Idukki district

Idukki is one of the 14 districts of Kerala state, India. Created on 26 January 1972, at that time the district headquarters was at Kottayam before it was moved to Painavu in June 1976. Idukki which lies in the Western Ghats of Kerala. Idukki is the second largest district in area but has the least population density. Idukki has vast forest reserve than living space urban areas are thickly populated whereas villages are less populated.

District HQ

Painavu

Etymology

The name of the district is derived from the Malayalam/Tamil word Idukku ( ഇടുക്ക് ), meaning narrow gorge.

Geography

Idukki has an area of 4,479 km² (1,729 sq mi) and is the second largest District of Kerala (the largest being Palakkad). Rugged mountains and forests cover about 97 percent of the total area of the District. The district borders the Kerala districts of Pathanamthitta to the south, Kottayam to the southwest, Ernakulam to the northwest and Thrissur to the north and Coimbatore, Dindigul and Theni Districts in Tamil Nadu to the east. The district is accessible only by road. Rail and Airlink is not available. National Highway NH 49 and State highways 13 and 33 passes through the district.

Idukki Dam

The Idukki Dam is a double curvature arch dam constructed across the Periyar River in a narrow gorge between two granite hills Kuravan and Kurathi in Kerala, India. At 167.68 metres, it is one of the highest arch dams in Asia. It was constructed and is owned by the Kerala State Electricity Board. It supports a 780 MW hydroelectric power station in Moolamattom, which started generating power on 4 October 1975. Technically, the dam type is a concrete double, curvature parabolic, thin arc dam.

This dam was constructed along with two other dams at Cheruthoni and Kulamavu. Together, the three dams have created an artificial lake that is 60 km² in area. The stored water is used to produce electricity at the Moolamattom Power house, which is located inside nearby rocky caves. The Government of Canada aided in the building of the dam with long term loans and grants.

History

The idea of constructing a dam for power generation was first conceived in 1919. As per history, Shri Kolumban, the head of 'Oorali' race during 1922, showed the way to the Malankara Estate Superintendent and his friend AC Thomas Edattu, who were on hunting spree in the forest, the spot of present Arch Dam. He told them of the legend of Kuravan and Kurathi Hills. Mr. Thomas was impressed by the sight of water flow between the mountains and it was his idea that has materialized in the form of Idukki Arch Dam. Sri. W.J.John of Malankara Estate submitted a report to the Government of Travancore in 1932 on the possibility of constructing a dam at Idukki for Power Generation.