DUSHANBE, April 17, 2013, Asia-Plus – On Tuesday April 16, Indian Vice President, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari and members of his official delegation visited the world”s tallest dam at Norak in Khatlon province, during his four day official tour for furthering bilateral ties and strategic partnership in countering cross-border militancy, Newstrack India reports.
The Norak Dam was constructed by the Soviet Union between the years of 1961 and 1980. It is uniquely constructed, with a central core of cement forming an impermeable barrier within a 300 m -high rock and earth fill construction. The volume of the mound is 54 million m³.
The reservoir formed by the Norak Dam, known simply as Norak, is the largest reservoir in Tajikistan with a capacity of 10.5 cubic kilometers. The reservoir is over 70 kilometers in length, and has a surface area of 98 square kilometers. Stored water is also used for irrigation of local agricultural land. Irrigation water is transported 14 kilometers through the Danghara irrigation tunnel and is used to irrigate about 700 square kilometers of farmland.
Apart from the gigantic dam, Mr. Ansari also saw the Norak hydroelectric power plant (HPP), which contains nine hydroelectric generating units, the first commissioned in 1972 and the last in 1979.
According to Newstrack India, Mr. Ansari, who was welcomed by Khatlon governor Ghaybullo Avzalov, presented two cars to the locals of Khatlon as gifts from Indian government and her subjects.
Relations between India and Tajikistan have traditionally been cordial and close. During the last state visit of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to India in 2012, both countries elevated their bilateral relationship to the level of strategic partnership.
