Visit to Manchanable Dam

Purpose of Field trip :

• Understand the purpose of reservoir/dam in a location
• Understand how the water collected there – is used for various
• purposes
• Understand the reasons for the change in water levels
• Understand how settlers valued, used and looked after the natural
• resource (water, forest, land)
• Collect water samples for analysis
• Role of a Water Engineer

The dam is situated on the outskirts of Bangalore, across the River Arkavathi. It is at a distance of 40 km from Bangalore. The dam’s main purpose is for agriculture, water storage for domestic purposes and fisheries ( which is a growing industry),

The children of Grade 3 left at 6.30 am and had a good time during the bus journey, being a part of the daily traffic, observing the early hours of the city, having breakfast on the bus and playing simple games. We arrived at the farmhouse around 10 am, after which we quickly regrouped for a walk to the Dam. The children explored the working of the dam, by understanding the depths of the reservoir, uses of the different machines, the inlets, and outlets involved in releasing the water into the underground canal.

The resource person addressed the children about the history of the dam, its main uses, and maintenance. The children then explored the function of the outlets, how and when the water gates are opened and the quantity of water stored in the dam.

We all walked back to the farmhouse and enjoyed our packed lunch. The children discussed their observations on the size, uses and working of the dam. Some of the children connected it to KRS and the similarities between the 2 dams. Upon return, the children engaged in a reading on dams and discussed their learning as a class, about the material used to build dams, the different reasons dams are built and how dams can cause floods.

This experience helped the children look at dams in a new light, as they were quite familiar with the power generation feature of dams, and are now able to identify many other uses of dams.