Kherkatta Dam is a medium irrigation project built across the Kotri River, about northwest of

Kapsi Kapsi is a census town in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, India. It is a model town under two schemes of the Government of India, the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana and the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee National Rurban Mission. It is also the headquar ...

in the

Kanker district Uttar Bastar Kanker District is located in the southern region of the state of Chhattisgarh, India within the latitudes 20.6-20.24 and longitudes 80.48-81.48. The total area of the district is 6432 square kilometers. The population is 748,941. The ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is the largest dam of the district and gets its name from the neighbouring village of Kherkatta. The lake that the dam forms behind it is officially known as the Paralkot Reservoir, which extends in a northwest direction and partially into the Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district. The distance of the dam is approximately from

Pakhanjur Pakhanjur, also known as Pakhanjore, is a town, nagar panchayat, and the headquarters of the eponymous tehsil in the Kanker District of Chhattisgarh State in India. According to the 2011 Census of India, it is the second largest town in the dist ...

, from Manpur and from Kanker. The construction of the dam began in 1966 and was completed in 1981 by the

Dandakaranya Development Authority The Dandakaranya Project, or the DNK Project, was the form of action the Indian government designed in September 1958 for the settlement of displaced persons from Bangladesh (former East Pakistan) and for integrated development of the area with pa ...

, over a period of 15 years. The total cost of construction was estimated at . It was handed over to the state government in the year 1986 and placed under the

Water Resource Subdivision for its upkeep and maintenance.

Construction details

The length of the dam is , the height above the lowest foundation is and the highest

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

level is . Spread over an area of , its gross storage volume is and designed max. irrigation area is .

Benefits

The Kherkatta dam was built in hopes of benefiting the locals with better

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

and cultivation systems. The reservoir consists of two major gates which release water every couple of years through its

canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow u ...

. The artificial lake is used to store water. * Local water supply * Distant water supply, if water is sent to cities via aqueducts * Local source of

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

Wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

* Increased water pressure for those living in the valley * Power generation * Irrigation *

Flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

water control

Ichthyofaunal diversity

The survey for Ichthyofaunal diversity study in the Paralkot Reservoir of

Kanker District Uttar Bastar Kanker District is located in the southern region of the state of Chhattisgarh, India within the latitudes 20.6-20.24 and longitudes 80.48-81.48. The total area of the district is 6432 square kilometers. The population is 748,941. The ...

was mainly focused on Ichthyofaunal diversity. 25

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

fishes A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed ...

belonging to 5 orders 11 family and 20 genera was recorded during the study.

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family, and t ...

were most dominant group represent by 12 species,

Siluridae Siluridae is the nominate family (biology), family of catfishes in the order (biology), order Siluriformes. About 105 living species of silurids are placed in 12 or 14 genera. Although silurids occur across much of Europe and Asia, they are most ...

with 2 species, Ophiocephalidae with 2 species,

Bagridae The Bagridae are a family of catfish that are native to Africa ('' Bagrus'') and Asia (all other genera) from Japan to Borneo. It includes about 245 species. These fish are commonly known as naked catfishes or bagrid catfishes. Many large bagrid ...

1 species, Mestacemballidae with 2 species, Saccobranchidae 1 species, Claridae 1 species,

Centropomidae ''Centropomus'' is a genus of predominantly marine fish comprising the family Centropomidae. The type species is '' Centropomus undecimalis'', the common snook. Commonly known as snooks or ''róbalos'', the ''Centropomus'' species are native to ...

1 species,

Notopteridae The family Notopteridae contains 11 species of osteoglossiform (bony-tongued) fishes, commonly known as featherbacks and knifefishes. These fishes live in freshwater or brackish environments in Africa and West, South, East and Southeast Asia. W ...

1 species,

Gobiidae Gobiidae or gobies is a family (biology), family of bony fish in the order (biology), order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising over 2,000 species in more than 200 genus, genera. Most of gobiid fish are relatively small, typ ...

1 species and

Cichlidae Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with on ...

1 species. This was the first ever study on the fish diversity of reservoir and would help in explore the fish

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

of Kherkatta dam.

Low utilization of developed water resources

The actual utilization as compared with the designed potential is very poor, about 69%. The reason could be the low rainfall or the low maintenance of the canal system.

Controversy

In May 2023, a food inspector from Pakhanjur ordered workers at the dam to drain over 2 million litres of water. The government official ordered the water to be drained after he accidentally dropped his phone into the waste weir of the dam while taking a selfie. Footage of the official sitting under an umbrella as water was pumped out of the reservoir was uploaded to social media. After the video went viral, the food inspector, the SDO of the

water resource subdivision and a sub-engineer were suspended from their positions.

References

{{Reflist Dams in Chhattisgarh Reservoirs in India Dams completed in 1964 Earth-filled dams Kanker district 1964 establishments in Madhya Pradesh 20th-century architecture in India