Sathanur Dam which forms the Sathanur reservoir, is one of the major dams in Tamil Nadu. It is constructed across the Thenpennai River also called as Pennaiyar River in

Thandarampet taluk Thandarampatu taluk or Thandrampet is a taluk of Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The headquarters is the town of Thandarampattu Thandarampattu is one of the taluk headquarters of Thiruvannamalai district. It had a po ...

among Chennakesava Hills. The dam can be reached by road from Tiruvannamalai City. It was constructed in 1958. There is also a large

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

farm and a fish grotto. Parks are maintained inside the dam for tourists to visit and the gardens have been used by the film industry. Sathanur dam and reservoir is the third largest in Tamil Nadu after Mettur and Bhavanisagar.

History

The Sathanur Dam Project was proposed in the First Five Year Plans of India and started in the year 1953. The Dam works are completed in the Second Five Year Plans of India and is operational from 1958. The project was inaugurated by the then

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian Federated state, state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the Governor (India), governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de ...

K. Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He also served as the pr ...

. This is one of the Major

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) 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 bee ...

schemes were planned in Kamaraj's period . The other projects are Lower Bhavani, Krishnagiri Dam, Mani Muthuar,

Cauvery Delta Chola Nadu is an ancient region spanning on the current state of Tamil Nadu and union territory of Puducherry in southern India. It encompasses the lower reaches of the Kaveri River and its delta, and formed the cultural homeland and politica ...

, Aarani River,

Vaigai Dam The Vaigai Dam is built across the Vaigai River near Andipatti, in the Theni district (Madurai district, before British India) of Tamil Nadu, South India. Near the dam, the Government of Tamil Nadu has constructed an Agricultural Research Sta ...

, Amravathi, Sathanur, Pullambadi,

Parambikulam Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of wa ...

and Neyaru Dams. The approved cost of the project is ₹2.02 Crores. The project was completed within ₹3.59 Crore (Actual cost). The project is covered under CADA (Command Area Development Authority) Scheme.

Technical details

The dam has an effective storage capacity of with a full level of . An area of of land is benefited by the left bank canal and of land is benefited by the right bank canal in Thandrampet and

Thiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil language, Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city and the administrative headquarters of ...

blocks. The dam is a popular picnic area in the region.

References

{{Hydrography of Tamil Nadu Dams in Tamil Nadu Reservoirs in Tamil Nadu Dams completed in 1958 1958 establishments in Madras State 20th-century architecture in India

History

Technical details

See also

References