Salaulim Dam

Salaulim Dam in Goa
Salaulim or Saluli Dam is one of the most important dams in the state of Goa. The dam lies on the Selaulim River, a tributary of Zuari River, about five kilometers from Sanguem Town. It is the biggest man-made dam in Goa and also one of the most popular tourist attractions over here.
It is an integral part of the Salaulim Irrigation Project that envisages advantages of drinking water supply and irrigation in Goa. Salaulim Dam is a composite structure made out of earth and stonework, with a height of around 140 feet. The length of the dam is almost 3294 feet with a water area of 24 square kilometer. The gross water capacity of the dam is 234.361 cubic meters with a storage capacity of 227.157 cubic meters. Out of the entire storage capacity of the dam, 126 cubic meters is for irrigation purposes and the remaining water capacity is kept for industrial and domestic water purposes in South Goa.

The Irrigation Process

The main plan of the irrigation system was to irrigate Sanguem, Salceto and Quepum taluks and grow sugarcane to meet the growing demand of the sugar mill in Goa. The primary canal, which is on the left side of the bank, is about 25.73 kilometers long. The distributary and minor canals of the primary canal provide irrigation to a land of almost 35,400 acres. Since the length of two distributary canals has been shortened, the irrigation demand is reduced by 11,600 acres. The water that is saved is supposed to be used for meeting the demands of industrial and domestic purposes. Thus the dam plays an important role in the irrigation system of Goa and is also a primary source of drinking water in the state.

Submergence

To build the dam, around 20 villages were partially of fully removed. Around 3000 people were dislodged and relocated. Moreover, surrounding mining areas were also submerged will full compensation. Besides villages and mining areas, an eight feet statue of Mother Goddess (built in 5th century) was also relocated to Verna. Another temple (dated 10th to 11th century) that came under one of the submerged village, Kurdi, was shifted to a place about 17 kilometers from the reservoir. The entire process of shifting the temple took around 11 years as the temple was first taken apart and then reassembled to another location after carefully numbering each stone.