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The River Shimsha

    Categories: Tumkur

The Shimsha is one of the tributaries of the river Kaveri. The river starts in the Devarayanadurga hills, Tumkur. It joins the Cauvery at Chamarajanagar after flowing for about 221 km from its place of origin.

Tributaries of the river Shimsha

The Shimsa has a number of small tributaries – Chikkahole,  Hebbahalla, Kanihalla, Kanva, Mullahalla, and Veeravaishnavi. However, the riverbed was dry for three years until the monsoon of 2013, when the abundant rain in the catchment areas allowed the river to flow again. This in turn caused tourists, residents and the press to gather near the Shimsha river bridge off the Bengaluru-Mysore highway to watch this minor miracle. One of the reasons for the dry spell was illegal sand mining of the river bed.

Markonahalli Dam in Shimsha

Other than the sand mining, the river is known for the Markonahalli Dam. This dam was built by Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, for irrigating the land in Tumkur. The speciality of the dam is that the gates of the dam are always open. This marvellous feat is accomplished by some physics, a wee bit of technology and about 16 siphons of different sizes and made of different materials. The water flows away only when the dam is full.

The Shimsha Hydroelectric project

The Shimsha Hydroelectric project is located at the Shimshapura where the river forms a waterfall. The Shimsha falls is picturesque, especially during the monsoon.

Also see,

Jolad Rotti:
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