Anaikarai North and South Dams on Kollidam Rivers, Tamil Nadu || Two of the many dams on Cauvery, some of which are nearly 2000 years old
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| Anaikarai Dam |
The ancient texts of South India often talk about the exploits of the legendary Chola Kings, some of whom were visionaries who transformed the region for centuries to come. One of them was Karikala who was one of the early Chola Kings.
After he ascended the throne and conquered almost the whole of South India, including the Pandyan and Cheran kings, and then also extended his exploits toward the North India, he built one of the most sophisticated water management systems to have ever existed. He built dams and ensured that a large area of his territory, which was earlier prone to flooding and drought, received regular supply of water for irrigation. The ancient dam that was at the center of this system still continues to serve its purpose today. It is known as the Grand Anicut or the Kallanai Dam on the river Cauvery in Tamil Nadu.
Though we did not get to see this ancient dam, we did see another double dam on Kollidam river which is a distributary of the Cauvery river. This dam is the Anaikarai dam which is a double dam (a north dam and a south dam) built by the British in the year 1902 and is supposed to replicate the Grand Anicut and is, therefore, also known as the Lower Anicut as well.
We drove across the lower Anicut while travelling from Velankanni to Gangaikonda Cholapuram and we first thought that this was the Grand Anicut, but later discovered that it was a replica that came much later. Nevertheless, the knowledge that we gained with this research is priceless.
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