Farmers celebrate 184th birth anniversary of Col. Penny Cuick at his memorial

The 184th birth anniversary of Colonel. John Pennycuick, the architect of Mullaperiyar dam, was celebrated as Penny Cuick Pongal at Palarpatti village near here on Wednesday.

The 184th birth anniversary of Colonel. John Pennycuick, the architect of Mullaperiyar dam, was celebrated as Penny Cuick Pongal at Palarpatti village near here on Wednesday.

The farmers said Pongal was a thanksgiving ceremony performed for the God for having given a bountiful harvest. They offered special pujas for the deities in the villages.

However, the farmers in Theni district celebrated January 15 as Pongal as a mark of respect for Col. Pennycuick. “Many people here have not only named their children after Pennycuick, but also described him as their God,” they said.

After paying rich tributes to Col. Pennycuick’s statue erected at his memorial, the farmers, who had come with their families and relatives, prepared pongal and distributed it to the visitors.

The farmers said Col. Pennycuick, after travelling across the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, found a severe scarcity of water for irrigation. Hence, he decided to construct the dam, which now stood tall between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The visionary had overcome many challenges in completing the dam construction, which was a marvel and unique in many ways. The water from the dam had helped lakhs of farmers carry out agriculture in five southern districts and met the drinking water needs of Theni, Madurai and parts of Dindigul district, they added.

A group of tourists from Malaysia, who arrived here, joined the celebration with the farmers on Wednesday. After garlanding the statue of Col. Pennycuick, they visited the dam from Thekkadi. The local people distributed booklets detailing the contribution of the British engineer, who was referred to as the ‘hero of the land’, to the visitors.