Kallanai Dam, also known as Grand Anicut, is a historic dam built on the Kaveri River in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The dam was built during the reign of the Chola dynasty in the 2nd century AD and is considered to be one of the oldest water-diversion structures in the world.
The Kallanai Dam is located at a distance of about 15 km from the city of Trichy and is built across the Kaveri River. The dam is about 329 meters long and 20 meters wide and is made of unhewn stone blocks. It has a height of about 5.4 meters and a storage capacity of around 1,080,000,000 cubic meters of water.
The Kallanai Dam was built to divert the waters of the Kaveri River for irrigation purposes. The dam has a system of sluices that allow the water to be released in controlled quantities to irrigate the surrounding agricultural lands. The dam is also used for power generation, with a hydropower plant located downstream from the dam.
The Kallanai Dam is considered to be an engineering marvel of its time, built with a keen understanding of the river’s flow patterns and the region’s terrain. It has survived numerous floods, droughts, and other natural disasters over the centuries and continues to serve as a vital source of water for the region’s agriculture and power needs.
Today, the Kallanai Dam is a popular tourist attraction, drawing visitors from all over the world to marvel at its historic significance and engineering prowess. It is also a symbol of the ancient and enduring agricultural heritage of the region, which has sustained itself for centuries through careful water management and irrigation techniques.