Kallanai Dam – World Oldest Surviving Dam – Constructed By Cholas At Tamilndu 2000 years back and functioning Till Date
Built around 2,000 years ago across the Cauveri River in Tiruchirapalli District of Tamil Nadu, the Kallanai Dam is still in excellent condition and used as a major irrigation dam even now. The dam has been inspiration to many modern day dams too due to amazing engineering. Read more to know about this unique example of the amazing architecture and engineering of ancient India.
When I was a kid, water always amused me. I would wonder where it came from, where it went and how did it first come into existence and found its way to our house taps.
Kallanai Dam, also known as the Grand Anicut, is one of the oldest water-regulator structures in the world which is still in use.
Kallanai Dam
Built around 2,000 years ago across the Kaveri River in Tiruchirapalli District, Tamil Nadu, by Karikala Chola, the dam was constructed to divert the river to the delta districts thereby boosting irrigation and avoiding loss of crops due to floods.
The dam though very old has a strong foundation and a solid structure. It is still in excellent condition and is used as a major irrigation dam in Tamil Nadu. The dam has also been an inspiration for many recent modern day dams due to its amazing engineering. Due to its impressive architecture, the dam attracts a lot of tourists every year.
The unique structure of the Kallanai dam involves large stones sunk in the Cauvery river to divert the water flow to the fertile delta. The main function of the dam was to retain the water supply in the Cauvery and flow the surplus into Coleroon through the Ullar river. The dam was re-modeled by the British during the 19th century.
In 1804, Captain Caldwell, a military engineer was appointed to promote the irrigation in the delta region. After some study he found out that only a small amount of water was left for irrigation as the maximum water went to Kollidam. Caldwell proposed a solution by raising the dam. Hence, the dam stones were raised to a height of 0.69 meter, which increased the capacity of the dam.
It is believed that floods to an extent of about 5260 cumecs (1,86,000 cusecs) have been discharged through this anicut with minimal or no damage. (Source)
Cauvery River
The dam is made of unhewn stone and is 1,080 feet long and 60 feet wide, across the main stream of the Cauvery. The area is irrigated by the ancient irrigation network of which the dam was the centrepiece, covering about 69,000 acres. By the early 20th century, the irrigated area had increased to about 1,000,000 acres. (Source)
The Lower Anicut built by Sir Arthur Cotton in 19th century AD across Coleroon, the major tributary of Cauvery, is said to be a replicated structure of Kallanai.
How to reach there?
Kallanai dam is located 19 kms. from Tiruchirappalli, and the nearest airport is the Tiruchirapalli airport, about 13 kms. away from the dam site. The nearest railway station to Kallanai Dam is Lalgudi railway station Junction which is 4 kms. away from the Kallanai Dam.
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About the Author: Born with a hobby to travel, talk, express and write, Shreya gets to do all of that and is even paid for it! Interested in rural development and social issues, she dreams of actually bringing a change in society and writing a book of her own one day. When she is not preaching others about a better India she is busy watching movies and playing video games. Follow her on twitter: @shreya08
Editing Assistance: Shruti Mehrotra
- See more at: http://www.thebetterindia.com/12031/dam-standing-tall-2000-years/#sthash.HO1JnhSb.dpufKallanai Dam – World Oldest Surviving Dam – Constructed By Cholas At Tamilndu 2000 years back and functioning Till Date
Kallanai Dam is one of the oldest irrigation dams in the world built around 2000 years ago. It was built across the river Cauvery by the Chola King, Karikal Valavan. The main purpose of building Kallanai was to divert the Cauvery water for irrigation in the Tanjavur delta. Kallanai has a strong foundation and solid structure. Due to its stubbornness it is still in excellent condition and is used as a major irrigation dam in Tamilnadu.
About 15,000 Singala speaking slaves cum war prison-ires picked and mobilized from Srilanka During construction by Tamil Chola rulers for to meet construction labour force.
Kallanai has become model for many modern day dam constructions due to its strong engineering characters. Due to its engineering marvel Sir Arthu Cotton studied this dam extensively before constructing the Kollidam Dam across the river Coloron a tributary of Cauvery. 
Built by Raja Karikala Chola in the 2nd century A.D., the Grand Anicut, locally known as the Kallanai, is believed to be the oldest surviving dam. The Grand Anicut built by Raja Karikala Chola in the second nd century A.D. is still been a marvel in engineering.
It is a unique structure built just with large boulders brought over and sunk in the Cauvery sand, a task arising of a desperate need for irrigating fertile fields below when the floods breached the left bank and rushed down north to join back its counterpart the Coleroon, leaving its delta high and dry.
Also this was the lone solution available centuries before the reputed Punjab engineer Dr.A. N. Khosla, I.S.E. came up with an engineering design for structures to be built on permeable foundations.
Strong structure According to data available with the Public Works Department, floods to an extent of about 5260 cumecs (1,86,000 cusecs) have been discharged through this anicut with minimum or no damage. It is possible that higher floods could have flown over in the past when there were no other structures in the river. 
The anicut is 328 metres (1,080 feet) long; 12.20 to18.30metres (40 to 60 feet) in width and 4.57 to5.49 metres (15 to18 feet) in height. The main function of this anicut was to retain the supply in the Cauvery and its branches and pass on the surplus into Coleroon through the Ullar river.
To save the crops The entire work chould have been done employing local labour and utilising whatever experience they possessed at that time. It is on record that thousands of slave labour brought from Ceylon after the Cholas’ conquest were employed. The sheer necessity to save the crops in the delta and provide water whenever needed should have driven the ruler to take up the arduous task.
Not much is known as to how delta irrigation sustained through the centuries after the Grand Anicut was built. When the British took over Thanjavur from the Mahrattas in 1800, irrigation work was neglected but the supply realised in the Cauvery was inadequate.
In 1804, Captain Coldwell repaired the Grand Anicut and provided dam stones 0.69 metre in height on its crest and at the same time, raised the river embankment above, ensuring additional water to the Cauvery. In 1829, Major Sim proposed undersluices in the Cauvery with outlets in to the Coleroon to prevent the accumulation of silt in the upper reaches.
The Public Works Department recently took up renovation work on the Grand Anicut with an outlay of Rs. 21 crore sanctioned by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Rajya Sabha member Tiruchi N. Siva drew the country’s attention to the historic Grand Anicut popularly known as Kallanai as an apt case for world heritage status. Siva hailing from Tiruchi, while making a special mention in the Rajya Sabha recently pointed out that Kallanai by virtue of it being an engineering marvel is a fit case for listing as a world heritage site. Built by Karikala Chozhan, the Kallanai is one of the oldest water diversions or water regulating structures in the world that continues to be functional. Though a large number of tourists, engineers, and historians visit this tourist spot, the importance of the Anicut and its historical background are less known. Mr. Siva had quoted clause (IV) of the selection criteria of the heritage site: “To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant state in human history.” He said the dam is seen as a model for engineers across the world.
Locally called Kallanai, the Grand Anicut dam, was made of unhewn stones.
The dam is 1080 foot long (329 meters) and 60 foot wide (20 metres) and is regarded as an engineering marvel.
Grand Anicut is believed to be the world’s oldest surviving dam.
This massive structure was later reinforced by the British.
Originally the structure was built to divert the river water through canals across the fertile delta region for irrigation.
The area irrigated by the ancient irrigation network of which the dam was the centrepiece was 69,000 acres.
By the early 20 th century, the irrigated area has been increased to about one million acres.
At present the dam caters to irrigation needs of 12 lakh acres. The PWD a few years ago undertook modernisation work at a cost of Rs. 21 crore sanctioned by NABARD.
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