Masani barrage, also Masani bridge, a barrage on the seasonal

Sahibi River The Sahibi river, also called the Sabi River, is an ephemeral, rain-fed river flowing through Rajasthan, Haryana (where its canalised portion is called the "Outfall Drain No 8") and Delhi states in India. It drains into Yamuna in Delhi, where it ...

completed in 1989, is named after the Masani village in

Rewari District Rewari district is one of the 22 districts in the state of Haryana, India. It was carved out of Gurgaon district by the Government of Haryana on 1November 1989. It is also part of the National Capital Region. The administrative headquarter of t ...

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 a ...

in India. Masani barrage also serves as a bridge on NH 919. Water storage in the barrage was made

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

in 2017 after a gap of 50 years.Track record
/ref> This barrage is important part of ecological corridor along the route of Sahibi river which traverses from Aravalli hills in Rajasthan to

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

via Matanhail forest, Chhuchhakwas-Godhari,

Khaparwas Wildlife Sanctuary Khaparwas Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary in Jhajjar district, about west of Delhi). The reserve covers 82.70 hectares. This is an important part of ecological corridor along the route of Sahibi River which traverses from Aravalli hills in ...

Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary Ramsar site is located in Jhajjar district, which is about 15 km from Jhajjar in Haryana. On 3 June 2009, it is also declared as bird sanctuary by the Indian Government. This is an important part of ecologi ...

, Outfall Drain Number 8 and 6, Sarbashirpur,

Sultanpur National Park Sultanpur National Park (Ramsar site )(formerly Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary) is located at Sultanpur village on Gurugram-Jhajjar highway, 15 km from Gurugram, Haryana and 50 km from Delhi in India. This covers approximately 142.52 hec ...

, Basai and The Lost Lake (Gurugram).

Location and transport

Masani barrage is also used as the bridge on National highway NH 919 (former name NH 71B) which merges with national highway NH 48 (former name NH 8) (Delhi-Jaipur-Mumbai) at this barrage. Union govt announced the plan to four-lane the Masani barrage road (c. Aug 2017)."Toll plaza on NH 8 to be shifted, says Nitin Gadkari."

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

, 14 August 2017.

Background

Etymology

. Masani barrage is named after the Masani village in

in India. Masani village itself is named after the Masani Devi, which itself is an

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

(manifestation) of Hindu deity

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...

Devi - a universal divine creative feminine power.

History

Barrage was built in 1989.Ropeway for tourist pull at barrage site

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...

, 17 Mar 2017. on the seasonal Sahibi river which is 120 km long and flows from Aravalli hills in Rajasthan to South Haryana and

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 ...

.Haryana rivers profile
/ref> After Sahibi river caused floods in 1977, then Prime Minister

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...

mandated a

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

and water utilization master plan for the Sahibi river basin, consequently under which construction on Masani barrage commenced in February 1979 and completed in 1989.

Barrage

Technical details

It lies in the Indian seismic zone IV.Masani barage
/ref> It has 18 gates/bays to release water. 18 km barrage wall built at the cost of INR 50 crore has to resorvior to hold water.

Irrigation and flood control

Barrage was built to provide irrigation facilities to 50,000 acres in Haryana, and flood protection to 1.60 lakh acres in Haryana and 40,000 acres in Delhi.

Wildlife

Fauna

Masani barrage wetland is spread over Dungerwas, Kharkhara and Nikhri villages. Over 20,000 migratory birds of 50 species from

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

and other parts of the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

are found at the barrage during the winter. Their number is rising since there is favourable habitat and easy availability of food. Bird species found here are

wagtails Wagtails are a group of passerine birds that form the genus ''Motacilla'' in the family Motacillidae. The forest wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus ''Dendronanthus'' which is closely related to ''Motacilla'' and sometimes included therein. ...

common teal The Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca''), common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being th ...

, pintail,

northern shoveller The northern shoveler (; ''Spatula clypeata''), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern Eu ...

garganey The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Banglades ...

eurasian coot The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...

