Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Kallanai Dam – History

Kallanai Dam – History

Karikala Chola is known as the man responsible for the Kallanai dam. As King of the Chola Dynasty during the Sangam period, Karikala came into power sometime around 190 AD. Karikala’s reign was defined by trade, war, and construction. He filled his kingdoms coffers by expanding trade with the Roman empire. He then took the wealth gained through that trade and used it to fund wars and construction projects. Stories tell of Karikala fighting many battles and expanded the territory controlled by the Chola dynasty into the territory known as Ceylon, but his most lasting contribution to the area is the Grand Anicut.

His goal was to shift the flow of water from the Kaveri river to help irrigate the dry areas around the Cauvery Delta. Historical and physical evidence suggests that construction of the Grand Anicut took place around 200 AD. It was following the wars in which Karikala lead his forces to conquer the Sinhalese kingdom. Captured Sinhalese soldiers were brought back to Chola and forced to build the dam. It’s a dark history for a beautiful structure, but it’s important to remember that such practices were all too common throughout the ancient world.

The idea behind the construction of the dam was to divert the river to the delta districts thereby boosting irrigation. The dam was re-modeled by the British during the 19th century. In 1804, Captain Caldwell, a military engineer, was appointed by the British to make a study on the Kaveri river and promote irrigation for the delta region. He found that a large amount of water passed onto the Kollidam leaving behind a small volume for irrigation purposes. Caldwell initially proposed a solution by raising the dam and hence raised the dam stones to a height of 69 centimeters (27 in), thus increasing the capacity of the dam. 

Following this, Major Sim proposed the idea of under sluices across the river with outlets leading to the Kollidam River (Coloroon) thus preventing formation of silt. The Lower Anaicut built by Sir Arthur Cotton in 19th century CE across Coleroon, the major tributary of Cauvery, is said to be a replicated structure of Kallanai. Remembering Karikalan contribution, The Karikala Chozhan Memorial Building was built on the Eastern side of the Grand Anicut by Tamil Nadu Government in 2014.