Update On Aug 10, 1152 am ist
Matatila Dam capacity decreased by fifty percent in 57 years Jhansi. Due to continuous accumulation of silt inside the dam for the last five decades, the capacity of Matatila Dam has decreased by about fifty percent. Due to the continuous accumulation of silt, the capacity of this reservoir is also continuously decreasing, while this dam not only quenches the thirst of the people of Jhansi but also provides water to the farmers for irrigation. Matatila is the largest dam after Rajghat in Jhansi division for water storage. The construction of this dam started in the year 1952. The construction was completed in 1962 after nearly ten years of continuous construction. The dam was filled to full capacity for the first time in the year 1964.According to the irrigation engineers, the full capacity of the dam (grass storage capacity) was 1132.61 MCM, but now this capacity has reduced to 641.06 MCM. The dam is filled up to a height of 308.46 meters but, more than a hundred meters is filled with silt. From below this dam is getting silted continuously.
With the help of this dam, thousands of cusecs of water that was wasted every year started to be used in the Betwa river, but, the silt coming in huge quantity along with the river gradually started deteriorating its health. Silt has been accumulating under the dam continuously for the last five decades. Due to this the water level of the dam is continuously decreasing. Due to siltation, 491.55 cusecs of water is not stored.This water has to flow in Betwa. Irrigation engineers say that at present, the capacity of the dam has reduced even more. At the same time, getting the silt out of the dam is also not easy. The most expensive would be to dispose of the silt from the dam about twelve kilometer long. Engineers say that the amount of about 350 cubic meters per meter will be spent in cleaning the dam. Accordingly, with the amount spent, a new dam can be built. Silt coming into the dam is a natural process. The design of the dam is made accordingly. Due to the dam being more than fifty years old, its capacity has become less than before. It is also very expensive to get its silt cleaned, although it is working as per the need. NS. Farid, Executive Engineer, Matatila Dam