In a 1st, Periyar dam architect Pennycuick’s birth anniv to be celebrated as govt function

On seeing the plight of the farmers of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, who have been suffering from severe drought with water scarcity, Colonel Pennycuick decided to divert the west-flowing Periyar river that mixes up in the Arabian Sea, towards the east so that it could irrigate lakhs of acres of dry land depending only on Vaigai river.

Though Pennycuick and other British engineers went ahead with the construction, braving the nature’s fury and the dangers of poisonous insects and wild animals, the construction works were disrupted by relentless rain.

Large number of sand bags kept for the construction of the dam was destroyed due to severe flood.

After an in-depth analysis of the condition of the land, Pennycuick used lime and Surki paste to construct the dam, which stays strong since 1895. Pennycuick said that he would be in the earth for only once and so he needed to do some good deeds.

Palaniswami announced that the birthday of Pennycuick would be celebrated as the government event. Pennycuick was born on January 15, 1841, in Pune.