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Who Gives a Dam?: Colonel John Pennycuick C.S.I. and the Periyar Project
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Who Gives A Dam is an account of the story of the History of the Periyar Project with the benefit of letters and photos made available by Stuart Sampson, great grandson of Colonel John Pennycuick. The book includes Colonel John Pennycuick’s own account of the Project after returning to England in 1897.
The account begins with the power of geography that both shaped the emergence of Madura and its’ ancient capital, Madurai, as a trading centre of international significance, and then reduced the region to ruinous famine. Droughts ravaged the ability of the agrarian community to produce sufficient food for subsistence, let alone trade. Artisans and farmers deserted the area. The geography of the region in the rain shadow of the Western Ghats seemed to confound any solution.
The Madras Engineering Group had an intimate understanding of the region and engineering experience from grand projects in southern India and Abyssinia. Working with the community, military reconnaissance identified courses of action that were, at that time, technically unachievable.
Into this context, John Pennycuick as a subaltern Engineer Officer perceived a solution that could be fielded with appropriate new technology. The Vrynwy Dam in Wales was a pathfinder for several technical advancements that would bring the solution for damming the Periyar River within reach of the Madras Engineering Group.
John Pennycuick’s operational experience from the Abyssinia Campaign and his daring to multiply the scale of the endeavour many times was visionary. His appreciation was situated on the need to reliably supply the irrigation network servicing the arable land of Madura to provide for two crops a year and expand the land under cultivation. With prescience, he also perceived the opportunity for hydroelectricity.
The grand plan was supported by fine detail of every aspect of the design. This required projecting logistic capability across the remote mountains of the Western Ghats using wire ropeways, canals, as well as bullock carts after all possible means of transport had been evaluated.
The Periyar River is likened to the powerful and capricious nature of the tiger. The stakes couldn’t have been higher as the river bore away several attempts at brooking the mighty Periyar chasm. Death from being swept away as well as disease stalked the Project and arrested progress initially and then relentlessly throughout the development. It took eight “seasons” of innovative engineering and dedicated and ingenious leadership by John Pennycuick to complete the Project.
A bridge with history. Who Gives a Dam encompasses lessons of history that apply to present day intractable problems of population increase, renewable energy and climate change in a way that is instructive from a technical, cultural and analytical sense.
The Periyar Dam has withstood two signal flood events in 2018 and 2020 attributed to climate change. The commanding situation above of a series of dams and a population of over 3 million people gives the Periyar Dam great significance for the security of the region both for safety and security of water and power supply. The associated park is a biodiversity study area.
Colonel John Pennycuick, with his achievements of the Periyar Project, has provided the opportunity for rapid economic development in the region through the entrepreneurial skills of the people and established a framework for evolving renewable energy. He has created a significant buffer against climate change. But above all, his visionary approach, daring to scale his Project to meet the needs of the future which is his lasting legacy. It is a legacy that is deeply appreciated by the people of Tamil Nadu. Above all, it is a lesson and example in tackling the issues of climate change.