The Anantha-Victoria-Marthandam Canal a.k.a. A.V.M. Canal was conceived as a 'water link' between Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari in July 1860 during the reign of Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma Maharaja of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

state. Today it is the National Waterway 13 of India.

History

The A.V.M. Canal was conceived as a 'water link' between Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari in July 1860 during the reign of Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma Maharaja of

state.. Parts of it were completed, but the project was by and large abandoned, and with the advent of faster road transport, consigned to oblivion. Along with the

Thiruvananthapuram–Shoranur canal The Thiruvananthapuram - Shoranur canal is a historic canal in India, from Trivandrum to Shoranur (Palakkad district). It was one of the most arterial transportation mode in erstwhile Travancore princely state. Most of the trade, commerce and ...

which now forms the spine of the modern waterway project in Kerala, the AVM canal network would have formed a formidable water route linking the northern parts of Kerala to Kanyakumari paving way for a continuous waterway along west coast from Kasaragod to Kanyakumari. The canal was named after Lord Ananthapadmanabha - the tutelary deity - Queen Victoria and

Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahmany ...

, the AVM Canal was literally a 'golden' project, its inauguration having been performed with a golden spade. But the spade also was lost. The AVM canal was meant to link Kovalam with Nagercoil in phase one. ''In phase two, the canal was to be extended to Kanyakumari. In fact, work was started in different places, but the canal was never completed. The reach between Colachel and Poovar was reportedly completed by 1867 and a shorter reach linking Thiruvananthapuram and Thiruvallam was finished a few years later. The Anantha Victoria Marthandam Canal was formed to connect the extreme south of then Thiruvithamkoor princely state with its northern parts and trade centers such as

Alappuzha Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in States and territories of India, state of Kerala, India. The Kerala Backwaters, Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Indi ...

and

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

. The canal passed through coastal villages numbering more than 20, including,

Pozhiyoor Pozhiyoor is a village in the district of Thiruvananthapuram in the State of Kerala in India. It has gradually grown to a well known tourist destination in India. The major attractions of Poovar tourism area are in Pozhiyoor. Pozhikkara, estuar ...

, Marthandanthurai,

Thengapattanam Thengapattanam (also referred to as "Thengapattinam", thennaipattinam" and "thenpattinam" ), named after dense coconut grooves, is a major trade and tourism centre in the painkulam panchayath along the coastal plains of Kanyakumari district. Th ...

Colachel Colachel is a coastal town in the far south of India, located within the administrative jurisdiction of Kanyakumari District. It is a natural harbor on the Malabar coast, located 20 km north-west of Kanyakumari ( Cape Comorin), the southern ...

, and

Mandaikadu Mandaikadu is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital ...

, they all depended upon this for most of their needs, including agriculture and

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

, but today the purpose is no longer served due to expansion of road ways. Former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was in favour of the revival. A project also was drawn up. But it went in limbo. The

National Waterways Act, 2016 The National Waterways Act, 2016 is an Act of Parliament of India. It was tabled in Lok Sabha by Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on 5 May 2015. The Act merges 5 existing Acts which have declared the 5 National W ...

declared AVM canal as the National Waterways 13 of India.

Potential

The completion of

Vizhinjam International Seaport The Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport, also known as the Vizhinjam Port is an under-construction port on the Arabian Sea coast at city of Trivandrum . Developed in three phases, the first phase is expected to get completed b ...

and

Enayam International Seaport The Colachel International Seaport also known as Enayam port, is proposed and located in Colachel, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India into a major port transforming it into India's southern trans-shipment gateway. The project costs Rs 28 ...

will make this canal as an inland waterway facilitating connection between both ports. This waterway will also help connect tourist spots of

Poovar Poovar is a tourist town in Neyyattinkara (tehsil) in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state, South India. This village is almost at the southern tip of Thiruvananthapuram while the next village, Pozhiyoor, marks the end of Kerala. Thi ...

Kovalam Kovalam is a region in the city of Trivandrum, around 13 km southwest of the city center, whose beaches are a tourist destination. Etymology Kovalam means "coconut grove," after the coconut trees which are common there. History Kovala ...

Varkala Varkala, is a major coastal municipality situated in the northern suburb of Trivandrum, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the headquarters of Varkala Taluk and important government institutions such as the taluk office, court ...

and,

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...

by mode of water transport. It will also help connect the Neyyar river system with

Kuzhithurai Kuzhithurai (also known as Kuzhithura) is a city and a municipality in Kanyakumari District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Vilavancode Taluk. It is located north of the Nagercoil city and sout ...

river system and hence irrigation.

References

{{Reflist Waterways in India

History

Potential

See also

References