The Kaushalya Dam (Hindi: कौशल्या बांध) is an earth-fill

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

on the

Kaushalya river The Kaushalya river, a tributary of Ghaggar river, is a river in Panchkula district of Haryana state of India. Origin and route The Kaushalya river rises in the Shivalik hills on the border of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh State, and flows throu ...

, which is a tributary of

Ghaggar-Hakra River The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage, ending ...

Kaushaly river location
/ref> ( modern remnant of ancient

Sarasvati river The Sarasvati River () is a deified river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Vedic religion, appearing in all but the fourth book of the Rigveda. As a physical river, i ...

), in

Pinjore Pinjore is a town in Panchkula district in the Indian state of Haryana. This residential 'township', located close to Panchkula, Chandigarh, is set over 1,800 feet above the sea level in a valley, overlooking the Sivalik Hills. Pinjore is known ...

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 ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was constructed between 2008 and 2012 with the primary purpose of

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

Location

Kaushalya barrage and resulting upstream dam on Kaushalya river are located 21 km from

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

,Directions from Kaushalya dam to Chandigarh
/ref> 12 km from

Panchkula Panchkula (PKL) is a planned city and district headquarter in the Panchkula district, part of the Ambala division in Haryana, India. The origin of the name Panchkula came from the place where five irrigation canals meet. Panchkula established ...

city and

Khol Hi-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary Khol Hi-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Panchkula district of Haryana State, India. It is away from Panchkula on the Morni Road and its aerial distance from the Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary is only . History Forests Department, Ha ...

near Panchkula,Directions from Kaushalya dam to Panchkula
/ref> 5 km from

city, Directions from Kaushalya dam to Pinjore/ref> and 13 km from

Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Panchkula district of Haryana state, India. It is spread over an area of . It also houses Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre, Pinjore. Location It is away from Pinjore on Pinjor-Mallah Road. ...

near Pinjore.

History

The first plan, which never materialised, for a dam on

Ghaggar river The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage, ending ...

was first proposed by the

British raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

in the mid 19th century to provide drinking water to

Ambala Cantonment Ambala Cantonment is a cantonment town in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India. It is 200 km north of Delhi and 55 km southwest of Chandigarh. This cantonment was established in the year 1843 and is an important centre for ma ...

. The proposal was revisited only in the 1960s to construct a dam on

at Gumthala near Chandimandir to provide water to

and control floods in

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...

, this plan was abandoned in 1999 as it would have submerged over of land resulting in relocation of a large number of people. In 2005, the revised plan to build series of smaller dams on the tributaries of

was approved by the

Government of Haryana The Government of Haryana, also known as the State Government of Haryana, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Haryana and its 22 districts. It consists of an executive, ceremonially led ...

and the construction of the Kaushalya dam commenced in 2008 which was completed in 2012.

Construction and cost

Kaushalya dam, built by the

, is a long and high earth-filled dam.Hillsofmorni.com - Kaushalya dam
/ref> The project was approved in December 2005 by the

Government at the cost of Rs 51.37 crore .

Wildlife

It is an important wetland that is home of many endangered migratory birds.

Gallery

Kaushalya dam, near Pinjor, Haryana, India.JPG, Kaushalya dam File:Kaushalya Dam.jpg, View of Kaushalya dam, from Kasauli

References