A cow and calf

A cow and calf drove down our street on Mattu Pongal – the third day (Jan 15) of the Pongal festival celebrated to thank cattle. Each year we find a cow or two drove down our street after the worship or perhaps to or fro from a temple visit since they are celebrated on this day. I guess the cows are walked down from a nearby slum because they could only be seen at those places in the city.

Linking this post with SATURDAY CRITTERS

Veedur Dam irrigation and Intake tower

The 62-year-old Veedur Dam (click the link to see the dam post) irrigates about 2,200 acres in Tamil Nadu and 1000 acres in Puducherry is classified as a minor irrigation project in India.  A project designed to irrigate an area of 2000 hectares or less are classified as minor irrigation since India adopted the command area-based system of classification.

Irrigation in India is a network of major and minor canals from Indian rivers, even though groundwater irrigation covers 65% of irrigation in India. 2/3rd of the cultivated land is dependent on monsoons, which is most of the time unreliable and unpredictable.  

The Veedur dam is a major source of irrigation for over 100 villages in Villupuram and the state of Puducherry, through its prime channel and five branch canals for about 17.6 km. And what you see in the images is the Intake Tower in yellow (which drew water to the canal) and a pretty blue and white-colored staircase leading to the same. Since I focused on the left side of the dam, I could capture the open canal on the other side of the road.

A word to abort

The Tamil word‘**tha’ is becoming trending. Those who knew Tamil will know what I mean. I don't say that the word has never been uttered in films before. Either that word would be muted or beeped. Or the user of that word will be a negative character, so it will not make a big impact. But when the protagonists themselves using that word become trending.

Actor Surya used that word in Soorarai Pottru, following actor Vijay in Master and G V too uttered the word '**tha' in his upcoming film while expressing his anger. I don't know what that means, but it's definitely an obscene word. Heroes are better off avoiding this as it may affect the growing generation.

I have heard some people speak this word casually, but since words like this come up in the films, it too will definitely affect the younger generation when great actors speak that word. I wish they do not create an "F word" culture in Tamil!

Veedur Dam, near Villupuram

I have crossed the Veedur Dam several times when going beyond Villupuram on the GST road or NH 45 (or NH 138 according to Google maps), and I could only see a piece of the bank of the 4.5km long dam. I mostly took this national highway for long trips, as it is a prime road led to the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, and thus I never had time to stop to look at the dam as we need to cover long distances in travel.

The entrance arch to the dam

I always have an interest in visiting dams and the Veedur dam was also on my list of visits, and I found that the extended monsoon season (post) was apt. to visit. Because the dam receives water only when there is a good monsoon rain, and following last year the dam had reached its full level again, and surplus water was released into the Gingee river.

The Veedur Dam is about 150 km from Chennai on the GST road, and it is located right on the highway between Tindivanam and Villupuram and welcomes by an arch that marks the road leading to the dam and the park. Though the day was sunny, it wasn’t hot (thanks to the winter season and one of the reasons I chose to visit the dam), and the cool breeze was enough to create small waves in the water to crash like the sea.

Since it was Sunday, some people had arrived on bikes and cars, but it was not crowded enough to scare us. There is a road to climb on the dam, though the vehicles are allowed only near the shutter area, it was more than enough for me to get the view of the dam. The water level at the dam was up to the rim, and we could see water spill out of the shutters (when we cross the downstream area) when the wind blows strong.

The Veedur Dam was built-in 1959 during the regime of K. Kamaraj, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and President of the Indian National Congress, at the initiative of Kakkan, who was the Minister of Public Works Department. Kamaraj, also known as Kingmaker, constructed many dams in the state during his regime, and each one of them was a marvel in engineering. And the Veedur dam was the smallest and last dam he constructed before the end of his regime.

The 3 Tainter gates

The dam is built on the merging point of two different rivers, called Sankaraparani and Thondi, at the village of Veedur from where the dam got its name, Veedur Dam. The dam serves as a source of drinking water and agriculture for more than 100 villages, including Vikravandi, Mailam, Vanur, and Pondicherry. During the monsoon, the dam opens for irrigation of about 2,200 acres in Tamil Nadu and 1,000 acres in Pondicherry.

The view of the dam park and car parking 

The total height of the concrete dam is 32 feet, and the earth dam is 37 feet; and among the 4.8 km long earth dam, only 430 feet is a concrete dam. Besides the 9 spillway shutters, there are 3 Tainter gates - a type of radial arm floodgates used in dams and canal locks to control water flow - which is something I find new. The dam has two little parks, one at the entrance of the road, beside the archway, and another close to the dam provides some nice shadows to the visitors and play area for kids.

Driving down to downstream area through the shadowy park area

I got to see the entire dam area and was pleased by the amazing sights of the countryside while continue to travel on the dam road. We will see further in the next post as this turned to be a long post. 

RGB Monday

A colorful lane on the white town in Puducherry and aka Pondicheery.

Yesterday I traveled to Puducherry, a 150+ km ride after a year, and my last travel to Amrithi Zoo near Vellore in Feb 2020. Visiting Puducherry is an extension ride following the intention of visiting Veedur Dam, near Tindivanam. More detail about the trip will follow in the next post.