A stone and earthen dam at the village Hemmige near Talakad, Chamarajnagar district Karanataka the Madhava Mantri dam may have been built in the 12th or the 14th century by a Minister in the Vijaynagar empire. On the river Cauvery the dam provides water for irrigation , creates a backwater rrich in fish and now provides power through a new addition a run-of-the-river project. A signboard on the structure claims that the dam was built in 1140 A.D. making it the second oldest dam next only to the Grand Anicut on the Cauvery itself further downstream at Trichy.
Fishermen sit and catch eels said to be famous. A group have a bath and a woman washes clothes from the water flowing out of the waste weir. The dam itself appears to be leaking at several spots being an old structure.
According to some , the dam may have caused the Cauvery bed to be exposed . Dry winds then picked up the sand and silt and deposited it on the dunes and on sevral temples near the river bank thus causing Talakad to become famous. The spot of course is beautiful and historic, the dunes fascinating , the river beautiful
and the serene life idyllic.
