The Murguma Dam is constructed on the Saharajhore River, one of the tributary of

Kangsabati River Kangsabati River (Pron:) (also variously known as the Kãsai and Cossye) rises from the Chota Nagpur Plateau, Chota Nagpur plateau in the state of West Bengal, India and passes through the districts of Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram , Paschim Medin ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

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 ...

. The dam is constructed near Murguma village in the foothill of Ajodhya Hills,

Purulia District Purulia district () is one of the twenty-three districts of West Bengal state in Eastern India. Purulia is the administrative headquarters of the district. Some of the other important towns of Purulia district are Raghunathpur- Adra, Manbazar ...

. It's under the jurisdiction of Kotshila Police Station. A number of other streams also flow into the dam directly from Ajodhya Hills. The dam is surrounded by hills, forests and a number of small islands within it. The place is situated at the north west end of Ajodhya Hills which is considered as an eastern extension of

Chota Nagpur Plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau () is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and th ...

People and economy

The area is mainly inhabited by tribal people, with

Santal people The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic-speaking Munda peoples, Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found ...

predominant. The economy is mainly dependent on agriculture. However, the place has potential to be a tourist attraction which might improve economic conditions for the local people. The government is promoting this place as a tourist destination. This dam is a part of one of the key small irrigation projects in rural as well as arid areas of West Bengal having a considerable percentage of tribal population. It is one of the promising tourist spots of Eastern

region. To date, no facility of boating offered. The dam and surroundings are preferred locations for backpackers. The dam features in the tourism brochure of Government Tourist Department of Purulia District.

Accessibility

The nearest railway station is

Jhalda Jhalda is a town and a municipality in Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jhalda subdivision. Geography Location Jhalda is located at . It has an average elevation of . According to the ''Distri ...

, from where the place is accessible by single metalled road. The other option is to follow the Purulia-Tamna more-Arsha-Begunkodor-Murguma route for . The accessibility is not good but that is perhaps one of the reasons that the locality still offers wild beauty. Distance from nearby places: Ajodhya Hills Top =

= Begunkodor town = Begunkodar rail FH =

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Purulia Purulia, officially Purulia Sadar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River. Geography Location Purulia is locate ...

Durgapur Durgapur (), is an industrial hub and a planned urban agglomeration in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is stands on the northern bank of the Damodar river and located in Paschim Bardhaman district. Durgapur is a major centre for producin ...

= (via Bankura) (via Asansol),

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology It comes from the old Austric word ráŕhá or ráŕho which means “land of red soil”.P.R. Sarkar Rarh - ...

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (; ), also known as Tatanagar, is a major industrial city in eastern India. It is the List of cities in Jharkhand by population, largest city in the state of Jharkhand. With a population of 629,658 in the city limits and 1.3 million ...

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

Asansol Asansol is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest city in West Bengal. It is the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India by population. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bardhaman district. Accordi ...

Miscellaneous

Being far from urban disturbance, this dam is a location for research on indigenous aquatic flora and fauna. This area was affected by

Maoist insurgency People's war or protracted people's war is a Maoist military strategy. First developed by the Chinese communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the basic concept behind people's war is to maintain the support of the population a ...

a few years back but now returned to normalcy.

Gallery

Ajodhya Hills Murguma Dam.jpg, View from Ajodhya Hill Murguma_Dam_1.jpg, View from Ajodhya Hill Murguma_Dam_2.jpg, View from Ajodhya Hill Murguma_Dam_3.jpg, View from Ajodhya Hill View of Murguma Dam and Murguma Village from Ajyodhya Hill View Point.jpg, View of Murguma Dam and Murguma Village from Ajyodhya Hill View Point View of Murguma Dam from Ajyodhya Hill View Point.jpg, View of Murguma Dam and Murguma Village from Ajyodhya Hill View Point View of Murguma Dam.jpg, View of Murguma Dam Murguma_Dam_5.jpg, View from Dam Road Murguma_Dam_7.jpg, View from Dam Road Murguma_Dam_8.jpg, View from Dam Road Murguma_Dam_9.jpg, View from Dam Road Murguma_Dam_10.jpg, View from Dam Road Murguma_Dam_6.jpg, Murguma Village and the Dam side by side Murguma_Dam_11.jpg, View from Dam Road Murguma_Dam_12.jpg, View from Dam Road Murguma_Dam_13.jpg, View from Dam Road Murguma_Dam_14.jpg, View from Sluice Gate Stream_from_Ajodhya_Hill_01.jpg, A stream coming from Ajodhya Hill Stream_from_Ajodhya_Hill_02.jpg, A stream coming from Ajodhya Hill Stream_from_Ajodhya_Hill_03.jpg, A stream coming from Ajodhya Hill

References

{{authority control Dams in West Bengal Year of establishment missing Purulia district Tourist attractions in Purulia district