Damodar Valley

Elongated basin of northern India, cutting through the rocky upland drained by the flood-prone Damodar River which joins the Hooghly River after 500 km/310 mi. Since 1948 the Damodar Valley Corporation has built a complex of dams for industrial water storage, flood control, hydroelectric power generation, irrigation, and navigation. The large dams at Maithon, Panchet, Durgapur, and Tilaiya have become tourist centres offering watersports.

The valley has become India's most important heavy manufacturing area based on the Raniganj, Dhanbad, Jharia, Bokaro, and Karanpura coalfields. Power is produced chiefly at Bokaro, Chandrapura, Durgapur, and Santaldih for local and regional needs. Steelworks have been developed on the coalfields at Burnpur, Durgapur, and Bokaro. Associated heavy industry in addition to the power and steel industries include gas, fertilizers, firebricks, bauxite, lead and zinc refining, and railway locomotive and machinery plants.