Ryves Canal

There was a disastrous famine during 1833 which wiped about 40% of the population in Krishna district. The government under East India Company constructed an anicut and canal system during 1852-55 to irrigate 5.80 lakh acres with an expenditure of Rs 0.772 million. The anicut proposal was formulated and designed by Sir Arthur Cotton and carried out by Captain Charles Orr. The anicut served for about 100 years and a major breach occurred in September 1952. A new barrage namely Prakasam barrage was constructed during 1952-77 replacing the damaged and breached Krishna anicut.

The canal is named after captain Joseph Gore Ryves, a british engineer who worked during construction of Krishna anicut.^[5] He was famous for the construction of mullaperiyar dam in Kerala. Initially Ryves canal used to start from 7th mile of Eluru canal. Later it was changed to start from the main canal near the barrage itself.^[2]