The Bhushi Dam is a

masonry dam Masonry dams are dams made out of masonrymainly stone and brick, sometimes joined with mortar. They are either the gravity or the arch-gravity type. The largest masonry dam in the World is Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in ...

on the

Indrayani River The Indrayani River originates in Kurvande village near Lonavla, a hill station in the Sahyadri mountains of Maharashtra, India. It is a rain-fed river and flows east through the Hindu pilgrimage centers of Dehu and Alandi to meet the Bhima riv ...

Lonavala Lonavala-Khandala is a hill station and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about west of Pune and to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy '' chikki'' and is also a major stop on t ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, India. In 2014, the

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

announced plans to develop Bhushi Dam as a tourist resort with participation from the private sector.

History

The dam was built in the late 1860s for the

Great Indian Peninsular Railway The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...

as a source of water for their steam engines. it is owned by the Central Railway zone of the

, the successor to the Great Indian Peninsular Railway. Water was carried from the reservoir to

Khandala Lonavala-Khandala is a hill station and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about west of Pune and to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy '' chikki'' and is also a major stop on t ...

and the reversing station of the railways by cast-iron pipes. The Railway company later agreed to supply some water to the town of Lonavala as well, because the dam had been built using Municipal funding. In 2011, the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

proposed to take over the Bhushi dam and Bhugaon lake for its training activities at the '' Indian Naval Station Shivaji'' which is located in the vicinity. The Lonavala Police stated that such a move would restrict the access of the public to the dam. In 2012, the

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited, commonly abbreviated as MSRDC, is an Indian public limited company fully owned by the Government of Maharashtra. MSRDC was established on 9 July 1996 and incorporated as a public limi ...

(MSRDC) proposed to construct a long tunnel along the

Mumbai Pune Expressway Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12.5& ...

which would pass right below the Bhushi dam.

Accidents

The Bhushi Dam frequently sees cases of drowning. A 2012 report stated that as many as 25 people had died in a five-year period. In order to bring down these accidents, the Lonavala Police and the railways set up a control room near the dam, as well as imposed a ban on consumption of liquor in areas surrounding the dam. Subsequently, vehicles were banned from entering the area after 3 pm and visitors were prohibited from entering the dam and the surrounding areas after 5 pm. Tourists are usually allowed to visit the dam from 9 am up to 3 pm. Except local buses, all other buses are banned from entering the area.

References

{{Hydrography of Maharashtra Dams in Pune district Lonavala-Khandala Masonry dams Gravity dams Dams completed in 1876 1876 establishments in India Buildings and structures in Lonavala-Khandala