, redshank,

common sandpiper The common sandpiper (''Actitis hypoleucos'') is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper (''A. macularia''), make up the genus ''Actitis''. They are parapatric and replace each other geographic ...

, ruff,

wood sandpiper The wood sandpiper (''Tringa glareola'') is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the gree ...

marsh sandpiper The marsh sandpiper (''Tringa stagnatilis'') is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to the Russian Far East. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name give ...

stint A stint is one of several very small waders in the paraphyletic ''"Calidris"'' assemblage – often separated in ''Erolia'' – which in North America are known as peeps. They are scolopacid waders much similar in ecomorphology to the ...

kentish plover The Kentish plover (''Charadrius alexandrinus'') is a small cosmopolitan shorebird (40-44 g) of the family Charadriidae that breeds on the shores of saline lakes, lagoons, and coasts, populating sand dunes, marshes, semi-arid desert, and tundra.S ...

greater sand plover The greater sand plover (''Charadrius leschenaultii'') is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as "greater sandplover" or "greater sand-plover", but the official British Ornithologists' Union spelling is "Gre ...

little ringed plover The little ringed plover (''Charadrius dubius'') is a small plover. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in river ...

white-tailed lapwing The white-tailed lapwing or white-tailed plover (''Vanellus leucurus'') is a wader in the lapwing genus. The genus name ''Vanellus'' is Medieval Latin for a lapwing and derives from ''vannus'' a winnowing fan. The specific ''leucurus'' is from An ...

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

common pochard The common pochard (; ''Aythya ferina'') is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ''ferina'', "wild game", ...

, ferruginous pochard,

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...

s and

pied avocet The pied avocet (''Recurvirostra avosetta'') is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then on to the Russian Far East. It is a ...

. The pacific golden plover, rare a rare bird species from Western Alaska, has also been spotted.inged guests flock to Rewari’s Masani barrage
The Tribune, Nov 13, 2020 Over 4,000 migratory birds have been spotted at Bawal HSIDC wetland between Toyota Gosei Minda factory and Baba Pachpir Temple in the east HSIIDC Estate in Bawal, which is 15 km northeast from Masani barrage. The tourism potential can be enhanced if the boating and food court are opened at Masani barrage.

Flora

Golden Triangle ecotourism

Since Masani falls on the

Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...

tourist circuit, a large number of international and domestic tourist pass through via the national highway connecting Delhi-Agra to Jaipur & Bikaner-Jaisalmer, this is continuously being improved as a major tourist stop. Lakes here have boating, nature's trail, herbal and eco park, resthouse and lodging, food court and restroom facilities. A zoo is also under development in 2018–19. The tourism potential can be enhanced if the boating and food court are opened.

Masani barrage wetland

The "Golden Jubli lakes and nature park" is located immediately upstream of the barrage. Two lakes, at Masani barrage flood gates and next to Nikhri village, within immediate upstream catchment of the barrage were dugout, rejuvenated and made perennial using the water from the ''Lal Bahadur Shastri channel'' of Jawahar Lal Nehru Canal from

Western Yamuna Canal Western Yamuna Canal is canal in river Yamuna that was dug out and renovated in 1335 CE by Firoz Shah Tughlaq. In 1750 CE, excessive silting caused it to stop flowing. The British raj undertook a three-year renovation in 1817 by Captain GR Blane ...

. Boating facilities have been made available at these lakes. Of the planned 18 km nature's trail along its bank under development, 6 km have been readied already by August 2018. The lakes are an important feeding and breeding ground for large number of migratory birds who arrive here every year.Masani barrage to be a tourist attraction
The Tribune, Sept 2018.

Rajiv Gandhi Herbal Park and Nature Camp

This is located immediately downstream of the barrage, on the right side i.e. east flank of the barrage water/flood gates. Rajiv Gandhi Herbal Park and Nature Camp, Masani, was set up on

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of Masani barrage in 2011 by Haryana government to promote

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

. It entails a herbal

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

park,

ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

center,

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s and children park set up by the

Forests Department, Haryana Forests Department, Haryana is a department of the Government of Haryana in India that runs and maintains many protected nature areas in the state of Haryana. It has two administrative divisions: Forest and Wildlife. The department is responsib ...

