DAMODAR - A DAZZLING RIVER

Damodar, is a river in northeastern India, rising with its many tributaries,      notably the Bokaro and Konar, in the Chota Nagpur plateau of Hazaribagh    district, Bihar state.  It follows a generally eastward course for 368 mi (592 km) through West Bengal to join the Hooghly River (q.v) southwest of Calcutta.

The Damodar valley along the Bihar-West Bengal border includes India’s most important coal and mica-mining fields and has long been an area of active industrial development.  The major coalfields (Jharia, Raniganj and Giridih) are mostly open-pit and are easily mined.  The Damodar Valley Corporation, which began work in 1948, has constructed four multi-purpose dams to form a series reservoirs: Tilaiya, Maithon, Konar and Panchet Hill.  Also included is the Durgapur diversionary barrage (dam) and an 80-mi navigation canal linking the coalfields with the Hooghly-Calcutta industrial complex. 

The project project provides for flood control, hydroelectricity, coal-fed power plants, irrigation of about 950,000 ac (385,000ha, chiefly in West Bengal), afforestation, fish breeding, recreation, and the general development of agriculture and industry throughout the valley, which has experienced a great influx of people during the 20^th century.  Numerous towns, including Dhanbad, Jharia and Sindri are connected by a dense rail and road network.

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