Gobind Sagar Lake is a reservoir situated in Una and Bilaspur districts of Himachal Pradesh, India.[2] It is formed by the Bhakra Dam.

Gobind Sagar Lake
View of Gobind Sagar lake in the monsoon
Location of Gobind Sagar lake within Himachal Pradesh
Location of Gobind Sagar lake within Himachal Pradesh
Gobind Sagar Lake
Location of Gobind Sagar lake within Himachal Pradesh
Location of Gobind Sagar lake within Himachal Pradesh
Gobind Sagar Lake
LocationUna District and Bilaspur District, Himachal Pradesh
Coordinates31°25′N 76°30′E / 31.417°N 76.500°E / 31.417; 76.500
TypeReservoir
Primary inflows4.4- 8.0 million cusecs
Primary outflows4.9- 7.0 million cusecs
Basin countriesIndia
Max. depth163.07 m (535.0 ft)
Water volume7,501,775 acre⋅ft (9.25 km3)[1]
SettlementsUna And Bilaspur
ReferencesFAO

The reservoir is on the river Sutlej and is named in honour of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru. One of the world's highest gravity dams, the Bhakra dam rises nearly 225.5 m above its lowest foundations. Under the supervision of the American dam-builder, Harvey Slocum,[3] work began in 1955 and was completed in 1962. To maintain the water level, the flow of the river Beas was channelized to Gobind Sagar by the Beas-Sutlej link which was accomplished in 1976.[4]

Location and other aspects edit

The reservoir lies in the Bilaspur District and Una District. Bilaspur is about 91 km away from the Bhakra Dam.[5] Its name given by Former Chairman of PSEB SardarJi Harbans Singh Somal, in honor of 10th Guru Gobind Singh Ji. In October and November, when the water level of the reservoir is high, a series of regattas are organised by the Tourism and Civil Aviation department.

Gobind Sagar was declared a water fowl refuge in 1962. Fishing is commonly practiced here. It has about fifty one species and sub species. Bangana dero, Tor putitora, Sperata seenghala and Mirror carp are some of the common species found here.

Water Sports edit

Govind Sagar Lake reservoir in Una and Bilaspur Districts of Himachal Pradesh with its 56 km length and nearly 3 km breadth. It offers a variety of water-sports activities in close collaboration with the Directorate tourism and Civil Aviation and Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports. Due to seasonal water level fluctuation, watersports are mainly confined to half of the year i.e. August to January. During this period the activities include swimming, surfing, water-skiing, kayaking, rowing, canoeing, white water river rafting. Courses are conducted at three levels – beginners, intermediate and advance. For this Tourism Department of Himachal Pradesh has constructed a huge Water Sports Complex in Luhnu Ground, Bilaspur with all the boarding, lodging and equipment facilities. River rafting or white water rafting, as it is also called, is swiftly making Bilaspur a focus for this sport. Non swimmers and novices can also have this thrilling experience in an inflatable rubber dinghy, on some of the gentler rapids.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Top 5 Largest Reservoir in India".
  2. ^ "himachaltourism.gov.in". Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  3. ^ India After Gandhi. Ramachandra Guha (2008). India After Gandhi, page 215. Pan Macmillan Ltd., London.
  4. ^ "Lakes in himachal, maharana pratap sagar, gobind sagar, khajjiar, manimahesh, prashar, chandra tal, suraj tal, dashir, nako, rewalsar, lama dal lake".
  5. ^ "Important Distances of Bilaspur (H.P.)". Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2014.

External links edit