Mettur Dam, one of the largest dams in Tamil Nadu and India, is located across the Cauvery River in Mettur, Salem District. Mettur dam was built in India in 1934 during British rule. It was built under the supervision of Irish engineer Vincent Hurt. Below this dam, there is a very beautiful and quiet park which attracts a large number of tourists. It is maintained by the Government of Tamil Nadu as a tourist destination.
History
It took almost nine years to complete the construction of this dam. Because there was a huge plan required to build this dam and a few problems had to be solved. Before the construction of the Mettur Dam, the people of Nayambadi and some other villages who lived in the dam had to be evicted. After some trouble, the dam authorities let them out of the place smoothly. People who left Nayambadi to build the Mettur dam have settled in Kollegal taluka in the Samrajnagar district of Karnataka. Notably, this includes Veerappan's paternal grandfather.
The dam was funded from money collected from the Madras Presidency. The Revenue Committee Chairman at that time CB Ramasamy Iyer started the construction of the dam. When the construction of the Mettur dam was completed, the Mettur Dam was the largest dam in the world. Even today the old Hindu temples and Christian temples in Nayambadu and some of the villages there are visible whenever the water level of the dam drops.
About Mettur Dam
The Mettur dam supplies drinking water and irrigation water to more than 12 districts of Tamil Nadu. Therefore, Tamil Nadu is dependent on the dam for its water needs. Due to the drying up of the dam in summer, there is a shortage of water in Tamil Nadu. Due to water scarcity in the summer, the Mettur Dam is on the border of Karnataka and the Government of Karnataka diverts the Cauvery River water flowing through Karnataka to their dam. Thus the water supply to the dam is reduced.
The Mettur Dam receives most of its water from the Cauvery River. Apart from this, the Mettur Dam also receives water from its own catchment area, the Kabini Dam and the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam.
Electricity
A hydroelectric power station has been set up here as it is the largest dam. The dam draws a large amount of water downstream and draws a lot of electricity from it. Notably, there is a thermal power station in Mettur. There the water is heated and the steam from it is rotated to Durban to produce electricity. Therefore, the Mettur Dam also plays an important role in the electricity demand of Tamil Nadu.
Construction of Mettur Dam
Since the Mettur dam is the largest dam, it took almost 17,000 manpower and three years under the supervision of an Irish engineer to complete the dam. The hydroelectric power station was also built as it is the largest dam and can generate a lot of electricity here. Mettur dam is twice as big as the KRS dam in Karnataka.
Measurements
- The total length of the dam is 1700 meters.
- The maximum reservoir level of the dam is 120 feet.
- The maximum capacity of the dam is 93.47 TMC feet.
- The total water storage area of the dam is 42.5 sq km.
- The total capacity of the dam is 93.4 million cubic feet.
The water problem between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka is going on as it is the largest and dam built across the Cauvery river.
Tamil Nadu-Karnataka Cauvery problem
The Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka began in earnest in the 1990s. The Government of Karnataka built the Harangi Dam, Hemavathi Dam and Kabini Dam across the Cauvery River to prevent the Mettur Dam from reaching the Cauvery water. Thus the water from the Cauvery River will be the first to reach these three dams. The water then released from these dams will reach the Mettur Dam.
Due to low water levels in the Cauvery during the summer, the Government of Karnataka will either reduce the flow of water from these three dams to the Mettur Dam or in some cases stop altogether. Thus the Mettur dam will be left without water supply. There is a shortage of water for agriculture and drinking water in many villages and districts which depend only on the Mettur Dam.
This will lead to severe conflict and tension between the two states of Tamil Nadu and the state of Karnataka during the summer. The court ruled that the Government of Karnataka should release 192 tmc of water to Tamil Nadu. But every summer the Karnataka government fails to do that. This problem persists to this day.
Tourist Place
The Thermal Power Plant along with the Mettur Dam and the Ellis Park and the surrounding hills make the Mettur Dam a tourist destination. This Ellis park is maintained by the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department. It is a good thing that there is some food and accommodation.
Erode and Salem districts are the main roads to reach the Mettur Dam. The Tamil Nadu bus service here is very good.
- Tirunelveli to Mettur dam distance is 402.2 Km.
- Selam to Mettur dam distance is 51.0 Km.
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