Peacock Bay is situated on the North-East of the Khadakwasla Lake. It is the nerve centre of all watermanship training. The facilities at the picturesque Bay to train the cadets include an array of seamanship training equipments, sailing boats of all classes, speed boats, wind surfers, water skis, whalers, dinghies and cutters. Peacock Bay derives its name from the abundance of peacocks found in the area. The bay is also home to other fauna such as the deer, Lion-tailed monkeys and civets.
The Khadakwasla Dam is built as a gravity section dam and is 1.6 km long. It stands 35m in height and has a capacity of 3000 cubic feet. The dam has been built on the Mutha River, which merges into the confluence of the rivers Ambi and Mose on which are built the Panshet and Warasgaon Dams. The length of the Khadakwasla backwaters is nearly 22 kms and the width varies from a quarter to one km. The maximum depth in the lake is 120 feet. The dam has 11 radial type sluice gates, which open out into an estuary towards the city. The dam also has six irrigation outlets providing drinking water to Pune and irrigation for the villages around Haveli, Daund, Indapur and Baramati.
The Khadakwasla Lake itself is formed by the dam, built in (1863-1880) on Mutha river, which emerges from the confluence of Ambi and Mose rivers. In 1961, the Khadakwasla Dam had to be blown, as the Panshet Dam overflowed, causing devastating floods in the city of Pune.The dam was later rebuilt in 1965. Khadakwasla Lake is one of the main reservoirs meeting the fresh water requirements of the Pune city. The Lake spans a length of 17 Kilometers and has a width of 1 kilometer. The total catchment area of the Lake is about 501square kilometers and its depth varies between 40 feet and 120 feet.
Peacock Bay is home to the annual National Inland Enterprise Sailing Championships. Some of the most colourful competitions and activities of the NDA are conducted here. These include the 5 Kilometer long Open Lake Swimming Competition, Mock Ceremony of Crossing the equator, Away all boats and Inter Bn Boat Pulling Competition.
Where among the valleys nestle the sweet singing birds,
Where breathes the wind in delightful symphony,
Where on the pleasant waters shine a thousand mirrors,
Where all nature is witness to a magnificent serenity.
To our precious abode Peacock Bay WE WELCOME YOU……
The Watermanship Training Center (WTC), Peacock Bay, is located at NDA and it is only appropriate that the budding officers of our Armed Forces train under the inspiring presence of the Sinhgarh Fort, the erstwhile Kondhane Fort, which infuses tales of immortal bravery.
The birth of Khadakwasla lake took place due to the severe droughts during the 19th century in East Pune that paralysed crop growth and prompted engineers to take up major irrigation works. Captain Fife RE of British Army recommended a high level reservoir at Khadakwasla in 1863 and subsequently carried out detailed survey and investigations. This man-made Khadakwasla Lake is therefore also called Fife Lake. The work on one of the oldest masonry dams of India began in 1869 and was completed in the year 1879 at the cost of Rs 65 lakhs
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The Khadakwasla Dam is built as a gravity section dam and is 1.6 km long. It stands 35m in height and has a capacity of 3000 cubic feet. The dam has been built on the Mutha River, which merges into the confluence of the rivers Ambi and Mose on which are built the Panshet and Warasgaon Dams. The length of the Khadakwasla backwaters is nearly 22 kms and the width varies from a quarter to one km. The maximum depth in the lake is 120 feet. The dam has 11 radial type sluice gates, which open out into an estuary towards the city. The dam also has six irrigation outlets providing drinking water to Pune and irrigation for the villages around Haveli, Daund, Indapur and Baramati.
Due to heavy floods in 1961, 120 meters section of the river portion of the dam broke down, causing massive floods in the city. The reminder of the same is etched at shed number one. The dam was thus rebuilt in 1962 and completed in 1969.
The Peacock Bay is situated on the North East end of the lake and has been the Watermanship training center since 1942. Presently all practical naval training of NDA cadets is carried out here. This lake has been the nursing ground for many famous sailors, who have won laurels for our country in international championships. The alumni of this academy have won many Arjuna and Dronacharya sports awards for sailing including one Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and one Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award. Thus this lake has an illustrious past and we are really proud that our budding cadets will continue to bring laurels to NDA from this nursery of sailing.
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