Temple surfaces in depleted KRS reservoir

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MAY 30. The surfacing of the temple in the vast expanse of the Krishnarajasagar reservoir near Mysore has always been a signal of bad days for the farmers of Mandya District and the citizens of Mysore city, ever since the dam across the Cauvery was completed over 75 years ago.

The ancient Gopalakrishna Temple of Kannambadi village which had been submerged under the impounded water in the dam surfaced about two weeks ago. Though some of the devout and the enterprising entered the temple by swimming through the shallow waters around the submerged temple, it only highlighted the poor storage in the reservoir. The water level had reached a low of 72 feet, too precarious a level to let out water into the Visvesvaraya Canal which feeds Mandya District.

The Krishnarajasagar Dam was for long known as the Kannambadi Katte (dam) after one of the main villages which were submerged under its waters. Equipped with hindsight, present day archaeologists and lovers of heritage might argue that the builders of the dam could have relocated the temple in the way some other archaeological splendors came to be preserved.

It was perhaps for the first time, the depletion in the storage in the reservoir gave rise to a conflict over the priority to be accorded to supply of drinking water to a city of the size of Mysore and the requirements of the farmers, most of whom grow sugarcane. It turned out to be an urban vs. rural tussle.

The farmers of Mandya District, known for their volatility, had protested against the stoppage of supply in the canal and demanded that their needs be met first, before the thirst of the citizens of Mysore was quenched. The hotheads among them went to the extent of locking up the pumping station at Belagola from where water is supplied to Mysore.

But the people of Mysore responded with a bandh in the city on Saturday and even the Mayor, Mr. Narayan, had to support it. The Mysore city unit of the BJP played a major role in protesting against the water scarcity. Two of the three MLAs from the city belong to the BJP. The supply of water to the city had been reduced from 144 million litres a day to 54 million litres leading to an acute shortage. Normality was restored only on Sunday. But it is only a respite and everyone is looking towards the sky for rains.

Our Principal Correspondent from Mysore reports:

The Gopalakrishnaswamy temple, depicting a mixture of Dravidian and Chalukyan style of architecture, had remained submerged since the K.R. Sagar reservoir was built.

Unmindful of the boulders and the hardship of wading through knee-deep waters, people have virtually transformed this place into a major tourist site.

Originally, on the northern side of the reservoir was located the Kannambadi village. The relocated village is called the Krishnarajasagar village. Ancient lore says sage Kanva had his hermitage here.

With swirling waters impounded, this temple along with some others was submerged. The villagers were shifted to a safer place. Even the presiding deities were shifted and installed within the new village premises. Since then, this architectural marvel along with the other temples continued to remain submerged. Fifteen years ago, when the reservoir level dipped far below 75 ft., the top portion of the temple was visible from a distance. Both the outer and the inner prakaras, now inundated by river waters, make way for the sanctum sanctorum.

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