Hogenakkal Falls

Hogenakal Falls
Hogenakal Falls
Location	Chamrajnagar district in KARNATAKA and Dharmapuri district in TAMILNADU,INDIA
Longest drop	20 m

Hogenakal Falls is one of the beautiful waterfalls in southern India on the Kaveri River.The name Hogenakal means "Smocking Rock". When the water falls on the rocks it appears as if smoke is emanating from the rocks because of the force of the water. The Kaveri River originates in Karnataka and gathers momentum as the land drops in elevation. It becomes larger as various tributaries feed into it on the way down. At Hogenakal, the Kaveri, now a large river, drops into the low elevation of Tamilnadu and creates numerous waterfalls as the water cuts through the rocky terrain. In places the water falls as much as 20 m and is said to sound like continual thunder. The Kaveri flows on through Tamil Nadu's forested valley of tall trees, continually splitting and re-integrating around rocks and outcrops of boulders and little islands. The river carries sediment which makes the "down-river" land fertile.

At Hogenakal the river spreads out over a wide area of sandy beaches, then flows through a straight but narrow ravine near Salem where the Mettur Dam creates a 60 sq mi. lake called Stanley Reservoir. Built in 1934, this project improved irrigation and provided hydropower.

Bathing

Before reaching Hogenakal, the river flows through a forest which contains herbs that are traditionally believed to enhance health, making bathing in these waters curative. Hogenakal is set in thick, green woods and is considered both a sacred bathing place and a spa-like health resort. Here the water spreads for miles around. The area is surrounded by hills and offers lovely panoramic view.

Boating

During the dry-season, only a few water falls are strong. This allows for boating within the gorge. The boats are small and round, but still easily fit five passengers plus the "captain".

Fisherman catch fish within the gorge, and this fresh fish can be bought right there. Also, various vendors row their round-boats up and down the gorge and sell water, chips and other such items. After leaving the gorge, on the left shore one can find improvised stalls set up on the sand. There, one can let the fish be prepared in one of the many kitchens. Also, many people can be found swimming or bathing around there.

Land dispute

although governed by tamilnadu, some linguistic factions within karnataka want erode, dharmapuri & ooty to be annexed with karnataka [1]

Drinking water dispute

TN Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Feb 26 2008 laid the foundation stone for a drinking water project at Hogenakkal, to be constructed with an aid of Rs.11.4 million from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).The Hogenakkal Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation Project is expected to cover 6,755 households in three municipal areas, 17 panchayats and 18 town panchayats, benefiting about three million people [2]. Of the total cost of Rs.13.3 billion, the Tamil Nadu government will bear the rest of the cost[3].Although bangalore's drinking water was also sought to be sourced from cauvery, some factions within karnataka (which didnt oppose the bangalore scheme) dont want the people of dharmapuri district (tamilnadu) from using the dharmapuri's cauvery river water for drinking purposes. The water utilised for this project will be from tamilnadu's share of cauvery water, thereby placing no extra demand on karnataka. The scheme has a no objection certificate from the central govt [4] & a similar pact with the govt. of karnataka in 1998 [5], whose proceedings have been recorded. But some karnataka politicians oppose it now for creating an election platform for the may 2008 assembly elections.

Hogenakkal politics

Hogenakkal witnesses occasional political drama during election season. Some of karnataka's political factions make it a routine to target indian tamils within the indian state of karnataka . They block tamil tv channels. They stage demonstrations within karnataka. They routinely tear tamil hoardings, posters, target tamil cinema theatres & damage tamilnadu registered vehicles [6]. Every time, they target tamilnadu govt. buses & damage them. On a few occasions, they succeeded in burning alive tamil people [7] as the tamil people lacked adequate protection from karnataka and have zero political voice within karnataka. Karnataka's politicians pay lipservice to india's unity & are least bothered about tamils who live in karntaka .In 1992, 16 people (all tamilians) died & 37 crore of damages were thrust upon tamilians in and around bangalore [8]. All the victims of anti-tamil violence were not compensated till date[9] and the protesters were not booked/ not punished if booked. The anti tamil violence still continues unabated due to the encouraging history of sloppy investigations & political apathy to the plight of tamilians, further glamourified by the notion that anti tamilnadu violence in any manner gains votes in elections & ensures 'son of soil(karnataka specific not india specific) ' label! Although burning humans on basis of religion / language has so far not been reciprocated in tamilnadu, the rest of the petty politics drama is reciprocated tit for tat in tamilnadu too. In either case, these narrow minded region/ religion based petty politicians work overtime to destroy india's unity & pluralistic tolerance. In the latest version (pre may 2008 election), the tamil nadu chief minister highlighted karnataka's no objection for the same drinking water project in 1998, and quoted the legality of the project using words that have not gone down well with some factions in karnataka (refer exact text @ 31/3/2008 @ http://dkn.dinakaran.co.in/firstpage.aspx# )

See also

• hogenakkal drinking water project
• List of waterfalls in India

External links

• Protest against `encroachment' of island near Hogenekal Falls
• Satellite view

• Hogenakal Photo Gallery
• april 2 2008