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RAS question

Hirakud Dam is built on which river and in which state?

Correct answer: (B) Mahanadi, Odisha.

Hirakud Dam is built over the Mahanadi River at Sambalpur in Odisha.

  1. (A)

    Damodar, Jharkhand

  2. (B)

    Mahanadi, Odisha

  3. (C)

    Krishna, Andhra Pradesh

  4. (D)

    Godavari, Telangana

Explanation

Hirakud Dam belongs to the Mahanadi river system, not to the Damodar, Krishna or Godavari systems. State Pollution Control Board, Odisha, Water Quality of Major Rivers of Odisha identifies it as the multipurpose Hirakud Dam over the Mahanadi at Sambalpur, near Sambalpur in Odisha. That fixes both parts of the asked pair: the river is Mahanadi and the state is Odisha. The dam was completed in 1957, is among the world's longest dams at about 25.8 km including dykes, and was one of independent India's early multipurpose river-valley projects. For RAS, the exam trap is usually the river-state pairing, so remember Hirakud with Mahanadi-Odisha.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Damodar, Jharkhand is wrong because Panchet and Maithon are linked with the Damodar, not Hirakud.
  • (C) Krishna, Andhra Pradesh is wrong because the Krishna association is Nagarjuna Sagar, whereas Hirakud is on the Mahanadi.
  • (D) Godavari, Telangana is wrong because Sri Ram Sagar is associated with the Godavari, while Hirakud is identified with the Mahanadi in Odisha.

Concept

This tests the Indian geography syllabus area on major multipurpose river-valley projects and their river-state locations. It recurs in RAS because dams are compact factual markers linking drainage systems, states and post-independence development planning.

Source

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