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| Vani Vilasa Sagara | |
|---|---|
  Vani Vilasa Sagara Dam inChitradurga district,Karnataka | |
| Location | Chitradurga district,Karnataka |
| Coordinates | 13°53′26″N76°28′37″E / 13.89056°N 76.47694°E /13.89056; 76.47694 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Vedavathi River |
Vani Vilasa Sagara, popularly known asMari Kanive is adam inHiriyurTaluk,ChitradurgaDistrict, in theIndian state ofKarnataka.[1] It is located about 20 km east of Hiriyur, 55 km south of Chitradurga, and 180 km north-west ofBengaluru.
Vani Vilasa Sagara was built by theMysore Maharajas pre-independence across the riverVedavathi. Vani Vilasa Sagara is the oldest dam in the state. The dam is an exquisite piece of architecture, an engineering marvel for that time. The dam irrigates a large area of theDeccan region of CentralKarnataka, which is otherwise largely a dry land. It irrigates more than 100 km2 of land inHiriyur taluk through right and left bank canals. Vani Vilasa Sagara dam is also the source of domestic water forHiriyur,HosadurgaChitradurga andChallakere.
Vani Vilasa Sagara across the riverVedavathi was built by theMysore Maharajas pre-independence. The project was initiated by the regent Queen MaharaniKempa Nanjammani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana who was a widow of Maharaja Chamaraaja Wadiyar. She is known for her exemplary social works. For the construction of this dam royals of Mysore had to pledge royal jewellery due to shortage of money, that is why it was named as "Vani Vilasa Sagara". TheMari Kanive irrigation project was initiated bySir. Mark Cubbon, the British Resident ofMysore.[2] Further improvements to the dam was initiated by Diwan Sheshadri Iyer in 1897[3] at the order of His Highness theMaharaja ofMysore SriKrishnaraja Wadiyar IV. Vani Vilasa Sagara is taller thanKRS dam of Mysore.
The dam is capable of storing 30Tmcft of water. The dam has full reservoir level(FRL) of 130 feet mark, but its water level is measurable up to 135 feet, which was attained only in the year 1933. The dam crossed 120 feet mark numerous times, namely in 1932, 1934, 1956, 1957, 1958, 2000, 2021 and 2022.[4][5]On September 2, 2022, milestone was reached after 89 years, when the dam was filled till brim at 130feet with inflow of over 3,000 cusecs.[6]
Due to insufficient water quantity in the reservoir, to cater the drinking and irrigation needs of people inChitradurga district and eastern part ofChikkamagaluru district, the Government of Karnataka, has made a milestone project called Upper-Bhadra project. As per the project, out of 17 TMC ft. of water lifted from TungaGajanur Dam and 29.90 TMC ft. of water lifted fromBhadra Dam, 2Tmcft is exclusively allotted to this dam.[7][8]
The dam has been a tourist attraction for many years, but has been apparently neglected as a primetourist 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 visitChitradurga andHosdurga often visit Mari kanive on the way. The historic maarikaamba temple here also attracts many tourists. The place is around 20 km drive fromHiriyur on a deviation fromNH-48 (Bangalore -Mumbai National Highway).
The backwaters of the dam is tailormade for water sports. The Youth Services and Sports Department has chalked out a programme to draw more youngsters towards adventure sport in the region. With the help of General Thimayya Adventure Sports Academy, an adventure sport centre is being planned at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore.[9]
