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A Case Study of KRP Dam of Krishnagiri-

TamilNadu
K.M.Triveni1, R.Thirumalai2, Dr.S.Sureshbabu3, T.Gunaseelan4, V.Arunraj5
P.G Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, Hosur, TamilNadu, India1
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, Hosur, TamilNadu, India 2
Head of Dept, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, Hosur, TamilNadu, India 3
U.G Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, Hosur, TamilNadu, India 4
U.G Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, Hosur, TamilNadu, India 5

ABSTRACT: A Dam could be a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of water or underground streams. Reservoirs
created by dams not solely suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption,
industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. The main objective of the study has been to evaluate the impact of
irrigation on the socio-economic conditions of the farmers depend on KRP dam. Krishnagiri Reservoir and Irrigation
Project is a major social and economic importance for development of the region. This paper is about agriculture,
industry, ground water potential, fisheries on surrounded area and practice of irrigation in commanded areas.

KEYWORDS: Dam, irrigation, economy, revenue.

I. INTRODUCTION

As civilizations developed, there was a greater need for water supply, irrigation, flood control, navigation,
water quality, sediment control and energy. Therefore, dam’s area unit made for selected purpose like water supply,
flood control, irrigation, navigation, sedimentation control, and hydropower. A dam is that the cornerstone within the
development and management of water resources development of a geographic area. The multipurpose dam is a very
important project for developing countries, because the population receives domestic and economic benefits from a
single investment. Dams is also made to satisfy one or a lot of functions:
1. Irrigation
2. Hydropower development
3. Domestic, municipal, industrial water supply
4. Stock watering
5. Flood control
6. Recreation
7. Fish and wildlife protection and development, and improvement of river ecology
8. River water quality
9. Stream flow regulation for various purposes
10. Navigation
The primary operate of the many dams is to supply water for farming. Some dams divert rivers into canals or
pipelines to irrigate land several miles away. Dams are unit used additionally once a stream flows at a lower elevation
than the land to be irrigated. Some rivers have nice seasonal changes within the quantity of their flow, flooding during
part of the year and slowing nearly to a trickle at other times. Irrigation dams constructed on such rivers store water to
equalize the provision for crops throughout the year. The dam additionally has allowed farmers to cultivate many
thousands of acres of erst barren desert land.

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II. CASE STUDY-KRP DAM

The River Ponnaiyar takes its source near Nandidurg hills in Karnataka state South India at an altitude of 1000 m above MSL. In
Karnataka it is known as ‘Dhakshina Pinakini’. After traversing through the Devanahalli and Hoskote taluks of Karnataka, it enters
the TamilNadu state at a place near Bagalur village of Hosur taluk.
The Krishnagiri reservoir project was constructed across the Ponnaiyar River in Dhuduganahalli village about 7 km from
Krishnagiri town in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu. KRP is situated at the latitude of 12°29′37.44″N 78°10′41.51″E and longitude
of 12.4937333°N 78.1781972°E.

Figure 2.1 River map of Krishnagiri district Figure 2.2 KRP dam Krishnagiri district

is in the Northwestern part of Tamil Nadu, bordering Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states. The Dam is operational from
10 November 1957, inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Thiru K. Kamaraj
This reservoir is one of the earliest projects constructed in post independence India in the dry and barren areas of the state.
The KRP Dam Project was projected within the First Five Year Plans of India and began in the year 1955. The Dam works are
completed in the Second Five Year Plans of India and is operational from 1958.Several soil and water conservation programs have
been implemented in the catchment area of the reservoir by the Agricultural Engineering Department and Forest Department of the
Government of Tamil Nadu, since 1990’s.

