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February 09, 2024 12:23 am | Updated 04:56 pm IST
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Built to last: The Kalingarayan anicut across River Bhavani at Kalingarayan Palayam in Erode district. | Photo Credit: M. GOVARTHAN
At a time when there is much talk about inter-linking of rivers in the 21st Century, it would be worthwhile to note that a Kongu king, Kalingarayan, had interlinked water sources, by his technical ingenuity, in the 13th Century. The Kalingarayan Anicut and Channel System, a water management structure created by him and believed to be one of the oldest water diversion projects in the world, stands tall even today. The system, recognised as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure by The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) in 2021, withstood the natural calamities in its 741 years of existence and helps irrigate 15,743 acres in Erode district even today.
Kalingarayan, then king of Poondurai Nadu, one of the subdivisions in Kongu Nadu, was the brain behind the engineering marvel: a barrage across River Bhavani. Water is branched out from the river into a canal that runs 91.10-km to join River Noyyal at Kodumudi. Work on the project had begun in 1270 and was completed on January 19, 1282. Though the distance between the two rivers is 32 miles, he designed the canal to meander so as to extend its length to irrigate more land.
Born as Lingayan at Kanagapuram in Vellode in 1240, he joined the Madurai Pandyas as a soldier and his courageous actions secured him the post of chief of army. In 1265, Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan bestowed the title, ‘Kalingarayan’, on him and appointed him to rule Poondurai Nadu on his behalf.
According to historians, many stories had emerged over the reason for the chieftain to construct a canal. One is that Kalingarayan went to his uncle’s house to seek a bride for his son. The chief asked the bride’s father which rice he should use for cooking. The father replied, “They live in a region where pearl millet is grown and they don’t know what rice is. Hence, use any rice”. Angered by the remarks, Kalingarayan vowed to convert the land as fertile and returned to the native.
Though three rivers — the Cauvery in the east, the Noyyal in the south, and the Bhavani in the north — flow near Vellode, the region was dry then. He decided to construct an anicut at Bhavani and dig a canal and divert the water for irrigation. Late S. Rasu, eminent archaeologist, epigraphist, and Tamil scholar, in his book Kalingarayan Kaalvai, mentioned that the king purchased the Urachikottai hillock for 1,000 units of gold and laid a road — by spending another 1,000 units of gold — to the construction site. The bullock-carts transported boulders from the hillock to the site. The canal was commissioned on the fifth day of the Tamil month of Thai that is being celebrated as ‘Kalingarayan Day’ now.
“The anicut was constructed with boulders and molten lead. The arrangement of the boulders prevents the stones from being washed away,” said an engineer, who hailed the anicut as an engineering marvel. The canal, which runs through Erode city, is also called Konavaikal (the twisted canal), as it is not straight, said an ayacut farmer P. Paramasivam, of Karungalpalayam, who added that it would carry water for ten-and-a-half months a year.
R. Selvakumar, secretary of Kalingarayan Mathagu Pasana Vivasayigal Sabai, said the chieftain was ambitious to connect the Noyyal with the Amaravati to help irrigate 13,000 more acres. “Though he began the work, it could not be completed and a damaged barrage is present at Athipalayam even now,” he said. After the Pandya dynasty declined, Kalingarayan nationalised the canal and moved to Uthukuli near Pollachi and created a new village. He also asked his descendants not to use the canal water. Thereafter, his descendants helped the rulers and were called as Uthukuli Zamin.
Many European engineers visited the canal and appreciated the work of the chieftain. After the Fourth Mysore War, M.D. Francis Buchanan, a Scottish physician, was sent to south India to gather the botanical, agricultural and zoological details of the region. In his book, A Journey from Madras Through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar, published in 1807, Buchanan said he visited Erode on November 7, 1800, and the canal was more than 400 years old and an excellent work by Caling Raya (Kalingaraya).
A memorial with a statue of Kalingarayan was built at the anicut at Kalingarayanpalayam in the Mettunasuvampalayam panchayat, 14 km from Erode. Also, the Public Works Department’s inspection bungalow on Perundurai Road in Erode was named Kalingarayan Illam. A special puja is performed by people of many villages and ayacut farmers every year during which the king and the canal are thanked for making their area green. The canal helps farmers cultivate banana, turmeric, paddy, and sugar cane throughout the year. But dumping of waste and discharge of effluents and sewage have turned the water black. Farmers are worried that the canal is losing its glory and hoping for its restoration.
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