The Nilgiri Documentation Centre (NDC) has called on the State government to recognise engineers and officials of the East India Company who made “pioneering contributions to the irrigation projects in the State.”
In a release, honorary secretary Venugopal Dharmalingam said the suggestion made by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to celebrate October 7 every year to help create awareness on water resources, water management and the need for creating necessary infrastructure deserved to be followed in every district.
He said Sir Arthur Cotton, who built the Upper and Lower Anicuts in Thanjavur, was the first to recognise the dam building capability of the ancient Cholas. He also copied the building techniques of the Kollidam dam, which was considered the oldest dam in the world, to construct several such dams in the Madras Presidency.
He also said John Sullivan, one of the original colonists who made his way up the Nilgiri slopes, implemented Cotton’s proposal to mitigate drought. “As a Member of the Governor’s Council in Madras in charge of irrigation, Sullivan wrote a detailed Minutes on the Importance of Improving Irrigation in 1840,” said Mr. Venugopal.
“The Chief Minister should instruct the authorities to recognise pioneers like Sir Arthur Cotton and John Sullivan,” he added.
