Khadakwasla Dam is a dam on the Mutha River 20 km (12 mi) from the city of Pune in Maharashtra, India.[1] This dam across the river Mutha created an attractive lake, now known as Khadakwasla Lake. This lake is the main source of water for Pune and its suburbs. The largest lake in the area is Mulshi lake, some 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Khadakwasla, which has a rather large dam confining it. It releases water into the Mula River, which meanders some 75 km (47 mi) before reaching Pune district near Dapodi and meets up with the Mutha River in Central Pune at the Sangam Bridges and continuing Eastwards via Bund Garden to Daund before joining the River Bhima. Though there is a water supply set-up near Holkar Bridge, next to Bombay Engineering Group and Centre (BEG), there is very little water in the hyacinth-choked Mula River, except during the monsoons. In the vicinity of Khadakwasla Dam, there is the well-known National Defence Academy, the Institute of Advanced Technology (IAT) earlier collocated with CME, Dapodi and Central Water & Power Research Station (CWPRS). A few kilometres up the road lie Sinhagad Fort and the twin dams of Panshet and Varasgaon which mainly supply water for irrigation. Khadakwasla Dam burst at 0730 hrs on 12 July 1961, causing the greatest ever natural disaster to strike Pune. It was not blown up, as some people have been led to believe-it simply collapsed at the point of greatest impulsive force, unable to withstand the destructive forces generated by three times the quantity of water gushing in from upstream than it was meant to store at peak capacity as placid water.
