Loading…
A gravity dam on the Banas River in Tonk district, Rajasthan, that supplies drinking water to Jaipur and Ajmer and irrigation to surrounding areas.
The Bisalpur Dam is a gravity dam built on the Banas River near Deoli in the Tonk district of Rajasthan. Construction began in 1987 and was completed in 1999, after which it became fully operational. Its principal purpose is to supply drinking water to major cities including Jaipur and Ajmer, alongside supporting agricultural irrigation. Built of concrete and stone masonry, it holds its position against the pressure of stored water through its own weight. In a water-scarce state, the dam performs the critical function of storing monsoon runoff for use across the rest of the year.
Type: PhenomenonLocation — Tonk district, Rajasthan, near Deoli.
River — the Banas, a tributary of the Chambal.
Type — a gravity dam, built of concrete and stone masonry, held stable by its own weight.
Construction — begun in 1987 and completed in 1999.
Primary purpose — drinking water supply to Jaipur and Ajmer, together with agricultural irrigation.
Full Reservoir Level — 315.50 metres.
Catchment area — 12,578 square kilometres, filled mainly during the monsoon.
Management — the Rajasthan Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) handles maintenance, water distribution and supply management.
Frequency: Rajasthan's rivers and water projects appear in UPSC Prelims geography and in state and SSC general awareness.
Banas, a tributary of the Chambal
Tonk, Rajasthan, near Deoli
Gravity dam of concrete and stone masonry
1987 to 1999
315.50 metres
12,578 square kilometres
Jaipur and Ajmer
Rajasthan Public Health Engineering Department (PHED)
A gravity dam resists the horizontal push of stored water simply through its own mass — the weight of concrete and masonry holds it in place, without relying on the shape of the valley to transfer load into the abutments as an arch dam does. This makes gravity dams heavy and material-intensive but structurally straightforward and well suited to broad valleys with sound foundations, which is the setting on the Banas. The design also tolerates the highly seasonal filling regime of a Rajasthan river, where a catchment of 12,578 square kilometres delivers most of its water in a few monsoon weeks and the reservoir is then drawn down over the rest of the year.
A gravity dam works like a heavy bookend — it holds simply because it is too heavy to be pushed over, rather than because of any clever shape.
Bisalpur illustrates a distinctive kind of water infrastructure: a dam built primarily for urban drinking water rather than irrigation or power. Rajasthan is India's largest state by area and among its driest, and Jaipur's growth has made the city dependent on water carried from well outside its own catchment. Bisalpur captures monsoon flow across a catchment of 12,578 square kilometres and releases it through the year, which is what makes year-round municipal supply to Jaipur and Ajmer possible at all. That dependence also creates a familiar tension, since the same stored water is claimed for irrigation by farmers in the command area, and in deficient monsoon years the allocation between urban supply and agriculture becomes contested — a recurring pattern wherever a single reservoir serves both a growing city and its surrounding farmland.
Bisalpur Dam — on the Banas River, Tonk district, Rajasthan, near Deoli.
Gravity dam of concrete and stone masonry; built 1987 to 1999.
Supplies drinking water to Jaipur and Ajmer, and supports irrigation.
Full Reservoir Level 315.50 metres; catchment area 12,578 square kilometres.
Managed by the Rajasthan Public Health Engineering Department (PHED).
The Banas rises in the Aravalli Hills near Kumbhalgarh and is a tributary of the Chambal.
On the Banas River, a tributary of the Chambal, in Tonk district of Rajasthan near Deoli.
Jaipur and Ajmer are the principal cities supplied, along with surrounding areas. The dam also supports agricultural irrigation.
In the Aravalli Hills near Kumbhalgarh in Rajasthan, from where it flows north-east into the plains.
Construction began in 1987 and was completed in 1999, after which it became fully operational for water supply and irrigation.