IN PICS: Jharkhand's Tilaiya Dam completes 70 years

Jawaharlal Nehru at the site of Tilaya Dam in 1950

Tilaiya Dam was constructed across the Barakar river, at Tilaiya in Koderma district in Jharkhand state and was inaugurated on Feb 21, 1953

The main (Patna-Ranchi) road from Barhi on Grand Trunk Road passing through hills overlooking the reservoir is picturesque

The valley of the Damodar river was flood prone and the devastating flood of 1943, lead to the formation of the high-powered 'Damodar Flood Enquiry Committee' by the government of Bengal

Damodar Valley Corporation was set up in 1948 as 'the first multipurpose river valley project of independent India'

Tilaiya was the first dam to be built under this project for flood control, irrigation, generation and transmission of electricity, and year-round navigation

Tilaiya Dam is 1200 ft long and 99 ft high with a beautiful reservoir in 36 sq km area and has a power generation capacity of 2 x 2 MW

Railway Bridge, Tilaiya Dam