In Frames | Visionary tunnel
The Hindu
News in Frames | A 102-year-old underground structure has stood the test of time in meeting the irrigation needs of the farmers of Mandya in Karnataka
The Visvesvaraya canal, which carries water from the Krishnaraja Sagara (KRS) dam in Karnataka, is famous, but the Hulikere tunnel — a particular section of this canal — is an engineering marvel that remains unfamiliar to many.
Construction of the 2.8-km-long tunnel, which helps in the irrigation of parts of Mandya district, was completed in 1931.
The tunnel, about 124 km from Bengaluru, is the brainchild of civil engineer and statesman M. Visvesvaraya. It was commissioned by the Maharaja of Mysore Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and Diwan Mirza Ismail. The cost incurred at that time was ₹4,56,000.
Although the surveying equipment available then was rudimentary, the tunnel was built to perfection and has stood the test of time. Shivalingu, 45, whose grandmother Kalamma worked as a labourer during the construction of the tunnel, says, “ Ajji (grandma) used to narrate how engineers worked hard to bore the Hulikere Gudda (hillock) with labourers from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and even from Afghanistan. While the labourers from other States got more money, the locals worked for less than half of the pay because they were hoping that the Cauvery water would come to their doorsteps and it would lead to great prosperity.”
Farmers take water using pumps or through small canals to irrigate their sugar cane and paddy crops. There is lush vegetation all around the tunnel, which is 20 feet high and 15 feet wide.
Visitors can traverse a few metres of the tunnel when authorities stop the release of water from the KRS reservoir.
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