Pechiparai Dam

பேச்சிப்பாறை அணை

The district's largest reservoir, built under a Maharaja

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You arrive

You follow the road up into the foothills and the land opens out into a sheet of still water with the Western Ghats standing behind it. This is the largest dam in the district. You step out and the air is noticeably softer than on the coast. The water runs back into the hills, reflecting whatever the sky is doing, and the only obvious sign of human effort is the long barrier in front of you.

Pechiparai Dam · Photo: Mamichaelraj · CC BY-SA 4.0

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At the reservoir edge

You walk down to where you can see the water properly. The Kotai river is held back here, and the reservoir stretches toward the mountains. Stop and look at the layers: the flat water, a line of green, and then the Ghats beyond them. If there is cloud on the tops, it will shift while you watch. Stay behind any barriers that have been put up.

Pechiparai Dam · Photo: Thatsalright (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Thinking about the builders

You turn to the dam itself. Work ran from 1897 to 1906, in the time of the Travancore Maharaja, under a European engineer named Minchin. Over a century later it still supplies farmland and drinking water. Wikipedia records that the height was later raised from 42 to 48 feet. Standing on this bank you can see how much of the district's life depends on this one body of water.

Being here

You see

Still water backed by the rising line of the Western Ghats.

You hear

Wind on the water and forest birds.

You smell

Fresh water and wet earth.

You feel

Cooler, softer air than on the coast.

Look around

The story

Pechiparai is the largest dam in Kanyakumari district, built across the Kotai river in the foothills of the Western Ghats. Construction ran from 1897 to 1906 under the European engineer Minchin, during the reign of a Maharaja of Travancore. It meets agricultural and drinking water needs across the region. According to Wikipedia its height was first 42 feet and was later raised to 48 feet, adding an extra 1 TMC of storage. Wikipedia places it 43 km from Nagercoil, while the district gives about 60 km from Kanniyakumari and Trawell gives 56 km.

Sources: Wikipedia: Pechiparai Reservoir · Kanniyakumari district: Tourist Spots · Trawell: Kanyakumari places

Photo: Manukrishnan80 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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