The Bhakra-Nangal Dam is a concrete gravity dam and Asia's second tallest dam (261 meters) is situated in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, on the Sutlej River.
Irrigation, which stores rainwater, is the main use of the dam. The dam supplies Haryana, Rajasthan , Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh with water for irrigation. It has ten generators of hydroelectric power on each side. Generators for the left powerhouse were essentially supplied by Hitachi, Japan and upgraded by Sumitomo, Hitachi and Andritz to the present capacity.
The left- side generators were supplied by the Soviet Union and later upgraded to Russia's current capacity. The combined capacity of both powerhouses is 1325 MW.
The multipurpose dams of the Bhakra-Nangal were among India 's earliest river valley development schemes after independence. In November 1944, the agreement for this project was signed with Raja from Bilaspur by the then Punjab Revenue Minister, Sir Chhotu Ram, and the project plan was finalised on 8 January 1945.
The construction of the dam was initially initiated by the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Sir Louis Dane. But the project was postponed and re-launched shortly after independence under the leadership of architect Rai Bahadur Kunwar Sen Gupta.
Construction of the dam began in 1948, on 17 November 1955, as a symbolic beginning of the work, Jawaharlal Nehru poured the first bucket of concrete into the dry riverbed of the Sutlej. By the end of 1963, the dam was completed.
"This dam has been built with the unrelenting toil of man for the benefit of mankind and therefore is worthy of worship. May you call it a Temple or a Gurdwara or a Mosque, it inspires our admiration and reverence" said Nehru.
The dam is also a major tourist attraction. An opportunity to try water sports at Gobind Lake, an artificial lake built on the Sutlej River, is also provided.