Figure 2.3 Krishnagiri Reservoir as Seen through Google Earth and Its location in Tamil Nadu, South India

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Table 2.1Sailent features of the dam 15 Crest level 483.11m

Sl.No. Description Detail 16 Spillway capacity 4061m3
1 Type of the dam Gravity dam 17 Flood capacity 4233.33m2
2 Length 990.59m 18 River sluices 3 NOS
3 Height 29.26m 19 Canal sluices 2 NOS
4 At FRL water spread 12.32km2 20 Length of canals 35km
area 21 Irrigated area 3642ha
5 Volume 509TMC 22 Approved cost of the ₹20.2 million
6 Catchment area 5428.43 km2 project
7 Initial capacity 68.2 x 106m3 23 Actual cost of the project ₹15.9 million
8 Gross storage capacity 68.2MCM Table 2.2 Present condition of dam
9 Maximum water level 484.63m Current scenario of dam at 20.03.2019
10 FRL 483.11m Sl.no Paramaters Details
11 Water supply period 10 months 1. Water level 41.00 feet
12 Spillway type OGEE crest
2. Water storage level 0.42TMC
type
13 Spillway NOS 8 3. Water incoming 150 cu ft
14 Spillway size 12.19x6.10m 4. Water discharge Nil

III. A STUDY OF PONNAIYAR RIVER

Thenpennai River is also known as Ponnaiyar river, Ponnaiyar river or South Pennar Small dams of
Kelavarapalli and Krishnagiri dams are built across this river near Hosur and Krishnagiri. The largest dam on this river,
Sathanur Dam with 7.3 Tmcft Gross Capacity is built near Tiruvannamalai.

It originates in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state and flows through Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri,
Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Villupuram districts of Tamil Nadu before falling in Bay of Bengal. With a
catchment of 3,690 km2, the total length of the river is 400 km. It is dry for the most part of the year but swells during
the north east monsoon season.

Figure 3.1 Thenpennai river basin map Figure 3.2 Thenpennai sub basin map

Industry
Moongilthuraipattu Sugar Factory is situated on the bank of river.

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IV. IRRIGATION AND AGRICULTURE

The important crops of Krishnagiri District are Paddy, Maize, Ragi, Banana, Sugarcane, Cotton, Tamarind,
Coconut, Mango, Groundnut, Vegetables and Flowers. The district has an excellent scope for agri business. Regional
Agricultural Research Center of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University is functioning efficiently at Paiyur in
Kaveripattinam since 1973. This center is functioning in 18.5 ha of land. It helps the peasants to develop and adopt the
modern techniques of cultivation.

Figure 4.1 Agricultural land Near Kaveripattinam Figure 4.2 Paddy cultivation near Paiyur

Table 4.1: Cropping pattern in the study area Table 4.2 The list of tanks fed by the KRP canals
Sl.no Name of Area Sl.no Command
the crop (Krishnagiri area (in
district) in ha acres)
1. Paddy 11137
2. Cholam 3488 Left main canal
3. Cumbu 302 1. Mohammed 102.48
4. Samai 802 Ghouse Tank
5. Ragi 27471 2. Thimmapuram 548.01
6. Maize 159 Tank
7. Cereals 43362 3. Malayandahalli 42.20
8. Pulses 18482 Tank
9. Sugarcane 1654 4. Thalihalli Tank 290.00
10. Oil seeds 21758
5. Annankuttai Tank 89.99
11. Cotton 1086
12. Fruits 24403 6. Baleguli Tank 102.00
13. Vegetables 6178 7. Chinnagoundan 73.58
Tank
Right main canal

8. Pudu Eri 64.12

9. Kurumbaratti Eri 105.41

10. Gopala Joshiyar 27.01

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Kuttai 19. Errahalli Eri 54.11

