Category: Greening Sanjeevi Hills

At the eastern foothills of the historic Sanjeevi Hills stands a quiet reminder of how earlier generations lived in harmony with nature. A gabion check dam in the region was repaired in 1935 using funds from the Kotthankulam Panchayat under the leadership of Sri Sakka Raja, indicating that the original structure must have been built many years earlier. 

The structure was designed to prevent soil erosion and support groundwater recharge through effective rainwater conservation. Nearly a century later, its influence can still be seen in the surrounding landscape.

This check dam is part of a wider network of traditional stone-built water conservation structures that once existed across the slopes and streams of the hills. Among them are several stone-pitched check dams, which are dry stone embankments constructed without mortar to regulate water flow and protect the terrain from erosion. These systems formed a natural protective network that helped preserve the fragile ecology of the Sanjeevi Hills.