The Hindu : Karnataka News : This aqueduct serves as a ‘bridge’ to link Kodagu and Mysore

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Karnataka

This aqueduct serves as a ‘bridge’ to link Kodagu and Mysore

Jeevan Chinnappa

DANGEROUS: A motorcyclist reaching the Kanive side on the narrow pathway of the aqueduct in Kodagu.

KANIVE (KODAGU DISTRICT): This aqueduct is special not only for carrying water from the Harangi Reservoir to the neighbouring Periyapatna and surrounding areas of Mysore district facilitating irrigation but also for the reason that it is used by the people as a “bridge” to go to several villages located in Mysore district and vice-versa.

The narrow pathway that runs along the aqueduct is freely used by motorcyclists to reach Chikkakamaravalli, Doddakamaravalli, Mantekoplu and other areas in the vicinity in Periyapatna taluk of Mysore district, from Kodagu.

The scene of the water flowing at the open end of the aqueduct here is awe-inspiring. There is every element of danger associated with motorcyclists who would get into the pathway from a narrow strip from Kanive. Below the aqueduct, the Cauvery flows serenely. Two weeks ago a motorcycle rider fell into the aqueduct and he clung on to a concrete pillar waiting for help, said Jayanna, agriculturist from Doddakamaravalli, who was coming to Kanive.

The rider was, however, rescued, he said. It is a convenient route for Beeresh, a first year BA student, who has his aunt’s house in Chikkakamaravalli and granny’s house in Kanive. “I am used to taking this route to Kanive to reach my grandmother’s house,” said Harish, a BBM student studying at Konanur in Hassan district.

The water from the 600-metre long aqueduct, associated with the Right Bank Canal of the Harangi Reservoir near Kushalnagar in Kodagu, reaches the lift irrigation project located at Karadilakkanakere in Periyapatna and its achcut (command) area measures 41,004 hectares.

Its construction started on March 26, 1979 and the project was completed on July 14, 1982. More than 700 people, including 250 students from the Mysore side, used the pathway to reach Kanive and Hebbale areas in Kodagu every day, Bharadwaj, a resident of Kanive, told The Hindu.

There have been instances where patients are carried from the villages located in Periyapatna to reach Kushalnagar via the aqueduct, which is the nearest route for them. The other route from those villages is to reach Koppa and then Kushalnagar. The aqueduct route would save them at least 15 km of travel, Mr. Bharadwaj said.

A substantial number of women came from the Mysore side to work in the coffee curing plants in Kushalnagar every day along the pathway. There have been several instances of cattle falling into the aqueduct and they would be rescued only at the end of the aqueduct at Doddamakamaravalli by the residents. People from Kanive and Hebbale regions would reach the spot in search of the cattle, pay money and get their cattle back, Mr. Bharadwaj said.

The residents of Kanive had staged a week-long dharna last year, demanding that the Kodagu Zilla Panchayat construct a hanging bridge across the Cauvery flowing below the aqueduct to cross over to the villages in Mysore district.

A sum of Rs. 12 lakh was earmarked by the zilla panchayat six years ago for constructing the hanging bridge, but it was not spent.

The next panchayat body set apart Rs. 10 lakh, but nothing happened, Mr. Bharadwaj said. The Mysore-Kodagu MP, A.H. Vishwanath, who visited the spot recently, has assured the residents of getting a permanent bridge constructed.

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