Mamannar Kalingarayan Canal is a long

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

in the Erode district,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, India. It was constructed by Chieftain Mamannar Kalingarayan Gounder and completed in 1283. The canal's source is the Kalingarayan Anicut dam near

Bhavani, Erode Bhavani is a Municipality in Erode District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located at the northern periphery of Erode City Municipal Corporation and is around from Coimbatore and from Tiruppur and Salem. Bhavani is also known as "Carpet City" as ...

. The canal irrigates approximately of agricultural land. Project, including the canal and the Kalingarayan Anicut dam started in 1271 and was completed in 1283, taking over 12 years. The dam was constructed by Kalingarayan king.

Course and architecture

The canal connects

Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...

and

Noyyal river The Noyyal River is a small river in Western Tamil Nadu, and a tributary of Kaveri River. It rises from the Vellingiri hills in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, very close to Kerala border, and flows through many villages and the cities of ...

s, two major tributaries of the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri (hill), Karnataka, Brahmagiri range in th ...

. It is one of the oldest river linking projects in India. The Canal starts at Kalingarayan Anicut on Bhavani river and joins Noyyal river near Kodumudi. The canal is long and was designed to reduce the water current, to avoid damage to the canal banks and to increase the ground water table. The canal crosses three other canals via

aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

. *Sunnambu Canal near

Suriyampalayam Suriyampalayam is a panchayat town in the city of Erode, Tamil Nadu. It is the Headquarters for one of the four zones of Erode Municipal Corporation. In 2011, Suriyampalayam was an independent panchayat town, but has since been merged with Erode ...

Pichaikaranpallam Canal Pichaikaranpallam Canal is a canal that runs in Erode, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the tributary to River Kaveri. The canal gets sourced by the rain water through rivulets and the seepage water from LBP Canal near Nasiyanur, which further flows into ...

near BP Agraharam *

Perumpallam Canal Perumpallam Canal is an irrigation canal in the city of Erode in Tamil Nadu. The canal traverses from west to east across the city and flows into River Kaveri. It runs for a length of about . It gets the water from the sources of rain and seepage ...

near Karaivaikkal

Environmental Threats

As the initial portion of the canal runs through the highly industrialized and urbanized areas of

Erode Municipal Corporation Erode Corporation is a civic administrative body that governs the City of Erode, India. The Corporation consists of a legislative body, headed by the City Mayor and an executive body headed by the Corporation Commissioner. The Corporation's head ...

, the discharge of untreated effluents from the textile dyeing units and leather tanneries introduce major pollutants. To prevent mixing of sewage into the canal, the

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, l ...

have built concrete walls on the sides and a baby canal of has been constructed alongside the main canal to carry the sewage. The entire stretch of first of the canal running through

is proposed to be provided with concrete lining and baby canal in phased manner. Also, navigable roads were developed along the banks throughout this stretch.

References

Erode district Bhavani River Canals in Tamil Nadu {{Erode-geo-stub

Course and architecture

Environmental Threats

See also

References