Agriculture and water issues make irrigation an important feature of India's economy. The territories of the Madras Presidency carried on its cultivation to a large extent by means of artificial irrigation. The water for this purpose was obtained either by channels taken off from the rivers or by tanks or reservoirs in which rainwater was stored and drawn off for the importance of irrigation was recognized by the British. The British administrators devoted a large sum of money for such works which in course of time became numerous and the revenue closely dependent on the efficiency of these works. They have also done modification to a large extent. The British Government gave much importance to the irrigation and agricultural activities for increasing the revenue. There are a number of dams, channels and irrigational sources constructed by the native government agencies. But these are under the foundation on the works initiated by the Britishers. The foresightedness and visualisation of the Britishers in irrigational activities must be remembered fondly by the present generation. There is a need of technological transformation. Such a transformation would continue the eco-friendly irrigational engineering technologies, which may serve the real purpose of irrigational works. Hence, the present article aims at describing the irrigational works of Britishers and the need for its continuous maintenance.
Key words: Irrigation, Britishers, Tiruchirappalli, Cauvery, Anicut, Kallanai
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