Hirakud: Diamonds Under A Dam in Odisha

What does one of India’s largest irrigation projects – the Hirakud dam in Odisha – have in common with diamonds coveted by ancient Roman emperors and their wives?

The Hirakud dam, on the Mahanadi river near Sambalpur in Odisha, is located 292 km north-west of Bhubaneswar. Inaugurated in 1957, it was one of independent India’s largest and most important irrigation projects. But if you were to travel here and ask ‘what lies beneath?’, the answer would quite literally be ‘diamonds’ and perhaps even ‘gold dust’.