Jayakwadi Dam

The Jayakwadi project is one of the largest irrigation projects in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a multipurpose project. The water is mainly used to irrigate agricultural land in the drought-prone Marathwada region of the state. It also provides water for drinking and industrial usage to nearby towns and villages and to the municipalities and industrial areas of Aurangabad and Jalna district. The surrounding area of the dam has a garden and a bird sanctuary.LocationIt is located on Godavari river at the site of Jayakwadi village in Paithan taluka of Aurangabad district in Maharashtra State state of India.History and significanceA plan to build a dam on Godavari river in the drought-prone Marathwada region was first conceived during rule of state of Hyderabad. The plan was to build a dam in Beed district near village Jaikwadi (जायकवाडी) with storage capacity of 2,147 MCM (million cubic metres). The project came to be known as Jayakwadi project after the name of the village. However, after formation of new state of Maharashtra and comparative analysis on alternative places, it was decided to build a dam 100 km upstream at Paithan. The project was continued to name as Jayakwadi even after it was shifted to a new location. Building dam at higher level made it possible to have longer canals and thus providing irrigation facility to a larger region. The project proposal for this was completed by 1964.