Kalingarayan Canal
Kalingarayan Canal is a 140-kilometre (90 mi) long irrigation canal in the Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. It was constructed by Kongu chieftain Kalingarayan and
was completed in 1283. It starts with Kalingarayan dam on River Bhavani, near Bhavani and flows through Erode before terminating near Kodumudi. Recently the canal has suffered from pollution. In 2007 a
12-crore (120 million) rupee programme to develop the canal was
announced, funded by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. Local
farmers have asked for a wall to be built on the right bank, to prevent nearby
textile workshops and tanneries from discharging waste.
The river starts with a dam in Bhavani (in current Erode District)
and connects Bhavani River and Noyyal River crossing rivulets on the way by
using aqueducts. It is a notable achievement even by modern standards. He
constructed a 56-mile-long (almost 90 km) canal, which today irrigates 15,743
acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare). The Kalingarayan Ayacut is one
of the important agricultural areas in the district.
History
Kalingarayar (aka Kalingarayan) was born as Lingaya Gounder around
1240 AD at Kanakapuram, a hamlet near Perundurai in the present day Erode
district. He rose to become the Uthara Mantri (Chief Minister) of Pandya King,
Veera Pandian (reign 1265 – 1280). He is believed to belong to Saathanthi
Kootam (clan).
When the Kongu region was under the rule of Veerapandian of
the Kongu Pandya dynasty in 13thcentury AD, Lingayyan joined as a
soldier in the army and later rose to the position of becoming a commander and
minister to the Pandya king. After the king conferred him the title
‘Kalingarayan’ and provided him the power to rule the northern part of Kongu region,
he de-silted several ponds and lakes and laid new roads in the region. As he
constructed the 56 mile-long canal with several curves like the crawling of a
snake at elevated places, an oral tradition in the Kongu region maintains that
Kalingarayan constructed the canal, as directed by a snake!
Transporting large rocks from Ooraatchi Kottaimalai on Buffalo -
drawn carts, the chieftain took 12 full years to complete the construction of
the canal and a dam to provide irrigation for over 15,000 acres of land. Though
Kalingarayan collected tax naming it as ‘Kalingarayan Viniyogum’ from all
classes of the society, he exempted the people from the lower strata from
paying the tax.
In an age, when many caste-based political outfits work for the
welfare of their respective castes, Kalingarayan, passed an order that the
descendants belonging to his sect called ‘Saathanthai Kulam’ from the Kongu
Vellalar community, shall not have the right to use the water from the canal!
The Kongu chieftain Kalingarayan, who made a vow that he would not
get his beard shaved until the completion of constructing the 56 mile-long
canal to link Bhavani and Noyyal rivers, was having a sound sleep at his home.
As he was tired after spending twelve full years for the project’s completion, his
family barber, who knew his chieftain’s vow, shaved his beard while he was
asleep. He also kept a mirror in front of him so that he would see his clean,
shaven face as soon as he woke up.
As expected by the barber, Kalingarayan was happy to see his new
face in the mirror and lauded the barber asking him what gifts he would like to
get from him. However, the barber told him the only gift he wanted was that his
name would last long for ever in history along with the name of his
chieftain.
In contrast to the present age, when most politicians show great
interest for their wide publicity, Kalingarayan, who ruled the Kongu region 700
years ago, removed his name from the village’s name ‘Kalingarayan Palayam’ and
renamed it into ‘Naavidhan Palayam’ rewarding his barber. Interestingly the
Tamil Nadu Government has announced a memorial for Kalingarayan at the same
place, which is now called ‘Anai Naasuvanmpalayam’
Kalingarayan began in 1271 with the construction of a small
barrage across the Bhavani. It was 1283 when he took the Canal to the banks of River
Noyyal at Aavudaiaaparai. Though the distance between where Kalingarayan
started and ended the Canal is only 32 miles, Kalingarayan designed it in a
circuitous way with as many twists and turns as possible that it measured 56
miles." There are two reasons that attributes to Kalingarayan extending
the length. By extending as much as possible the Canal's length, the chieftain
wanted to irrigate larger number of lands and in doing so made best use of the
natural gradient.
The mean sea level (MSL) at where the Canal begins is 534 ft and
ends in 412.48 ft. The other interesting piece of information is that the chieftain
wants the Canal to be extended further to River Amaravathi.
Soon after the construction of the Canal, Kalingarayan decided to
extend it by building another barrage, which he was unable to complete, though.
To this day the barrage by the name `Ootai anai' (porous barrage)
is present at Athipalayam."
The works of Kalingarayan is best understood from the words of
Dr Francis Buchanan (aka Francis Hamilton or Francis
Buchanan-Hamilton), 1762 to 1829, a Scottish Physician who made significant
contributions as geographer while staying in India. After the defeat of Tipu
Sultan and fall of Mysore in 1799 Buchanan was asked by the then British
Governor General of India, Marquis Wellesley to survey the Countries of Mysore,
Canara and Malabar. Buchanan visited these regions during 1800 and 1801 and his
findings are published in three volumes under the title “A journey from Madras
through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar”. As part of this study,
Buchanan visited Erode on 7th November 1800 and wrote in his journal
regarding the Kalingarayan Canal as follows (excluding italicized text added
for clarity):
At the time of Buchanan’s visit the canal was noted to be
irrigating over 3500 acres.
Currently, the canal runs 56.5 miles and terminates at Kodumudi
and provides irrigation for close to 16,000 acres of land in Kongu Nadu. It is
reported that Kalingarayar was also planning to connect the canal to Amaravathi
River and built a dam near Athipalayam for this purpose. However, this
extension was not completed.
Other works
Kalingarayan is not only known for his engineering skills but also
for being a visionary and for his able administration. It is believed that
Kalingarayan let lower caste persons blow conch and play instruments during
good and bad occasions; plaster their houses on the outside and wear footwear.
Though not much is known about his death, his selfless work will
continue to be appreciated by all the people in Kongu Nadu for a long time.