I was at Shimoga along with S.V.Ram (Ramani of Malleswaram) on the 20th of June 2003. We took the intercity express leaving at 2.30 and changed at Birur to a local train and reached at 8.30. We met the express resident correspondent Mr. Arun and decided to go to Sagar next morning after breakfast. We had with us Shimoga Nandan their official photographer and Mr. Gajanan Sharma an Assistant Ex Engineer from Karnataka Power Corporation (a highly enthusiastic person whose hobby seems to be to explore the past history of engineering feats of Karnataka and has to his credit a book in Kannada of the hundred years of electricity in Karnataka foreword by B.G Rudrappa former chairman of K.E.B (Karnataka Electricity Board)

Needless to say that they had obtained the permission of the forest officials to enter the jungle to reach the dam site (incidentally it is supposed to be the Indian bison country) Mr. Nandan had obliged us with his Maruti Esteem for this travel and after reaching the edges of the jungle we could see at a distance the Hirebhasker Dam. I was really thrilled at the sight as the dam stood like a rock inspite of being fully submerged for almost fifty long years. I believe the dam gets exposed partly during summer and it submerges during monsoon rains.

We walked for a kilometer and a half approximately to reach the dam site and took a stroll across the length of the dam, got down to see the biggest of siphons ever built and could see some fresh muddy water on the upstream side. We saw the sluice gates rather damaged because of oxidation but the reinforced surki mortar (masonry) dam was very much intact except for a few patches of peeling plaster. The time was such that another 40 feet of water was required to submerge the dam. The drought conditions for the last three years was so bad because of monsoon failure that the riverbed was partly exposed during the summer. The embankments were washed away partly and thus we were able to get on top of the dam and walk over the length and breadth. The earlier road to the dam was partly intact but most of it had been washed away.

Now for some history, the place was known as Hirebaccha and someone changed it to Hirebhasker. The dam was completed in 1948 and the siphons were functional till 1966 when the Linganamaki dam downstream submerged it. So for 18 long years the siphons worked without causing damage to the dam. This clearly proves the quality of workmanship, the design and the execution were of the highest quality, unlike the Sharavati canals that is damaged frequently sparking off a scam. The Maharaja of Mysore spent Rs1.25 crores and a village for at least 500 workers had been created in this mosquito-infested place apart from wild life. No cement and no machines were used.

I hope to get some prints of photos exposed during this thrilling visit and host it too as soon as possible. A new article was supposed to have appeared in the Shimoga edition of express indicating the family's desire to preserve this dam as a monument of the engineering skills of the engineers and as a tribute to late Mr.V.Ganesh Iyer's invention of siphon system for flood control in reservoirs.

The adventure part of this trip was the breaking down of the car at the edge of the jungle near the dam site. The gear shift locked in and with some luck we could engage the car in the top gear after we manually turned it to face the jungle road we came in but the car couldn't take all of us, it being a jungle road and rough terrain, but with Mr. Nandan alone the car moved and he took it away to the entrance of the forest and the highway. All of us walked to the highway about six kilometers with the lurking fear that bisons may appear. But then it was hilarious to see domestic cows leaving their footprints on this jungle road much to the relief of our anxiety. The car could take us all on the highway. The important point to note is between Mr. Arun and Mr. Sharma a mobile phone came to our relief as they spoke to the Executive Engineer at Sagar who promptly sent his jeep with some men and wire ropes for towing our car. We met them some where in the highway and with some bananas and biscuits for refreshment we reached Sagar and promptly called on the Executive Engineer and thanked him for the kind help. As the gearshift could not be repaired we left the car at the Maruti service station and returned by bus to Shimoga and took the night train back to Bangalore after meeting Mr. Bellighatti of the Hindu who was an author of a similar article in the Hindu. But for the kindness and the affection for us and the great respect for my late father Mr. V.Ganesh Iyer this visit could not have been such a pleasant one. This report is being hosted on the net to thank Mr. Arun and his friends for making our pilgrimage to Hirebhasker an extremely satisfying event.



V.G.RAVI
Flat No.3
65, C.P.Ramaswamy Road
Abhiramapuram
Chennai - 600018
Tel: 2499 4780

18th July 2003