Neerasagar and Bedthi Halla

July 31, 2010. An office colleague had accompanied me that afternoon to Neerasagar. In fact I learnt about the reservoir from that colleague. The moment we reached the dam, it started raining, we had taken shelter under the gate-house. It was very windy too. I'd taken a few pictures in Nikon Coolpix, battery life and memory were constraints at that time. The place was green, fresh air blowing all the time, anyone would like it.

I'd thoughts of visiting Neerasagar again however a trip never materialized until the time our friend Srinu came home 24th evening. It was Srinu's first visit to our place. He was new to Dharwad though he had driven through the town in late 1980s. After a day's rest, Srinu was ready to see places. I thought of Kittur fort and ancient temples of Dharwad. Srinu inquired about Dandeli. I froze on Neerasagar since it's a place worth seeing and nearby, the trip wouldn't be tiring.

Aug 26, 2023. We left home around 10-45. The 15 km journey took almost an hour because we took a slightly round about route and we had to stop at the reservoir check-post for a few minutes. Somewhere on the way I'd seen a board stating Neerasagar waterfall. We headed towards the waterfall spot first, the dirt road ran parallel to the earthen bund (embankment) and then climbed up on to the southern end of the bund. A gate barred vehicle entry any further. This is the southern end of the bund, on the left is the overflow wall. As you see the reservoir is filled to capacity.

The on-duty guard told us that the reservoir was overflowing until a week ago, it was a sight worth seeing. I'll make it a point to visit Neerasagar the next time it rains heavily.

The overflow wall is around 280 meters long. The spillage flows southwards towards Kalghatgi and Mundgod. As per the information board here, the source of Neerasagar is Bedthi Halla. The word Halla means a stream. Bedthi can be called a perennial stream.

According to a Karnataka Aranya Elakhe (Karnataka forest department) board near Yellapur, Bedthi Halla's headwater (starting point) is near Unkal lake, Hubballi. Below is the transcript of the board.

ಬೇಡಿ ನದಿಯ ಮಾಹಿತಿ: ಧಾರವಾಡ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿ (ಉಣಕಲ್ ಕೆರೆ) ಯಿಂದ ಹುಟ್ಟಿ ದಕ್ಷಿಣದಿಂದ ಪಶ್ಚಿಮುಖಮುಖವಾಗಿ ಹರಿದು ಕಲಘಟಗಿ ಯಲ್ಲಾಪುರ ಮುಂಡಗೋಡ ತಾಲುಕಿನ ಗಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹರಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಮಾಗೋಡ ಜಲಪಾತವೆಂದು ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗಿದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಜಲಪಾತವು ಭವ್ಯವಾಗಿ 650 ಅಡಿ ಎತ್ತರದಿಂದ ಧುಮುಕಿ ರಂಜನಿಯ, ರಮ್ಯಮಾಯ ದೃಶ್ಯ ಗೋಚರವಾಗುವದು.  ನಂತರ ಅಂಕೋಲಾ ತಾಲೂಕಿನ ಗಂಗಾವಳಿ ನದಿಯಾಗಿ ಹರಿದು ಸಹ್ಯಾದ್ರಿಯ ಸುತ್ತುವರಿದು ಅರಬಿ ಸಮುದ್ರ ಸೇರುತ್ತದೆ.

From Unkal, Bedthi flows southwards touching Kalghatgi and Mundagod, then flows through Yellapur Taluq and creates a spectacular waterfall at Magod by plunging 650 feet in two stages. Further, on entering Ankola Taluq, it is called as Gangawali. After taking a circuitous route in the hills & jungles of Sahyadri Ghats, Gangawali touches the west coast and merges into the sea.

Magod waterfall is a sight to behold, I'd seen the waterfall two times, about 13 years ago. Coming to Neerasagar, impounded by the dam, Bedthi is a humble brook here. That's Srinu crossing over to the left bank. After a good rain, fed by smaller streams, Bedthi becomes a gushing stream. Going by the terrain she flows through, Bedthi can be called as the younger sister of river Kali.

The rocks in the stream bed caught my attention. These grey colored rocks with white streaks seem to be shale with calcite lines. The calcite deposits are so prominent, a real beauty.

The calcite streaks are several meters long at places. It's also possible the streaks are quartz deposits. Only a geological specialist could identify them correctly.

The predominantly dark grey rock-bed has patches of brown at places. Those patches have wood like look. In this picture below, it looks as tough the white lines are embedded into wood.

