ಸುತ್ತೋಣ ಬನ್ನಿ - Sutthona Banni: Dams & Reservoirs

Mani Dam- Shivamogga District

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Mani dam (also called as Maani Dam or Varahi Dam) is a hydroelectric dam, (as it is constructed near Manibail village), across the Varahi river. Power generation takes place underground. An underground power station built by KPCLuses water from this river near Hosangadi in Udupi district. The dam is near Yadur near Masthikatte, Shimoga District. Many are villages were surrounded by water due to this dam. To go to this dam you have to take special permission from KPCL because this is a restricted place for tourists.

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Photos & Information: Sudeep N(KPCL)-Mastikatte (Sutthona Banni Team)

Chakra Dam-Shivamogga District

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The Chakra River is a river flowing through Kundapur and Gungulli in western India. It originates in Kodachdri peak. It joins with the Souparnika River, Varahi River and Kubja River and merges into the Arabian Sea.

The Chakra nagar is a small town which is famous because of this river.Chakranagar is on the way to Shimoga to Mangalore via Hosanagara Nagara- Mastikatte- Chakranagar-Kundapuar.There is also a Chakra dam which was built long ago as a balancing reservoir and does not have sluice gate to the Linganamakki Dam and you need special permission to visit this dam.The Chakra Dam was a KPC project and the chief engineer was B Seetharam.

Getting There:

From Shivamogga go to Mastikatte (100km from Shivamogga).Masthikatte is a city located in Hosanagara Taluk, Shimoga district, Karnataka, India. From Mastikatte, Chakra Dam is about 20km. Savehaklu Dam is 10km. A guide & vehicle are required. For stay & food, Thirthahalli (45km) is the nearest place.

Nearest Places of Interest: Kunchikal Falls,Savehaklu Reservoir,Vanadurgeshwari temple,Varahi backwater, Chandikmba Temple-Hulikal.

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Photos: Sudeep N(KPCL)-Mastikatte/Chitradurga (Sutthona Banni Team Karnataka)
Information Courtesy: Wikipedia

Thippagondanahalli Reservoir-Ramanagara District

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Thippagondanahalli Reservoir, also known as T G Halli Dam or Chamarajsagar, is located at the confluence of the Arkavathy River and Kumudavathi River, 35 km west of Bangalore, India. This Dam is situated in "Ramanagara" District of Karnataka. This place is good picnic spot around Bangalore.

It is used by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) as a major source of drinking water for western Bangalore. The lake is a man-made reservoir, created by the building of a dam which was inaugurated in 1933. Bharath Rathna Sir M Visvesvaraya supervised the construction work.

Water crisis

In the summer of 2007, the lack of rain in the watershed for the reservoir, along with use of the water for the city (BWSSB typically pumps 35 million litres per day into the western parts of the city.) caused the lake to become nearly dry.

Recreational use

Thippagondanahalli is also popular recreation location, especially during summer months. It is located in Magadi road. Best time to visit this place is September to February.

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Courtesy: Wikipedia

Chikli Hole Reservoir-Kodagu District

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Chiklihole reservoir in Kodagu District (Coorg) is located in between Madikeri and Kushalnagar and is roughly around 5 kms from Dubare, 15 kms from Kushalnagar and 45 kms from Madikeri.The best time to visit would be during monsoon and winter i.e from June to March as there will be more water in the dam. The best part at Chicklihole is the sunset. This place is very beautiful picnic spot.

Chikli hole is one of the small reservoirs on the Cauvery stream.The overflow of water on the semi-circular structure of Chiklihole reservoir, which has no crest gates, attracts tourists.

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Photos & Information: Shriharsha BS, Nitin, Pradeep S, Madan, Vikas, Bharath - Sutthona Banni Team Karnataka

Bachanaki Dam- Uttara Kannada

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This place is situated in Uttara Kannada District. It is about 9 KMs from Mundgod on the Mundgod - hubli road is the Bachankidam, a tourist resort. The dam which is built across the Bachanaki river, a tributary of the Kali is adorned with ever green hilly surroundings. There is a proposal to raise park on the site on the other side of the dam. It is the good picnic spot.

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Photos: Sachin Shet-Sirsi & Wikipedia
Information Courtesy: Wikipedia

Kanva reservoir-Ramanagara District

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Kanva reservoir is an artificial lake and tourist attraction 69 kilometres (43 mi) from Bangalore, India and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Ramanagara. The reservoir has been formed from the damming of the river Kanva and is well known as a tourist destination for its birdlife. It is surrounded by wooded hills.

Alongside the dam is a fisheries training and research center, aimed at making the local villagers self sufficient through fish farming. The cave temple of Purushotthama Thirtha Gavi is 3 km away. It is an important pilgrimage center for Madhwa Brahmins, as it is believed that a saint performed penance here. A statue of Hanuman has been installed inside the cave.

Kanva Dam

Kanva Dam is a minor irrigation project dam. Built in 1946 across the Kanva river, it is 15 km long covering 776 hectares. The Kanva river (a tributary of the Shimsha and Cauvery river) is named after the sage Kanva, who is believed to have lived in the caves in the mountains and forests around the dam in the time of Ramayana.

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Courtesy: Wikipedia

Tungabhadra Dam- Bellary District

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Tungabhadra Dam, which is the largest dam in Karnataka, is located approximately five km from Hospet town. The town is to the north of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka. Nature has poured all her natural assets on this beautiful land. Thousands of tourists visit this site round the year.

