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.