The government of Tamil Nadu recently honored Colonel J. Pennycuick, the architect of the Mullaperiyar Dam which had been built in 1895. The chief minister of the state commissioned a small memorial building which includes a statue of Pennycuick and a rare collection of photos taken during the dam construction.
The people of Tamil Nadu regard Pennycuick as their saviour; due to his planning and foresight drinking water and irrigation are available to five districts that otherwise would have been desert. Nearly Two Hundred Thousand People from all these districts attended this ceremony.
Pennycuick Monument
The Mullaperiyar Dam -1895
Colonel J. Pennycuick
Monument made of sugar cane, an important cash crop in Tamil Nadu made possible due to irrigation
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Came across the La Paz Group write-up “Monument To The Great Visionary – January 16, 2013” while searching for Mullaperiyar and water woes in Tamil Nadu.
In the increasing acrimony between Tamil Nadu state and its neighboring provinces over sharing of water resources, may the noble spirit of Late Colonel John Pennycuick, the then British colonial Chief Engineer of Mullaperiyar Dam on the southern reaches of Western Ghats hills in Kerala state, who recognized so well even in the late 1900s the proper management of this precious natural resource; prevail and bring peace and mutual understanding to the warring protagonists over water originating from these beautiful hills and feeding the many rivers traversing through the four southern States of south India !
Thank you for your sage words Dr. Raj! Now that you found us, we hope you’ll visit often. Cheers!