A Neem tree on an outcrop. Plants prove their versatility by growing at unthinkable locations. In the background is Neerasagar overflow wall.

Less than 100 meters from the wall corner is the cascade. The brook takes small leaps from rock to rock making gurgling sounds on its way down. Though a small cascade, one needs to be careful while negotiating these rocks. These rocks could be slippery due to smooth surfaces or layers of moss. On a cool day one could sit here hours together listening to the soothing music of water & stone.

The brook flows down and collects into a small pond and continues it's journey towards Kalghatgi.

The stream bed was getting warmer by the minute due to radiation. We decided to move on and see the reservoir. Neerasagar dam is an earthen type. The bund is 1.35 km long and 155 meters wide at the base and 6.1 meters at the top. The catchment area is 181 sq km, no idea what the average depth is.

The dam is under watch always. there are guards watching the gate here and the gate-house situated at the mid-point of the bund. A cement pipe fashioned into a sentry post is a real piece of art. Had it been painted, white shaft and red cap, it would've looked awesome. Being a Saturday, there were a number of visitors, mostly youngsters from Dharwad and Hubballi.

Another view of the bund and the gate-house. On the northern shore of the reservoir are farmlands growing sugarcane and maize.

View of the service road from the bund. This picture was shot in Srinu's mobile phone as I drove down. I would be meeting him at the mid-point where the steps and gate-house are situated.

The service road and the well maintained bund. There were a team of a dozen people pruning overgrown vegetation. Neerasagar is one of the sources of drinking water for the rapidly growing twin cities, maintenance is a year round work.

The iconic three-stage staircase of Neerasagar. The function of the stages is to stop anyone falling down or to reduce the speed of water during a heavy downpour. 

Another guard on duty. The guards need to be alert keeping visitors within limits. There are two information boards planted on either sides of the staircase, one in Kannada and the other in English. The other board is notice to public- this being a source of drinking water, no people are allowed to enter it, bathing cattle or fishing too aren't allowed.

Here's the transcript of the English board:
KARNATAKA URBAN WATER SUPPLY & DRAINAGE BOARD
NEERASAGAR WATER SUPPLY SCHEME: HUBLI-DHARWAD
TOTAL COST OF PROJECT: I STAGE RS. 170,50,000/- (COMPLETED DURING 1955)
                                     II STAGE Rs. 48,17,000/- (COMPLETED DURING 1969)
DETAILS OF NEERASAGAR LAKE & EARTHEN BUND
1. SOURCE: BEDTI NALA
2. LENGTH OF EARTHEN EMBANKMENT: 1356.36 M
3. CATCHMENT AREA: 181 08 SQ.KM
4. AVERAGE RAIN FALL: 750 MM
5. STORAGE. CAPACITY: 28.90 MCUM
6. USABLE, STORAGE: 26.15 MCUM
7. MAX. HEIGHT OF DAM BUND: 24.60 M
8. MAX. WIDTH OF DAM: 155.33 M
9. RL. OF TOP OF DAM: 594.66 M 
10. FLOOD LEVEL: 592.53 M
11. FULL SUPPLY LEVEL: 590.70 M
12. TOP WIDTH OF DAM BUND: 6.10 M
13. OUTLET LEVEL: 1. TOP : RL 589.17 M
                             2. MIDDLE RL 585.36 M
                             3. BOTTOM: RL 580.94 M
14. SIZE OF OUTLET: 750 MM DIA CI PIPE LENGTH 1.45 KM
ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, (CENTRAL) HUBLI.

As I scanned the surroundings through my camera lens, this young-man gestured his request for a picture. Selfies are good but nor as good as being photographed. Shubam is from Yellapur studying at Dharwad. He likes traveling and I guessed it rightly that a Himalayan bike parked near the staircase was his.

Time to leave. I thought of a picnic plan here with Pushp, one of the Sunday for sure.

At the vehicle parking spot, we ran into this group of students from KLE, Hubballi. I asked them if they had bunked classes. No, they hadn't. Srinu joined them for a picture... Srinu Sir & his students on an outing.

We said bye to our friends and we headed home for a light lunch and nap. Later I sent pictures to Shubam and Kiran, the guy on Srinu's left. The following day Srinu, Pushp and I went bicycling to Navalur Gudda. After the early morning bicycle ride, we had breakfast at home and went shopping at Dharwad Vegetable Market. We purchased a few things needed for the week and the upcoming two-day trip to Badami-Pattadakal-Aihole.

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