Solaiyar Dam, Upper Solaiyar Dam or Upper Sholayar Dam () is located from

Valparai Valparai (originally known as Poonachimalai) is a Taluk and hill station in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India. It consists of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (earlier known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park (IGWLS&NP) and ...

, a

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

in the

Anaimalai Hills The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala ( Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of wester ...

of the

Coimbatore district Coimbatore District is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educa ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. As it is a part of the

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

project of Tamil Nadu, special permission is required to visit the dam. Valparai is located from

Pollachi Pollachi is a town and municipality in Coimbatore district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Pollachi taluk. It is situated near the center of the South Indian Peninsula, surrounded by Western Gha ...

and from

Chalakudy Chalakudy () is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of the Kerala state in India. It is the headquarters of Chalakudy taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls ...

, Kerala. The nearest railway station is

. The reservoir of Solaiyar dam is a vital reservoir under the Parambikulam Aliyar Project and has a water storage capacity of . The reservoir's overflowing waters are let into the Parambikulam Reservoir through the saddle dam. It was constructed by a team working under K. Gopalswamy Mudhaliar, the most popular engineer in that area. The Solaiyar Dam is part of the Solaiyar Hydroelectric Project (HEP). The project comprises the main Soliayar Dam, the Solaiyar Flanking Dam, and the Solaiyar Saddle Dam.

History

Solaiyar Dam was officially opened in 1965; the Solaiyar Flanking was built in 1964 and the Solaiyar Saddle Dam in 1965.

Construction

The area of the reservoir is 8.705 square km. The height of the main dam is 66 metres, its width is 430 metres, and length 430.60 metres. The Solaiyar Flanking has a height of 28 metres and width of 19 metres. The Solaiyar Saddle Dam is 259 metres high and 109 metres wide.

References

Dams in Tamil Nadu Buildings and structures in Coimbatore district 1965 establishments in Madras State Energy infrastructure completed in 1965 20th-century architecture in India {{Coimbatore-geo-stub

History

Construction

See also

References