11. Mittahalli Eri 14.14 20. Kalleri 8.77
12. Ellukuttai Eri 14.94 21. Nadu Eri 94.96

13. Suriyanarayana Eri 152.00 22. Manickanar Eri 7.30

14. Senguttai Eri 8.79 23. Kottaiyur Eri 24.95

15. Muchikan Kuttai 19.54 24. Pappan Eri 37.93

16. Mallappan Eri 209.00 25. Paiyur Peria Eri 133.45

17. Golla patti Eri 29.86 26. Alamarathu Kuttai 5.40
18. Oddan Kuttai Eri 13.31

Table 4.3 Land Use Pattern of the District

Sl.
Classification Area(in acres) Percent
No.
1. Forest 202409 39.35
2. Barren and Uncultivable uses 25016 4.86
3. Land put to Non-Agricultural uses 42161 8.20
4. Cultivable Waste 4951 0.96
5. Permanent Pastures and Other Grazing Land 8156 1.59
6. Land Under Miscellaneous Tree Crops and 9682 1.88
Groves not included in Net Area Sown
7. Current Fallows 23328 4.54
8. Other Fallows Land 8606 1.67
9. Net Area Sown 190017 36.94
10. Geographical Area According to Village Papers 514326 100.00
11. Gross Cropped Area 198593 38.61
12. Area sown more than once 8576 1.66

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Figure 4.4 A canal from Kelavarapalli dam near Hosur Figure 4.5 Spatial distribution of soil type-Krishnagiri

Table 4.4 Details of Soil Classification

Sl.No. Type of Soil Places in District (Taluks) Area in ha. Percentage in

total geographical
area

1. Red soil Hosur, Kelamangalam, Tally 273221 53

2. Clay soil Krishnagiri 43505 8

3. Kavi soil -- -- --
4. Vandal soil -- -- --

5. Barren -- -- --
6. Other soil -- -- --

7. Forest & Barren All blocks 197600 39

8. Catchment Area -- -- --

Total Geographical -- 514326 100

Area

V. REVENUE
a. Agriculture
Krishnagiri district is famous for mangoes, and for the granite industry with quarries and processing units
spread around the district. With a 40% share, the district is the top producer of ragi in Tamil Nadu.
As Krishnagiri District has 2,02,409 hectares of forest land which constitutes 39% of the total geographical
area, there are abundant produce from the forest areas. Bamboo products, honey collection and tamarind production are

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the forestry land activities found in Anchetty, Denkanikotta, Thally and Berigai areas. This has generated employment
opportunities for thousands of rural people in these areas.

b. Animal husbandry and fisheries

Fisheries
Table 5.1 Details about the revenue in fisheries up to 15 July 2007

Reservoir Target (MT) Achievement Revenue collection (Rs) Fishermen benefited / amount

Krishnagiri Dam 51.0 6.810 4844 23/4844

Pambaru Dam 30 2.018 13570 16/13570
Kelavarppalli Dam 29.0 15.110 95387 30/95387
Barur Lake 284.0 17.600 124600 37/124600
Chinnaru Dam 6.8 0.931 10410 5/10410
Mayil Ravanan Lake 3.0 0.164 820 1/820

Ramanayakan Lake 4.0 0.273 2305 1/2305

Paraiyur Lake 2.0 0.216 1869 1/1260

Animal husbandry
Table 5.2 In Krishnagiri District the annual income in the animal husbandry sector was as follows for 2006-07

a. Rainfall and climate

The district receives the rain under the influence of both southwest and northeast monsoons. The normal
annual rainfall over the district varies from about 750 to about 900 mm. It is the minimum around Hosur (767.7 mm)
and Rayakottai (768.0 mm) in the northern and central parts of the district. It gradually increases towards west and east
and is the maximum around Denkanikotai (910.7 mm) in the western part.

Classification Income received

Milk 24,94,926
Egg 3,88,192
Pork 1,54,496
Sale of livestock 4,21,578
Miscellaneous 13,55,244
Artificial insemination 5,79,898
LN 2 (liquid nitrogen) 1,27,819
Total income 55,22,153

VI. GROUND WATER POTENTIAL AND RAINFALL

a. Rainfall and climate
The district receives the rain under the influence of both southwest and northeast monsoons. The normal
annual rainfall over the district varies from about 750 to about 900 mm. It is the minimum around Hosur (767.7 mm)
and Rayakottai (768.0 mm) in the northern and central parts of the district. It gradually increases towards west and east
and is the maximum around Denkanikotai (910.7 mm) in the western part.