The Tungabhadra dam is constructed across the river Tungabhadra. Tourists can have a wonderful view of the waterpower of the dam, while standing at any part of the dam. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the two states that share the stored water among them. To reach the dam, tourists have to take a drive through a narrow road and some surrounding hills, which are bound with coffee coloured soil and green plants. There are some small and multicolored houses beside the road. If we discount the telephone and electric lines which moves in a zigzag way, the scenery of the road is beautiful. An entry to the each end of the dam is limited due to the security reasons. The dam has 33 spillway gates to release water.

A small house that serves as a lighthouse is located at the top of a mount, beside the Tungabhadra dam. This lighthouse is one of the best places to have an eye-catching view of the environment. The government of Karnataka has designed a beautiful garden at the foot of the dam, which is one of the ideal places to spend some leisure moments. On the arrival of monsoon in the months of May and June, all the gates of the dam are closed to store water in it.

The best time for the tourist to visit Tungabhadra dam is during the month of August.

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Courtesy: Wikipedia

Almatti Dam-(Bijapur/ Bagalkot ) District

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The Almatti Dam(Kannada:ಆಲಮಟ್ಟಿ ಅಣೆಕಟ್ಟು) is a dam project on the Krishna River in North Karnataka, India which was completed in July 2005. The annual electric output of the dam is 713,000,000 kilowatts (KW).

The Almatti Dam is the main reservoir of the Upper Krishna Irrigation Project; the 290 megawatt (MW) power project is located on the right side of the Almatti Dam. The facility uses vertical kaplan turbines: five 55MW generators and one 15MW generator. During the initial stages of the project, estimated costs were projected as Rs.1470 crores, but following the transfer of project's management to the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), the estimated cost was reduced by over fifty percent to Rs.674 crores. The KPCL eventually completed the project at an even lower cost of Rs.520 crores^]. The entire dam was finished in less than forty months, with construction ending in July 2005. The dam is located on the edge of Bijapur and Bagalkot districts. Geographically, it is located in the Bijapur district, but large areas of Bagalkot district have also been submerged due to filling of the reservoir. The dam holds a storage capacity of 42.19TMC of water.

Height

The height of Almatti dam was originally restricted to 52.26 meters by the supreme court of India.The Krishna River conflict between Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharastra was resolved by the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal and the dam was authorised to be raised to the height of 52.4 meters.

Picnic spot

Seven terrace gardens have been developed as a picnic spot in the dam area. Boating, musical fountains, and stagnant fountains have been set up in the area. On one side of the dam, a garden named "Rock hill" has an artificial forest with ceramic wild animals and birds and many idols representing village life in India.

How to reach

Almatti is about 66 km away from Bijapur and takes about 1 hr, 10 mins by train.

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Photos: Manohar,Mayur,Girish,Sandesh,Pavan,Praveen (Sutthona Banni Team-Sirsi)
Information Courtesy: Wikipedia

Navilatirtha-Belgaum District

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Navilatirtha (also written Navilateertha, Naviltirth) it a well-known picnic spot, in Belgaum District, North Karnataka in Karnataka, near Saundatti, on the Renuka sagara (Renuka lake), which is on the Malaprabha river.

At Saundatti there is the famous Renuka (Yallamma) temple at Yallammagudda.

Mahatapasvi Shri Kumarswamiji

Navilatirtha is said to be where Gurudeva Mahatapasvi Shri Kumarswamiji meditated in 1932.

Kundalini was awakened as the result of worship of the Devi, Mahatapasvi Shri Kumarswamiji, at the age of 18. He had remarkable spiritual experiences. Another significant stage in his spiritual development was the 'attainment of the siddhi of levitation during his yogic practices at Navilateertha on the banks of Malaprabha River, he attained oneness with ruler of Time and Space.

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Courtesy: Wikipedia

Vani Vilasa Sagara (Marikanive)-Chitradurga Dist

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Vani Vilasa Sagara (Mari Kanive) (Kannada: ಮಾರಿ ಕಣಿವೆ) is a dam near Hiriyur Taluk, Chitradurga District, in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the oldest dam in the state.

The dam was built by the Mysore Maharajas pre-independence across the river Vedavathi. The dam is an exquisite piece of architecture, an engineering marvel for that time, and provides water to lots of surrounding cities, towns and villages, which are largely dry lands of the Deccan area of Central Karnataka.

Significance

This dam is the source of domestic water for Hiriyur and Chitradurga. It irrigates more than 100 km² of land in Hiriyur and Challakere taluks through right and left bank canals. This place is 160 km from Bangalore on the NH-4 highway and 40 km from Chitradurga.

History

The dam was constructed by a team led by an Engineer called 'Tara Chand Dalal' at the order of his Highness the Maharaja of Mysore Sri Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV.

Tourism

The dam has been a tourist attraction for many years, but has been apparently neglected as a prime tourist destination. Recently, though, the development work undertaken by the forest department to restore the nearby forest cover, and the 'panchavati' gardens - a garden of medicinal plants with the old Indian cultural theme has improved the tourist figures, making it a popular weekend picnic spot. The 'panchavati' garden has medicinal plants lined up representing cultural themes - the 'Rashis', 'Sapta swaras', 'Nava grahas' and many more. The tourists who visit Chitradurga and Hosdurga often visit Mari kanive on the way. The historic maarikaamba temple here also attracts many tourists. The place is around 20 km drive from Hiriyur on a deviation from NH4 (Bangalore - Mumbai National Highway).

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