Haryana Tourism Haryana Tourism Corporation (HTC) was constituted as a Public Limited Company under the Companies Act, 1956 on 1 May 1974. As an agent of the Government of Haryana, ''Haryana Tourism Corporation'' runs and maintains 44 Tourist Complexes spre ...

has also made log huts accommodation,

tree house A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a hang ...

nature trail An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural, techn ...

s and dining facilities."Haryana govt steps up efforts to promote eco-tourism."
Dna India, 11 May 2011. Haryana Forest Development Corporation is building an adventure tourism centre, with a one km long

ropeway Ropeway may refer to: Cable transport * Cableway, or cable transport, a broad class of transport modes that have cables * Aerial lift, a means of cable transport in which cabins, cars, gondolas, or open chairs are hauled above the ground by mean ...

, on 45 acres of land at Masani barrage (c. Mar 2017).

Ecological concerns

1970s-80s plans to recharge the subsoil water (plunged to 100 ft depth) vanished with the continual reduction in rainfall and construction of several dams over the Sahibi river in Rajasthan, resulting in basin of the Masani Barrage remaining dry since the late 1980s. Entire 100 km stretch of Sahibi river and its streams ( Sota River, Kotkasim drain and

Indori river The Indori river (Hindi: इन्दोरी नदी), is a rain-fed river originates from Aravalli Range from Sikar district and flows through Alwar district of Rajasthan to Rewari district of Haryana and it is the longest tributary of Sah ...

) in Haryana are ecologically dead.

Gurugram Gurgaon (pronunciation: �ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: �ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...

also dumps polluted discharge in the riverbed of Sahibi.

Restoration

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 ...

is coordinating with

Government of Rajasthan The Government of Rajasthan is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Rajasthan, a judiciary and a legislative. Jaipur is the capital of Raja ...

to ensure water reaches usually-dry masani barrage and dying seasonal Sahibi river. Another government project is being implemented to direct the extra water of Yamuna river during monsoon to Masani barrage through Jawahar Lal Nehru Canal and

(c. July 2015)."Centre of AIIMS to come up in Rewari district: Khattar ."

Business Standard ''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busin ...

, 4 July 2015.Masani Barrage: Boon or bane?
19 Sept 2007. In 2016, govt decided to disallow farming on 700 acre land around Masani barrage

of Sahibi river, annually leased to the farmers since 1979, so that the land can be returned to the forest department.Fear of losing livelihood looms over 200 farmers
16 June 2016. During 3 months monsoon season surplus water is available from Yamuna which is brought here to create a reservoir of 15 to 20 feet high water, during dry reason the treated sewage water from Rewari and

Dharuhera Dharuhera is a census town located, just 19 km from Rewari city in Rewari district of the state of Haryana, India. Dharuhera comes under Delhi NCR region and it is a big Industrial hub in Rewari district, Rewari District. Dharuhera is the new gr ...

will be brought from this barrage. Upstream large patches of isolated forests and dried lake beds are adjacent to the course of seasonal Sahibi near the villages of Bolni, Bidawas, Jhabuwa, Jat Bhagola, Ajarka, Manethi, Karni Kot and

Neemrana Neemrana is an ancient historical town in Alwar district of Rajasthan, India, from Alwar city, from New Delhi and from Jaipur on the Delhi-Jaipur highway in Neemrana tehsil. It is between Behror and Shahajahanpur. Neemrana is an industria ...

, which could be made perennial with excess water thus creating an interconnected-wetlands based eco-corridor in the Delhi Supergroup of

Aravalli range 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. ...

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 various nature and national parks of Delhi Ridge up to the national capital of

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

References

External links

Haryana rivers profile by WWF
{{Haryana Dams on the Yamuna River Lakes of Haryana Barrages in India Bridges in Haryana Tourist attractions in Haryana Wetlands of India Dams in Haryana Irrigation in Haryana Dams completed in 1989 1989 establishments in Haryana