The Veeranam tank. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Veeranam tank at Kattumannarkovil in Cuddalore district. | Photo Credit: S.S. KUMAR
Tamil Nadu’s rich history of irrigation is back in focus. The State has bagged three out of the country’s four entries chosen for the International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage’s award of world heritage irrigation structures (WHIS) for 2021.
What is more exciting is the selection of Kallanai or the Grand Anicut, an irrigation-cum-flood management structure, said to have been built during the reign of Karikala Chola in the 2nd Century CE. The belated recognition has gladdened history-lovers and farmers alike.
The other two chosen structures of Tamil Nadu are the Veeranam tank, formed during the rule of Parantaka Chola I (907-955 CE), and the 740-year-old Kalingarayan Anicut and Channel, which links the Bhavani with the Noyyal. The presentation of the award will take place on November 7, according to Sandeep Saxena, Additional Chief Secretary (Water Resources).
The fourth Indian structure chosen is the Dhukwan weir in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, which belongs to the early 20th Century (1905-09).
Ranked as the fourth oldest dam in the world and the oldest in the country, the Grand Anicut was built on sand foundation, “which is unique”, observes R. Subramanian, chairman of the Cauvery Technical Cell. Though better theories came up much later, the Kallanai is “definitely an engineering achievement”, he points out and adds that though certain improvements were carried out during the British Raj, the base of the structure remains undisturbed.
Throughout the 19th Century, the dam witnessed improvements, thanks to the efforts of engineers Captain Coldwell, Major Sim and Arthur Cotton (1803-99), who was credited with having implemented irrigation projects that helped to avert famines and stimulated the economy of south India. Between 1836 and 1846, the Upper Anicut (across the Cauvery) and the Lower Anicut (across the Coleroon) were built, standing testimony to the greatness of Cotton.
Over 300 m long, 20 m wide and 4.5 m tall, the Kallanai has been ensuring the fertility of the delta with the availability of the Cauvery water and diverting the floodwater through the Coleroon (Kollidam). Irrigating more than one million acres in the delta, the dam is the lifeline of farmers in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts and in parts of Tiruchi, Ariyalur, Karur, Pudukottai and Cuddalore districts.
Arupathy P. Kalyanam, a farmer-leader of Mayiladuthurai and the national organiser of the Self-Sufficient Green Village Movement, calls the Grand Anicut “well designed and planned” with its vast network of canals and other drains. “If the authorities maintain it well, they would be doing a great service to agriculturists,” he adds.
Figuring prominently in a Tamil classic work Ponniyin Selvan of Kalki, the Veeranam tank, originally called Veeranarayana Eri, is located in Cuddalore district and at the tail of the Cauvery river system. Having a water spread of 40 sq km, it receives rainwater from its catchments of around 430 sq km, in addition to Cauvery water from the Coleroon through the Lower Anicut via the Vadavar canal. It can store water up to 1.465 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft). Until about 15 years ago, it was only an irrigation tank, catering to the requirements of about 44,860 acres in 100 villages spread over the Kattumannarkoil and Chidambaram taluks. Since the 1960s, the Veeranam was talked about as a source of water supply to Chennai, which is about 225 km away. Eventually, during the AIADMK regime (2001-06), the tank began serving the city. A maximum of 180 million litres a day (MLD) can be drawn.
K.V. Elankeeran of Kattumannarkoil and president of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Association, says it has become a rarity, especially after becoming a source of water supply to Chennai, that the tank goes empty. He suggests strengthening of the western portion of the bund, where beautification can also be done. Given its potential for tourism, the tank can be developed for boating.
Named after Kongu chieftain who was responsible for the structures, the Kalingarayan Anicut and Channel serve 15,745 acres in the Erode, Modakkuruchi and Kodumudi taluks of Erode district. At the beginning of the 19th Century, it irrigated only around 3,500 acres, if one is to go by the account of historian and traveller Francis Buchanan.
Legend has it that Nanjaya Gounder, popularly called “Kalingarayar”, was appalled by the drought in Erode and he covered the distance of the present alignment of the channel before drawing a blueprint.
The Anicut consists of three parts — Main, Central and Murian. On December 9, 1972, it discharged the maximum flood of around 1.26 lakh cubic feet per second (cusecs). The Channel runs to 90 km, facilitating the cultivation of crops such as paddy, turmeric, banana and sugarcane.
For 2022, the State government has planned to recommend more than 10 structures to the ICID, adds Dr. Saxena.
