Khadakwasla Dam

Khadakwasla Dam
Location of Khadakwasla Dam in Maharashtra
Official name	Khadakwasla Dam
Location	Khadakwasla Village, Pune, Maharashtra India
Coordinates	18°27′11″N 73°32′28″E / 18.45306°N 73.54111°E / 18.45306; 73.54111
Opening date	1969
Owner(s)	Government of Maharashtra
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Mutha River
Height	31.71 m (104.0 ft)
Length	1,939 m (6,362 ft)
Reservoir
Creates	Khadakwasla Lake
Total capacity	341 million cubic metres (12.0×10^9 cu ft)

Khadakwasla Dam is a dam on the Mutha River 21 km (13 mi) from the centre of the city of Pune in Maharashtra, India.^[1][2] The dam created a reservoir known as Khadakwasla Lake which is the main source of water for Pune and its suburbs.

In the vicinity of Khadakwasla Dam is the National Defence Academy (NDA), the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), the College of Military Engineering, Pune (CME, Dapodi) and Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS). A few kilometres to the south lies Sinhagad Fort; the twin dams of Panshet and Varasgaon, which mainly supply water for irrigation but also feed into Khadakwasla Lake, lie just 8 km (5.0 mi) due west of the backwaters of Khadakwasla Lake.

Khadakwasla Dam burst at 7:30 am on 12 July 1961, causing the greatest ever disaster to strike Pune. It was not blown up, as some have been led to believe, it simply collapsed at the point of greatest impulsive force, unable to withstand the destructive forces generated by three times the quantity of water gushing in from upstream than it was meant to store at peak capacity as placid water.