 Places
to visit in and around Bangalore are plentiful. I just do not
seem to have the time for it. I wish a day had 48 hours on Sundays
and 18 hours on weekdays, "Less work and more play makes Jack an
active sac". I dream of a day when my holiday would go on forever.
Regretfully, there is so little time and so much to see. It is always
a good idea to pre plan the trip to the place you wish to visit to
make it an unforgettable outing. There are times when I follow my
instinct and come upon places that simply take my breath away.
Every time I travel to my native place on Magadi road, I see a small
unimposing signpost. It points towards a place called Manchinbele
Dam to the left. The sign used to flash past me like an alluring
invitation every time I took that road. One Sunday, I decided to visit
the place.
 Around
30 kms from Bangalore, just before the Tippagondanahalli reservoir,
on the Bangalore-Magadi main road, if you are sharp-eyed, take the
left turn at the signpost towards Manchinbele dam and subsequently
Mysore road. Amazed that Magadi road should lead you to Mysore road?
Well, both the roads run almost parallel to each other and there are
many roads connecting the two.
It was mid-day when we started out on my ever-faithful bike, my friend
and his camera behind me. It was the monsoon month of June, but the
sun was mercilessly bright and hot. My friend's vituperations for
choosing such a day to venture out sight seeing pounded my ears. Keeping
my fingers crossed, I rode out towards the dam, hoping the place was
worth visiting. About 6 kms from the main road, we had to take a deviation
to the right (further down would lead to Mysore road). The journey
took us through hilly regions and un-familiar territory. An inconspicuous
sign, painted in pale yellow, pointed Manchinbele dam towards the
right. We almost missed the sign and rode right ahead, but an abrupt
braking put us right on track.
 From
that point onwards, the road was a series of twists and turns putting
us into a dizzy spell. I was so engrossed in manoeuvring the bike,
I hardly took notice of the delightful water body that loomed in front
of us. The unbearable heat made the sight such a pleasant one. We
felt like taking a headlong plunge into the water.
Exercise caution! We saw at least half a dozen signs warning visitors
against entering the water. There was a particular sign, which read,
"In ever loving memory of …" People of all age groups seemed
to be enjoying themselves, but no one dared venture out into the
water. A close observation told us why. The riverbed slopes down
abruptly at the edge and the water is dangerously deep.
 On
the brighter side, lots of greenery surrounds the hills in every
direction. It is a perfect picnic spot, secluded from the din of
the city. There are places with plenty of shade to pitch your tent
and spend a quiet afternoon. Stroll around the place to see the
dam, built against river Arkavathi. The NABARD assisted project
basically acts as a step down dam to the Tippagondanahalli reservoir
and has three gates to control the water flow. Modern equipment
like solar powered lights have been installed. The water stored
in the dam is primarily used for irrigating the land around it.
Plans are also under way to build canals from the dam to irrigate
the arid and rocky soil towards Ramnagara and Channapattana.
Water - the source of all life on this planet can create or destroy.
If only we could formulate a way to co-exist with nature, harnessing
the resources…we might have a better tomorrow.
| Text and photos by Vinod
Chandra B V |
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12:36:07 AM 
