The waters of monsoons can be used for agriculture instead of dangerous periodic flooding with dams. The dam then also provide cheap clean electricity. The British Raj spotted the need for the dam and then the design, but it was left to an independent India to provide the resources to get the job done. Prime Minister Nehru was justifiably proud that India got it done themselves after the British had not followed through. A while back we did a stamp about nearby Afghanistan who relied on USA aid to get theirs done see https://the-philatelist.com/2018/10/03/afghanistan-1963-as-a-start-to-development-lets-begin-to-feed-ourselves-if-only-someone-could-build-us-an-irrigation-system/ . India however was actually resurgent. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Todays stamp does not do justice to India’s then new temple. The printing and the poor paper see to that. There was also a 2013 stamp for the dam’s 50th anniversary that was better printed but still failed to capture the full effect. Part of the problem may be showing it horizontally when the dramatic thing about it is the height, over 700 feet tall and one of the tallest dams in the world.
Todays stamp is issue A205, a 5 Rupee stamp issued by India in 1967. It was part of a 16 stamp issue over several years. I covered the Gnat airplane stamp from this issue here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/07/20/a-gnat-sting-slays-a-sabre-over-bangladesh/ . According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.60 used. Five Rupee was a large denomination then. Now 5 Rupee is less than a dime. At the time though it was 8 to the Dollar. Since a Dollar now is about 12 cents then the denomination is close to an American stamp today denominated at $5. Pretty high in a then poor country.
The Punjab area of northwest India is subject to monsoons that provide the bulk of the rainfall. Sir Louis Dane an early 20th century British administrator of Punjab, conceived a dam near the then village of Bhakra where the Sutrej River passes between two hills. The resulting reservoir would gather the storm water and then gradually release it for agricultural irrigation. Plans were drawn up but the project languished for lack of funds. In the last days of the Raj, a now Indian administrator Sir Ram Richpal took up the cause and got the necessary approvals and the interest of the soon to be Prime Minister Nehru. The project was completed in 1963 and paid for entirely by India. Quite a contrast from other projects like Afghanistan or the Aswan dam in Egypt that consisted of a threadbare local pointing to a place for a dam and then pathetically holding out their hand.
The reservoir put under water 371 villages and there are 10 electricity generating turbines, five on each side of the dam. In keeping with India’s non aligned status, the five on the right were acquired from Japan while the 5 on the left were acquired from the Soviet Union. The Soviets won that competition as their side produces more electricity.
Nehru got very poignant about how the sacrifice in dangerous toil of the workers that built the dam is worthy of our worship. Whether you call it a Temple, a Gurdwara, or a Mosque, it inspires our admiration and reverence. Well that of course is worthy of a toast and as my drink is empty…… Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.