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The climate of Krishnagiri district is comparatively more pleasant than that of the surrounding districts due to
general dryness of atmosphere and appreciable drop in temperature in the monsoon season. The year may be divided
into four season namely dry season from January to March, summer season April and May, southwest monsoon season
from June to Sept. and northeast monsoon season from October to December. As a result of erratic distribution of
rainfall, crop production often fails causing economic loss besides unemployment problem. Drought is a regular
phenomenon in this district.

Summer months: March-June, Rainy season: July-November and Winter season: December-February
The total downfall received throughout 2017 is 1130mm against the conventional downfall of 842mm with average of
fifty nine rainy days.

Table 6.1 The average annual rainfall and the 5 years

rainfall collected from IMD, Chennai is as follows:
Actual Rainfall in mm Normal
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Rainfall
in mm
766.0 757.6 1049.7 590.6 1145.9 850.58

Figure 6.1 Agro climatic zones of Krishnagiri district

The annual rainfall normal (1970-2000) of Krishnagiri district is 863 mm.3 Projections of rainfall over
Krishnagiri for the periods 2010-2040 (2020s), 2040-2070 (2050s) and 2070-2100 (2080s) with reference to the
baseline (1970-2000) indicate a general decrease of 4.0%, 3.0% and 5.0% respectively.

Table 6.2 Percent change in Annual Rainfall

Parameter 2020s 2050s 2080s

Annual Rainfall -4.0% -3.0% -5.0%

b. Ground water potential

The Ground Water levels from the 44 number of observation wells of TWAD have been analysed for Post-Monsoon
and Pre-Monsoon. Since 1991, average Ground water level in m Below Ground Level for pre and post monsoon is as
follows:

Jan May Jan May Jan May Jan May Jan May 5 Years Pre 5Years Post
2012 2012 2013 2013 2014 2014 2015 2015 2016 2016 Monsoon Monsoon
Average Average
7.60 8.43 8.20 13.58 17.10 21.27 14.43 28.50 9.05 12.85 16.92 11.28

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Figure 6.2 ground water levels – Krishnagiri district

Table 6.3 Groundwater Potential as on March 2011 (as per CGWB):

Net Groundwater Availability (in MCM) 354.94

Existing Gross Groundwater draft for all users (in MCM) 471.44

Stage of Groundwater development (in %) 133 %

Categorization of District Over –Exploited

VII. CONCLUSION

KRP Dam plays major role in development of Krishnagiri district. The river Ponnaiyar serves its source and
prevents the district from drought. Almost 60% of peoples depend upon agriculture, forestry activities and livestock.
The ground water potential and annual rainfall in this district is not sufficient. So the formers depend upon the dam for
their agricultural activities. The development of fisheries among these areas creates employment and benefits. Thus
KRP dam creates employment in agricultural activities and reduce drought in the major part of the district.

REFERENCES

[1] National Agricultural Development Programme (NADP) District Agriculture Plan Krishnagiri District 2008.
[2] Chattegee, N. (1995): “Irrigated agriculture: a case study of West Bengal”, District, Statistical Abstract of Kolhapur District (1972-73)
pp 16-21.

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[3] Rao, R.Ram, Mohan & Simhadri, S.,(1989),: “Development dynamics in command areas of major irrigation projects”, Inter-India
Publications
[4] Pawar, D.H. & Jadhav, K.R.(2012): Agriculture Problems and Prospects of Drought Prone Region in Sangli District of Maharashtra,
Maharashtra Bhugolshastra Sanshodhan Patrika, ISSN: 0971-6785, Vol. XXIX, No.1, January-June 2012, pp 42-45.
[5] Michael, A.M. (1989); Irrigation Theory And Practice. Vikas Publishing Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.

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