियों पर डैम बनाकर रोका जाएगा झरनों का पानी
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Access

It is approachable by road from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

from the Delhi -

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

road. Anangpur, which is from the dam, is from Delhi city and is approachable from

Qutub Minar The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO Worl ...

and

. But the access to the dam is through a path from the Anangpur village, which goes through flat pastureland and then over a rocky forested hill. Sarai metro station is nearest.

References

{{Hydrography of Haryana Dams in Haryana 8th century in India History of Haryana Indian architectural history

History

Structure

Topography

Access

See also

References