History
The Chola king Karikalan has been immortalised as he constructed the bank for the Kaveri all the way from Puhar (Kaveripoompattinam) to Srirangam. It was built as far back as 1,600 years ago or even more. On both sides of the river are found walls spreading to a distance of 1,080 feet (330 m). The Kallanai dam constructed by him on the border between Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur is a superb work of engineering, which was made with earth and stone and has stood the vagaries of nature for hundreds of years.
In 19th century, it was renovated on a bigger scale. The name of the historical dam has since been changed to “Grand Anicut” and stands as the head of a great irrigation system in the Thanjavur district. From this point, the Kollidam River runs north-east and discharges into the sea at Devakottai, a little south of Parangipettai. From river Kollidam, Manniar and Uppanai branch off at lower Anicut and irrigates a portion of Mayiladuthurai taluk and Sirkazhi taluk in Nagapatnam District. After Grand Anicut, the Kaveri divides into numerous branches and covers the whole of the delta with a vast network of irrigation channels in Nagapatnam and Tiruvarur districts and gets lost in the wide expanse of paddy fields. The Kaveri here is reduced to an insignificant channel and enters the Bay of Bengal at the historical place of Poompuhar about 13 km (8.1 mi) north of Tharangampadi.
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