Kanva Dam - view from a hill top nearby

Link to an article I had written about the dam in Deccan Herald, Bangalore's oldest daily newspaper.

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jan292004/metro16.asp.

I visited Kanva dam for the first time in January 2000 and was highly impressed. The dam was in its full glory with the water filled to its brim. The vast size and crystal clear water really alluring and inviting me to jump in and take a dip. But due to paucity of time we couldn't get into water then.

Since then I have visited Kanva several times and seen it in various stages of filling. I saw Kanva totally dry and almost bereft of all water in 2003-4 when the region experienced severe drought and no rains. Now thanks to last years heavy rains the dam is slowly filing up and regaining lost glory.

Nevertheless the dam didn't lose allure and its serene ambiance during all these years and it lured me to visit hgere again and again. Being in a valley mobile signals don't reach here and this is one of the few places near Bangalore where one can see lush greenery all around the place and the water body acts as a fulcrum. Last week I visited the place again and had a great swim and came back rejuvenated.

But of late there has been an increased awareness of the existence of the dam and there has been an increase in number of visitors. This is putting a lot of pressure on the local eco-system in terms of plastic waster, litter, water pollution because most bathers/ swimmers use soap and detergents which form a film over the water surface.. fish get affected and in turn bird life too.

I hope at least readers of this blog will not pollute the place further...