"Build a dam and take away water AWAY from 40 million people. Build a dam to pretend to BRING water to 40 million people." These are words from Arundhati Roy's - Cost of Living.
Whatever, is the implication of building a dam, this one dam in Oman has purely altered the image of Oman. A trip to this dam is a must for all visitors and residents of Oman to view this construction wonder set in a desert terrain amidst mountains.
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| The Wadi Dayqah Dam, Wilayat Quriyat, Oman |
Wadi Dayqah - A short trip made with family friends :
Eid-ul-Fitr holidays in the month of July 2014 had begun, with schools and offices declared closed for 4 long days. Usually on such holidays we make small trips to nearby places which would not be more than 1 to 2 hours drive from the Muscat city. We had not heard of this place before, but one of our close family friends suggested we visit this place. We decided to explore the Wadi Dayqah dam with them and thanks to them, it turned out to be a wonderful trip.The trip begins :
We started at around 10:30 am in the morning, filled our petrol tanks to full, loaded our car with food stuff and then finally took off. After passing through the Hajar mountain range and its valleys, the twisting and turning roads, we were still miles away from our destination. We came across small villages, viz. Quriyat and Ramlah. Then, we passed by a signboard that said 20kms more to Wadi Dayqah. But it seemed like ages as we went round and round the mountains on the never ending roads. The children started getting cranky and we too were on the verge of losing our patience. Finally, we arrived at our destination at around 12:30 pm. By this time, we had covered a distance of about 120 km from Muscat city by road. |
| Road map from Muscat to Dayqah dam Source: Google Maps |
By the way:
We usually carry our GPS monitor to track our routes due to lack of proper road signages in Oman. Despite the poor road signage and different spelling versions for every destination, we've to acknowledge one thing and that is the quality of roads in Oman. The roads here are in good condition; tarmac roads with no dents at all. The road networks will take you to the remote desert destinations including Fort ruins hidden in the mountains, the wadis and even to the remote villages. The interior of Oman with life spread across the wadis is accessible mainly due to a good road network.A lesson for India - make our beautiful villages, life and culture accessible to all by developing good roads and infrastructure.
Meaning of Wadi Dayqah:
Wadi Dayqah dam located in Wilayat Quriyat is the tallest dam in Oman. It is also known as the Mazaara Dam or Quiryat Dam. 'Wadi' means channel of a watercourse that is dry except during periods of rainfall, while 'Dayqah' in Arabic means narrow torrent.
In a desert region, a dam of such nature was an amazing find. It was a water-filled reservoir lake in the middle of nowhere. If you look at the google maps closely, it shows the satellite image of the Dam as a crescent-shaped lake filled with blue waters.
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| View of the Wadi Dayqah dam Source: Google maps |
Our exploration:
We got down from our car to the operational site and started viewing the beautiful dam with emerald waters. We saw lots of people there taking photographs and enjoying the view. Far away in the wadi we also spotted a few people swimming in the water and enjoying the hot summer afternoon.
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| View of the pool as seen near the dam |
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| Looking down at the wadi |
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| The pool again at the operational site of the Dam |
After enjoying the beautiful view of the dam set across the mountains and the wadi, we went across to the other side to explore the tourism complex. We were happy to find the centre for visitors (spread over 1,281 sq m area) which allowed visitors like us to have a look at the whole site. The entire area was landscaped beautifully, with shaded seating areas, water fountains, paved internal roads, car parks and restaurant. However, access to the lake was restricted, with no swimming or fishing activities permitted.
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| The fountain with the mountains at the backdrop |
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| The lawns |
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| A restaurant - "Hot Dish Restaurant." |
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| View of lake reservoir from the visitor's area |
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| Dustbins at regular intervals |
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| View of the administration block from the parking lot |
We were famished from our long journey, so we spread out our picnic basket, rolled over the mats on the lawn for the kids to play, and enjoyed our lunch consisting of Puris, Dal and Chicken curry, followed by Rasgullas. In a place, as remote as Dayqah; a desert land, no sweet-toothed Bengali would ever refuse a Rasgulla!
To our delight, we also saw many other Indian families enjoying their lunch gathered under the canopies and we tried to identify their states. For example, Poha & gathiyas helped us identify Gujarati families, Idlis & curd rice meant the Southern states of India and so on.
After that, we explored the site a little bit more enjoying the views of the lake reservoir with the mountains in the backdrop.
We made our return trip by 4:00pm in the evening. Our kids were tired after a hoard of activities in the sun; while we adults kept chit-chatting and happily enjoyed the view of the mountains as we drove through the tortuous roads of the mountains back home.
To our delight, we also saw many other Indian families enjoying their lunch gathered under the canopies and we tried to identify their states. For example, Poha & gathiyas helped us identify Gujarati families, Idlis & curd rice meant the Southern states of India and so on.
After that, we explored the site a little bit more enjoying the views of the lake reservoir with the mountains in the backdrop.
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| View of the Lake reservoir |
We made our return trip by 4:00pm in the evening. Our kids were tired after a hoard of activities in the sun; while we adults kept chit-chatting and happily enjoyed the view of the mountains as we drove through the tortuous roads of the mountains back home.
Concluding :
The Dayqah dam in Oman is set in a desert terrain against a mountainous backdrop. At 75m high, the roller compacted concrete dam covers an area of 400m across the wadi gorge and is the tallest dam in the country. With available water stored primarily for potable use, the 100 mn cu m capacity reservoir also maintain the ancient 'aflaj' flows serving the agricultural activities in the neighbouring villages like Quriyat.
In Oman, 'Aflaj' is the plural of the word 'Falaj', which denotes the irrigation system. The Falaj irrigation system relies on water stored underground. It is extracted by simple methods and is used in agriculture. There three main types of Falaj depending on its depth. To know more about the 'Falaj' system visit the site here.
Oman has very few permanent surface water resources. Wadi Dayqah is unique in that sense since there is some flow throughout the year. It was identified in the early 1970s as a potential water source with a catchment area of approximately 1700 sq km and average rainfall within the catchment is 148mm. The ancient irrigation system is being fed from the new reservoir and assured of a continuing supply. Detailed information on the Dayqah dam project can be obtained from this link.
Some facts about the Dayqah dam
- Construction period - Jun 2007 to Nov 2009. The dam was officially opened in 2012.
- Storage capacity of the dam - 100mn cu m.
- The storage lake covers an area of about 350 hectares and extends to about 6 km from the main body of the dam.
- A rapid climb formwork system supplied by RMD kwikform was used to support the dam construction. For more technical details on the construction do visit this site.
- Some of the scenes from the song 'Jiya' from the Bollywood movie 'Gunday' were shot here and in the nearby mountain locations.
Stills from the movie 'Gunday', shot in locations near Dayqah dam
Picture Source: youtube.com
Stills from the movie 'Gunday', shot in the beautiful mountain locations in Oman,
Picture Source: youtube.com
Other sources referred:
Muscatdaily.com
Zawya.com
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