Periyar, IPA: [peɾijɐːr], is the longest river and the river with the largest discharge potential in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the few perennial rivers in the region and provides drinking water for several major towns. The Periyar is of utmost significance to the economy of Kerala. It generates a significant proportion of Kerala's electrical power via the Idukki Dam and flows along a region of industrial and commercial activity. The river also provides water for irrigation and domestic use throughout its course besides supporting a rich fishery. Due to these reasons, the river has been named the "Lifeline of Kerala". Kochi city, in the vicinity of the river mouth draws its water supply from Aluva, an upstream site sufficiently free of seawater intrusion. Twenty five percent of Kerala's industries are along the banks of river Periyar. These are mostly crowded within a stretch of 5 kilometres (3 mi) in the Eloor-Edayar region (Udhyogamandal), about 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Kochi harbor.
The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala and span the border of western Tamil Nadu in Southern India. The name anamala is derived from the Malayalam word aana and the Tamil word yaanai, meaning elephant, or from tribal languages. Mala or Malai means 'mountain', and thus literally translatable as 'Elephant mountain'.
Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, earlier known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park and as Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area in the Anaimalai Hills of Pollachi and Valparai taluks of Coimbatore District and Udumalaipettai taluk in Tiruppur District, Tamil Nadu, India. The Tamil Nadu Environment and Forests Department by a notification dated 27 June 2007, declared an extent of 958.59 km2 that encompassed the erstwhile IGWLS&NP or Anaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary, as Anaimalai Tiger Reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Reserve presently includes a core area of 958.59 km2 and buffer/peripheral area of 521.28 km2 forming a total area of 1479.87 km2.
Chalakudy River or Chalakudy Puzha is the fifth longest river in Kerala, India. The river flows through Thrissur district, Palakkad district and Ernakulam district of Kerala. The total drainage area of the river is 1704 km2. Out of this,1404 km2 lies in Kerala and the rest in Tamil Nadu. The length of the river is 145.5 km. Though Chalakudy River in strict geological sense is a tributary of the Periyar river, for all practical purposes it is treated as a separate river by Government and other agencies. The river has gained its name since it flows along the banks of the Chalakudy Town, the major settlement along the course of the river. It is perhaps the most unpolluted and pristine river in the state and even in India due to the limited amount of industries and wastage disposal around it. Chalakudy River and its basin area were one of the most affected rivers during the 2018 Kerala floods.
Pollachi is a town and a taluk headquarters in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu state, India. Located about 40 km (25 mi) to the south of Coimbatore, it is the second largest town in the district after Coimbatore. Pollachi is a popular Marketplace for jaggery, vegetables and cattle. As of 2011, the town had a population of 90,180.
Vettaikaranpudur is a panchayat town located in Pollachi taluk of Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, located 16 kilometres from Pollachi, and nestled among Coconut plantations in the foothills of the Anamalai hills and the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. It is known for Alukku Swami Siddhar Koil, and has been known for the Rekla races, Goat fights, and Horse races that take place here. It has also always been a popular location for filming Kollywood movies.
Chimmini Wildlife sanctuary is a protected area located along the Western Ghats in Chalakudy taluk of Thrissur District of Kerala state in India.
Mullaperiyar DamIPA: [mulːɐpːeɾijɐːr], is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above the sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, India. It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and also reached in an agreement to divert water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area. It has a height of 53.6 m (176 ft) from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft). The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam's reservoir. The dam is built at the confluence of Mullayar and Periyar rivers. The dam is located in Kerala on the river Periyar, but is operated and maintained by the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Although the Periyar River has a total catchment area of 5398 km2 with 114 km2 downstream from the dam in Tamil Nadu, the catchment area of the Mullaperiyar Dam itself lies entirely in Kerala and thus not an inter-State river. On 21 November 2014, the water level hit 142 feet for first time in 35 years. The reservoir again hit the maximum limit of 142 feet on 15 August 2018, following incessant rains in the state of Kerala. In a UN report published in 2021, the dam was identified as one among the world's big dams which needs to be decommissioned for being 'situated in a seismically active area with significant structural flaws and poses risk to 3.5 million people if the 100+ years old dam were to fail'.
Parambikulam Dam is an embankment dam on the Parambikulam River, Parambikulam located in the Palakkad district in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India, ranks number one in India as well as in the top ten embankment dams in the world in volume in the year 2000.
Parambikulam River, one of four tributaries of the Chalakkudi River, originates in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India.It flows parallel to and North of Sholayar River and joins Kuriarkutty. Sholayar river flows for 44.8 km and turns North and joins Parambikulam River 1.6 km before Orukumbankutty. Karapara River originates from Nelliyampathy Hills of Palakkad district in Kerala. It flows West and turns South West and drains to the Parambikulam river at Orukumbankutty.
Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 643.66 square kilometres (248.5 sq mi) protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of 285 square kilometres (110 sq mi) was established in part in 1973 and 1984. It is in the Sungam range of hills between the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliampathy Hills. Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as part of the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve on 19 February 2010. Including the buffer zone, the tiger reserve has a span of 643.66 km2. The Western Ghats, Anamalai Sub-Cluster, including all of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, has been declared by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee as a World Heritage Site. The Tiger Reserve is the home of four different tribes of indigenous peoples including the Kadar, Malasar, Muduvar and Mala Malasar settled in six colonies. Parambikulam Tiger Reserve implements the Project Tiger scheme along with various other programs of the Government of India and the Government of Kerala. The operational aspects of administering a tiger reserve is as per the scheme laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. People from tribal colonies inside the reserve are engaged as guides for treks and safaris, and are provided employment through various eco-tourism initiatives. Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is among the top-ten best managed Tiger Reserve in India. The tiger reserve hosts many capacity building training programmes conducted by Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation in association with various organisations.
Aliyar ( Reservoir is a 6.48 km2 reservoir located in Aliyar village near Pollachi town in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, South India. The dam is located in the foothills of Valparai, in the Anaimalai Hills of the Western Ghats. It is about 65 kilometres from Coimbatore. The dam offers some ideal getaways including a park, garden, aquarium, play area and a mini Theme-Park maintained by Tamil Nadu Fisheries Corporation for visitors enjoyment. The scenery is beautiful, with mountains surrounding three quarters of the reservoir. Boating is also available.
Upper Solaiyar or Upper Sholayar Dam is located 20 km (12 mi) from Valparai, a hill station in the Anaimalai Hills of the Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu India. As it is a part of the hydroelectric project of Tamil Nadu, special permission is required to visit the dam.
Sholayar Dam is a concrete dam built across the Chalakkudi River in Malakkappara in Thrissur district, Kerala of India. The dam consists of main Sholayar Dam, Sholayar Flanking and Sholayar Saddle Dam. It also contains Sholayar Hydro Electric Power Project of KSEB who owns the dam. Total installed capacity of the project is 54MW with 3 penstock pipes. The maximum storage capacity is 2663 feet. Sholayar is 65 km from Chalakudy town. The dam above Sholayar dam was Upper Solaiyar Dam owned by Tamil Nadu.
Sathanur Dam which forms the Sathanur reservoir, is one of the major dams in Tamil Nadu. It is constructed across the Thenpennai River also called as Pennaiyar River in Thandarampet taluk among Chennakesava Hills. The dam can be reached by road 30 km (19 mi) from Tiruvannamalai City. It was constructed in 1958. There is also a large crocodile farm and a fish grotto. Parks are maintained inside the dam for tourists to visit and the gardens have been used by the film industry.
The Krishnagiri Dam is a dam that spans the Thenpennai River by the village of Dhuduganahalli, located in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu, India. The Krishnagiri Dam is also known as Krishnagiri ReservoirProject (KRP) Dam. The KRP Dam is located 7 km (4.3 mi) from Krishnagiri, between Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri which irrigates thousands of acres of land around Krishnagiri. The Dam is operational from 10 November 1957, inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu K. Kamaraj.
State Highway 58 is a State Highway in Kerala, India that starts in Vadakkancherry and ends in Pollachi. The highway is 39 km long.
Peringalkuthu Dam is a concrete dam built across the Chalakkudi River in Thrissur district, Kerala state of India. It also contains Peringalkuthu Hydro Electric Power Project of Kerala State Electricity Board who owns the dam. This is the first hydro electric power project to build on the Chalakkudi River. The gross storage capacity of the dam is 32 million cubic meters. The dam is situated in deep forest and special permission is needed to visit the dam.
Thunakkadavu Dam is situated in Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala across Thunacadavu River, which is a tributary of Parambikulam River, in Palakkad district of Kerala, India. It is part of the Parambikulam Aliyar (Irrigation) Project.This is a small balancing Reservoir with gross capacity is 557 Mcft. The water that is received from Prambikulam Reservoir and from the Peruvaripallam Reservoir, as well as from its own catchment, is diverted to the Sarkarpathy Power House through the Sarkarpathy Power Tunnel.
Thoonakkadavu Dam is located on the Thoonakkadavu River, a tributary of the Parambikulam River, at Thoonakkadavu in the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary in the Muthalamada Panchayath of Palakkad District, Kerala. It is a small storage reservoir that is a part of the Parambikulam-Aliyar Irrigation Project. The Peruvaripallam Dam is connected to the Parambikulam Dam by a canal through a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) long underground tunnel. The Poringalkuthu reservoir gets water from catchments downstream of Parambikulam and Thunakadavu dams.
