Shimsha is a river that flows in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is one of the tributaries of the river Kaveri, which is one of the major rivers of South India. The river originates in the southern part of the Devarayanadurga hill in the Tumkur district of

and flows for about in Mandya and Ramanagara districts before joining the river Kaveri.

Geography

;Origin Shimsha originates at an altitude of 914 m in the Devarayanadurga hill located in Tumakuru Talu

which is also the location of two temples of the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

God,

Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...

. ;Course After originating in the Tumkur district, The Markonahalli Dam has been built across it, the river takes a southerly course and enters the Mandya district. In Mandya district, the river flows in a south-eastern direction and enters the Ramanagara district where HD Devegowda barriage is constructed in the Village of Iggaluru, Channapatna, which provides water for irrigation of Channapatna and Malavalli talukas. Then it enters Malavalli taluk where it has awaterfall at Shimshapura. Just after Shimshapura it reaches the border of Chamarajanagar district where it joins the river Kaveri. The confluence of Shimsha and Kaveri is also near the Shivanasamudra falls. The total length of the river is . and the river has a catchment area of 8469 km². ;Sub-tributaries In its course the river is joined by Kanva river near Saraguru, Channapatna and other streams such as Veeravaishnavi, Kanihalla, Chikkahole, Hebbahalla and Mullahalla. ;Towns and cities Maddur and Halaguru are the major towns that lie on this river.

Dams

;Markonahalli Dam Markonahalli Dam is a dam built across the river Shimsha in the Kunigal Taluk of Tumkur district. It was built by Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the king of Mysore under the guidance of his Diwan, Sir M Visweswaraiah. It was built to irrigate 6070 hectares of land and has a masonry structure of 139 m and a pair of earth dams extending to 1470 metres on either side. The reservoir has a catchment area of and can hold a volume of of water at a full reservoir level of 731.57 m above the mean sea level. 27 species of fish, including 13 species of commercial fishes have been recorded in the reservoir with Puntius being the dominant species of fish found here. Cirrhinus reba and Labeo calbasu and other transplanted carps are also found here. However, the maintenance of the dam has been poor. In 2000, a part of the dam had to be demolished to prevent floods and save 25 villages. Water started overflowing the dam and only 1 crest gate could be opened. Nearly 150 feet of the dam was demolished to allow excess water to flow out. ;Iggaluru Dam ;Iggaluru Dam, also known as the Iggaluru Barrage, is constructed across the Shimsha River in Iggaluru, Channapatna. The dam stands at a height of 60 feet (18.29 meters) and features a composite structure with a central masonry spillway flanked by earthen sections.

Power generation

Shimsha has a waterfall at Shimshapura in Malavalli Taluk. This is also the location of the Shimsha Hydro Electric Project which has an installed capacity of 17,200 kilowatts. The plant was established in December 1937 to augment power supply of the Shivanasamudra Project (1902). The foundation stone for project was laid by Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the king of

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

Issues

Sand mining

The sand found on the river bed of the Shimsha river is mined and used for construction activities, sometimes illegally. Due to the environmental issues that can be caused by sand mining, this activity is currently banned.

Pollution

Discharge of waste from towns and cities on the way are major contributors to pollution in the Shimsha. However, the Government is trying to clean up the river and has released funds for the same.

Accidents

In 1897, a railway bridge over this river collapsed during a heavy flood, killing about 150 passengers.

References

{{Hydrology of Karnataka, state=expanded Rivers of Karnataka Geography of Tumakuru district Tributaries of the Kaveri River