Markonahalli Dam is the first dam in the world built using the Siphon system. It is built across Shimsha River by Sir M Visweswraiah and Ganesh Iyer in 1938-40 incurring a cost of 29 Lakhs.
Sir M Visweswaraiah was the dewan in the court of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV who initiated this project.
The dam irrigates 6070 hectares of land and has a catchment area of 4,103 square Km. The length of the dam is 1812 meters and height is 22.25 meters.
The uniqueness of this dam lies in the fact that the gates are always open and the dam continues to hold water.
This is because of having 4 small, 2 big, and 10 wood siphons as part of the dam design.
When the dam reaches its maximum capacity, these siphons automatically allow water to pass through.
Around 27 species of fish are found in the reservoir. Out of this 13 species are commercial fishes with Puntius being the dominant species of fish found here.
This place is wonderful getaway from Bangalore and for spotting birds. Sunset here is not to be missed.
Wild flowers of every hue is found all over the place.
Yellow, blue, pink, white and many many more.
Some of the flowers are extremely tiny but beautiful.
Saw this frog and butterfly basking happily in the sun.
The Red Damsel Fly made its presence felt and was happy to be photographed.
Interesting places nearby:
Pavagada Fort
Shiva Ganga Hill – Has two temples
Devarayanadurga state forest
Devarayanadurga hill station
Yediyur Siddhalingeshwara Swamy Temple
Aralguppe – One of the oldest temples of Karnataka
Turuvekere
Hebbur Mahalakshmi Temple
Place Statistics:
Type of place: Dam
Situated: Kunigal Taluk, Tumkur district
Distance: 100 Kms from Bangalore
Transport: Well connected by road
Route: Bangalore > Nelamangala (take left towards Mangalore) > Kunigal bypass > take left 3kms before Yadiyur > travel 6kms and reach the dam
Facilities: Nil
