Who built Krishna Raja Sagara dam? Congress minister's Tipu Sultan claim on KRS dam draws flak

Karnataka Social Welfare Minister and Mysuru District In-charge Dr H.C. Mahadevappa sparked a fresh controversy by claiming that Tipu Sultan was the first to lay the foundation for the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam, earlier known as ‘Kannambadi katte'.

 

The dam over the river Kaveri, considered an engineering marvel, was built by ‘Nalwadi’ Krishnaraja Wadiyar, despite many hurdles, including opposition from the erstwhile Madras Presidency and a severe fund crunch. The minister’s remark has drawn flak from the opposition BJP, historians and the Mysuru royal family alike.

 

“Tipu Sultan laid the foundation for Kannambadi katte, and there are historical records – a plaque at the main entrance of the KRS dam is in Persian, English and Kannada. But nobody dares to speak about it,” Mahadevappa said during a public event in Srirangapatna (Mandya), adding that Tipu was India’s “greatest freedom fighter”. He also claimed Tipu Sultan’s “religious tolerance” was the reason a mosque and a temple coexisted in Srirangapatna.

 

The BJP, which has been opposing the Congress government celebrating ‘Tipu Jayanti’ (Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary) as a state programme, has now accused the ruling dispensation of trying to distort history, while discrediting the revered king of Mysore (Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV) to glorify a “religious bigot” Tipu Sultan.

 

LOP in assembly R. Ashok said, “Congress is perhaps planning to rename the KRS dam as Tipu Sultan Sagar to appease the minorities. It is laughable to think Tipu laid the foundation for KRS dam as Tipu died in 1799, and the KRS dam construction began only in 1911, almost 112 years later. Contrary to the minister’s claim, Tipu was a religious fanatic and promoted Persian over Kannada, demolished temples and killed Hindus.”

 

Royal family sees red

 

Mysuru Kodagu-MP and descendant of the Mysore Royal family, Yaduveer Wadiyar, said the minister should abstain from making statements just to appease the voters. “Everyone knows who built the KRS dam. Also, temples were demolished during Tipu’s rule and the only temples that survived were Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple in Srirangapatna and Srikanteshwara temple in Nanjangud. Any historical claim should be supported with evidence,” said Wadiyar.

 

Even as the minister refused to retract his statement saying Tipu Sultan had “intended” to build a dam, historians recalled how the Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, an able administrator, and the Mysore Royal queens who parted with personal jewellery, managed to fund the ambitious ‘Kannambadi katte’ project and also complete the dam despite the many hurdles.

 

The Kaveri river, which originates in ‘Talacauvery’ in Kodagu (Karnataka), flows through Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to reach the Bay of Bengal. The centuries-old Kaveri river water sharing dispute between Karnataka (upper riparian state), and Tamil Nadu continues to this day, with tensions peaking every distress (drought) year. However, it was Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s concerted efforts that convinced the Madras Presidency and the British to grant permission for the dam project in 1911.

 

The dam was completed only in 1931 and was named ‘Krishna Raja Sagara’ (KRS) dam, after the king in 1940. It transformed the lives of farmers growing paddy, sugarcane, ragi, groundnut and pulses, besides horticultural crops in the command area (Mysore and Mandya districts) by irrigating 4.85 lakh hectares of land, and eventually served to provide drinking water to Bengaluru city and produce hydro-electric power. The dam site houses the Brindavan Gardens, designed by botanical architect GH Krumbiegel, which is a famous tourist attraction.

 

Historians weigh in

 

Historian Dr Talakad Chikkarange Gowda said, “At least two dams were built over river Kaveri before the Kannambadi katte. As per the inscriptions, in 1905, a dam was built at Talenere village in Pandavapura by the Ganga dynasty and later, the Madhava Mantri aniket was built near Malavalli by Hoysala kings. In 1971, Tipu Sultan had planned to build a dam and a foundation stone was laid. But he lost the third Anglo-Mysore war and perhaps aborted the dam project plan due to fund crunch.”

 

Gowda also asserted that Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wadiyar planned for a modern dam and laid the foundation in 1911.

 

“The Maharaja and Lord Irwin laid the foundation stone. When the finance ministry of the Mysore Kingdom opposed the proposal, citing huge cost (almost three times the state’s budget), the Maharaja’s mother Rajmata Kempa Nanjammanni and his wife Pratap Kumari offered to give away their personal jewellery, which was sold in Mumbai to raise funds for the dam’s construction,” said Gowda.

 

Seconding the fact, civil engineer and history researcher Dharmendra Kumar said, “Kannambadi katte or KRS dam was the 36th dam to be built over Kaveri. But it was the first big multi-purpose dam as the earlier ones were only barrages and anecuts built for irrigation by the Ganga, and Hoysala kings.

 

“After Captain Dawes (deputy chief engineer) drowned in the river in 1909, the king approached Sir M Visvesvaraya. In 1911, when the dam project was proposed, there was opposition from the Madras Presidency. But then Governor General of India Charles Hardinge granted permission to build an 80 ft high dam. A visionary Sir M. Visvesvaraya laid the foundation for a 124 ft high dam,” recalled Kumar.

 

“The Maharaja was facing a severe financial crisis as he had donated to World War I, and had been funding the Victoria Hospital, among other projects. But the royal family raised funds by selling four sacks full of personal jewellery in Mumbai, to fund the dam project. While the plaque refers to the 1794, it is difficult to believe Tipu Sultan could have laid the foundation for the Kannamabadi katte as he was defeated in third Anglo-Mysore War and had to pay war indemnity (almost Rs 3.3 crore) to Lord Cornwallis under the treaty of Seringapatnam and had surrendered his two sons as guarantee,” said Kumar.

 

The plaque at the entrance to KRS dam, which has triggered the latest controversy, bears a Persian inscription revealing Tipu Sultan’s vision for a dam at the site. However, the same site bears a plaque stating that the ‘Krishnarajasagara was conceptualised and built under the patronage of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar'. 

India