Kaptai Lake is a man-made lake in south-eastern
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. It is located in the
Kaptai UpazilaKaptai is an Upazila of Rangamati District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.-Geography:Kaptai is located at . It has 12992 units of house hold and total area 259 km².-Demographics:...
of
Rangamati DistrictRangamati is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the town of Rangamati serves as the headquarters of the district. Area-wise, Rangamati is the largest district of the country....
of
Chittagong DivisionChittagong Division is one of the six administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the most southern areas of the country and is also the second largest one.- Overview :- See also :*Chittagong Hill Tracts*Chittagong*Tripura Division...
. The lake was created as a result of building the
Kaptai DamKaptai Dam is located on the Karnaphuli River at Kaptai, 65 km upstream from Chittagong in Rangamati District, Bangladesh. It is an earthfill embankment dam with a reservoir water storage capacity of 11,000 km². The primary purpose of the construction of the dam and reservoir was to generate...
on the
Karnaphuli RiverKarnaphuli is a wide river in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh. Originating from the Lushai hills in Mizoram, India, it flows 270 km southwest through Chittagong Hill Tracts and Chittagong into the Bay of Bengal...
, as part of the Karnaphuli Hydro-electric project. The Kaptai Lake's average depth is and maximum depth is .
Construction of the reservoir for the hydro-electric plant began in 1956. As a result, of farmland in the
Rangamati DistrictRangamati is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the town of Rangamati serves as the headquarters of the district. Area-wise, Rangamati is the largest district of the country....
went under water and created the lake.
The hydro-electric project was funded by the United States.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Kaptai Lake' Start a new discussion about 'Kaptai Lake' Answer questions from other users |
Kaptai Lake is a man-made lake in south-eastern
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. It is located in the
Kaptai UpazilaKaptai is an Upazila of Rangamati District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.-Geography:Kaptai is located at . It has 12992 units of house hold and total area 259 km².-Demographics:...
of
Rangamati DistrictRangamati is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the town of Rangamati serves as the headquarters of the district. Area-wise, Rangamati is the largest district of the country....
of
Chittagong DivisionChittagong Division is one of the six administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the most southern areas of the country and is also the second largest one.- Overview :- See also :*Chittagong Hill Tracts*Chittagong*Tripura Division...
. The lake was created as a result of building the
Kaptai DamKaptai Dam is located on the Karnaphuli River at Kaptai, 65 km upstream from Chittagong in Rangamati District, Bangladesh. It is an earthfill embankment dam with a reservoir water storage capacity of 11,000 km². The primary purpose of the construction of the dam and reservoir was to generate...
on the
Karnaphuli RiverKarnaphuli is a wide river in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh. Originating from the Lushai hills in Mizoram, India, it flows 270 km southwest through Chittagong Hill Tracts and Chittagong into the Bay of Bengal...
, as part of the Karnaphuli Hydro-electric project. The Kaptai Lake's average depth is and maximum depth is .
History
Construction of the reservoir for the hydro-electric plant began in 1956. As a result, of farmland in the
Rangamati DistrictRangamati is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the town of Rangamati serves as the headquarters of the district. Area-wise, Rangamati is the largest district of the country....
went under water and created the lake.
The hydro-electric project was funded by the United States. The project was finished in 1962. International Engineering Company and Utah International Inc. received the contract for construction of the dam. The dam is 670.6 meters long, and 54.7 meters high. The dam has a long spillway containing 16 gates. Through the spillway 5,25,000 cusec of water can pass every second.
The land that went under water as a result of the dam construction, was 40% of the total arable land in the area. Along with that, of the Government-owned forest, and of other forest land went under water. About 18,000 families with a total of almost 100 thousand people were also displaced. The palace of the king of the
ChakmasThe Chakmas , also known as the Changma , are a community inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and India. The Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, making up more than half the tribal population. A tribal group called Tangchangya are also considered to...
was also flooded and is now under water.