Lakkavalli

Lakkavalli is a small town / Hobli in Tarikere Taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka state, southern India. Lakkavalli is the site of a dam across the Bhadra River; the dam is used for irrigation and power production and agriculture. Lakkavalli is malnad hobli of Tariere taluk since it belongs to Malnad region. The biodiversity of the place is well known since the British. The Kuvempu University, which is one of the premier learning centre is just 7 km from here. The state highway T-M Road (Tarikere-Mangalore Road) passes through the village. A Jain Matha exists here and it is headed by Bhattaraka Swasti Sri Vrushabasena.[1]

Lakkavalli
Village
Lakkavalli
Location in Karnataka, India
Coordinates: 13°42′5.5″N 75°39′58.6″E
Country India
StateKarnataka
DistrictChikkamagaluru
Elevation
300 m (1,000 ft)
Population
 • Total5,214 (2,559F + 2,655M) According to 2,011 census
Languages
 • OfficialKannada
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
577128
Vehicle registrationKA - 66
Nearest cityShivamogga
Lok Sabha constituencyChikkamagaluru
Vidhan Sabha constituencyTarikere
ClimateModerate Tropical (Köppen)
Website.in

Vegetation

The vegetation is of wet deciduous type. This place receives the annual rainfall of more than 120 cm. The temperature varies from 21 degrees Celsius in winter to 39 degrees in summer. Among the flora, commonly found are Sandalwood, Teak, Rosewood and Honne. It is also famous for the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, which is home to over 100 species of flora and fauna. The most commonly found are bison, spotted deer and elephant. This sanctuary is one of the tiger reserves in the state.

Bhadra Dam

Dam/reservoir

This dam was designed by Sir M. Visvesvaraya, the then chief Engineer of Mysore state. The height of this dam is 194 ft (including building height). The dam is scenic with full of water throughout the year. The reservoir is among the oldest and scenic in Karnataka, which measures 186 ft in height, is having four crest gates.[2] The reservoir is surrounded by the Western ghats. This multipurpose dam serving the purpose of irrigation as well as there is also a generating station with two turbines. The Bhadra reservoir is the important source for irrigation, drinking and for other industrial activity of Davanagere, Chitradurga district.

Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary

The back water of the dam has created many forested islands with the hill ranges forming wonderful surroundings. There is also Bhadra wildlife Sanctuary at backwaters of this dam. The Bhadra wildlife sanctuary covers a region of 492 square km. There are tigers, leopards, elephants, and Spotted Deer. The sanctuary has started a tiger-conservation project called 'Project Tiger', an initiative from the Indian Government.[3]

Tourism

The scenic view of the dam and the backwaters itself forms the core of the tourism. The temple of God Shiva Linga also known as Someshwara is on the banks of the River Bhadra which is 5 km from Lakkavalli. Here the annual fair takes place in the month of December/January. Dattatreya Park is coming up next to the temple. The local deity of the village is Marikamba and a grand Marikamba fair, happens every three, five or seven years, which is based on the local legend. One of its kind starts from Sirsi in Uttara Kannada passes through Sagara, Shivamogga and some other towns and villages and ends in Lakkavalli.

Legend of Marikamba

The legend is "In olden days a girl should have married within 18 years of age but Marikamba, a brahmin girl by birth, attains 18 without marriage, so she is left in the forest. There she marries a cobbler, who pretends to be a brahmin and gets 2 children from him. One day the kids tries to imitate the father by stitching the footwear in leaves, amazed by this Marikamba asks her sons to spill the truth and she comes to know about the truth of her husband birth and his caste. She gets furious at this and wants to butcher her husband and sons because of Blasphemy and she takes the revenge by killing her Husband and children". There happens to be a "DrishTi boTTu" programme on the fair day, where a straw stack is ignited by just putting a bindi dot on the cheeks of the Wooden Marikamba idol. This program is observed by tens of thousands of people from the region.

Pooja was initiated by the last king Govindaswamy Yadav of Yadav kingdom. It belongs to Kote family and also there are several communities in the city, so all the communities have their own part in this festival, one of the leading communities called bhovi (community head is Thimma Bhovi). There are many communities there and each has its own reserved duties in this Marikamba festival.

In Lakkavalli there is a Jain basadi where they worship 1008 Parshwanatha Thiranthakara which is located in the heart of Lakkavalli where this basadi built by Lakkavalli Jain samaja which is led by Padmaraj and others.

How to get there

October to January is the ideal time to visit. It is situated 257 km north-west of Bangalore and is well connected by Road. The nearest Railway station is in Tarikere which is 20 km away and the nearest Airport is in Mangalore which is 200 km away. One can stay in a river tern Lodge, which is 1 km away from the town and offers the best service at a good price.[4]

Agriculture and business
Paddy & Areca nut Field

Rice is the main crop in agriculture followed by Areca nut and Coconut. The main occupation is agriculture, followed by business. Mostly the business commodities are rice and Areca nut followed by coconuts and some forest products. There are eight to ten rice mills in and around Lakkavalli with Dattatreya rice mill rangenhalli, Sai Natha, Bhadra, Modern, Prakash, Bharat Rice mill etc. to name a few. The Teak and Rosewood of Lakkavalli are famous.

Bhadra reservoir

Geography and demography
  • Area: 8 km2
  • Population: around 8000.
  • Occupation: Agriculture, Fishing and some forest-based activities.
  • Local deities: Someshwara temple which is built by the Cholas with 1000 stone in a short time .Kadali Ranganatha Swamy, Anjaneya, Marikamba.
  • Intercity transportation: Private buses.
  • Pin Code: 577128

Facilities available
  • Hospitals: 2 (Government Hospital and Basaveshwara Hospital)
  • Post Office: 1
  • Police Station: 1
  • Veterinary Hospital: 1
  • Revenue Office: 1
  • Schools and College: 1 Government PU College (Arts stream), 1 Government High school, 5 Government primary and Higher Primary Schools (Kannada, Urdu Schools).
  • Petrol Bunk: 1 Indian Oil
  • Bank: Canara bank and Chikmagalur DCC Bank Ltd

References
  1. "> News Updates > Jain Event Invitation". Www.Jainheritagecentres.Com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  2. "Lakkavalli Dam". Karnatakaholidays.com. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  3. "Karnataka Tourism, Official Website, Department of Tourism". Karnatakatourism.org. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  4. "[Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd]-[Wildlife and Adventure Ecotourism Destination]". Junglelodges.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
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