The Chas Kaman Dam is one of the important dams of Maharashtra and is built on the Bhima River at Rajgurunagar in Pune district. The dam is a major tourist destination for tourists traveling to Pune because of the picturesque surroundings and backwaters. The place is an ideal monsoon retreat as the rains enhance the abundant green patches significantly. The main purpose of this Planning Commission approved project was to improve irrigation and supply of electricity to the nearby villages.

History

The Chas Kaman Irrigation project was approved by the Planning Commission of India in 1977 and a budget of Rs. 22.47 Crore was approved for building this irrigation and hydroelectric project. The project includes the earthen dam which is about 738 meters in length and the masonry dam of 220 meters length. The maximum height of the dam from its lowest foundation level is approximately 46 meters. The dam has five radial gates with a spillway of approximately 72 meters. The reservoir holds about 241 MCM of water of which 214 MCM is approved for use for irrigation purpose. The depth of the dam is about 150 meters.

It is estimated that the Chas Kaman Dam can irrigate about 32824 ha of land of the villages nearby. The final cost of completion of the dam is believed to be around Rs.388 crores. A large number of villages in the Pune district get benefited by the dam directly. The dam and the surrounding areas receive rainfall from southwest monsoon from the month of June to September.

More Information about Chas Kaman Dam

Rajgurunagar is an important town in Pune, located at the north side end of Pune district in Maharashtra. The town is located on the bank of the Bhima River about 40 kilometers from Pune. The Chas Kaman dam was built on 1977 at Bibi village. The dam has water throughout the year which offers major benefits to the farmers of the region in terms of irrigation and crops rotation.

The importance of Chas Kaman dam to the Pune region is that it is regarded as the second Hydel Greenfield power project in the country that is capable of captive power as well. The power will be utilized through the state power board. It is having minimum down level of the 634 meters and is designed to generate about six million power units effortlessly. During the time of monsoons, it will be having 250 MCM storage capacities. In fact, this is being used for drinking as well as irrigation.

Other Places of Attraction Nearby   

Bhimshankar Wildlife Sanctuary

This is one of the biggest places of tourist attraction near Rajgurunagar. It is situated in the Ambegaon and Khed taluka of Pune and is designed to protect many rare wild life species, specifically the Indian Giant Squirrel.

The Jyotirling at Bhimshankara

The Shiva temple at Bhimshankar, Rajgurunagar is one home to one of the 12 Jyotirlingams situated in India. The temple is built in Hemad-Panthi style. There are beautiful Dashavatar statues all over the place which are strikingly beautiful in appearance.

How to Reach

Chas Kaman Dam is 61 km from Pune. There are state-run as well as private buses and cabs plying on the route. The road is in good condition and you can reach Chas Kaman from Pune in a little more than one hour.