Drought unravels hidden treasure in Kerala; Glass Bungalow resurfaces in Thenmala dam

As the Thenmala dam shows signs of drought in its receding water line, history resurfaces as if to remind Kerala of its heritage. The top portion of the 'Sayippan bungalow' or the British Bungalow  can now be seen since it had first reappeared fully in the year 2013.

The catchment area received very less rainfall this area and the water level came down to 88 meters from a total capacity of 116.73 meters. In the year 2013, the water level had gone down to 82 meters. The dam water had inundated the bungalow in the year 1984 when it was first constructed.

The bungalow is located deep inside the reservoir about three kilometers from the dam in Thenmala. The building is said to be constructed by a British industrialist TJ Cameroon in 1887 and  was used as a centre to collect reeds from the forest area for the Travancore Paper Mill that started at Punalur. The paper mill was  later known as the Punalur Paper Mills.

The building was constructed with the permission of the king of Travancore Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma. It was located along the British Road to Shenkottai, which was then part of the Travancore kingdom. The road, however, could not be seen even in 2013 because it was completely destroyed by the water from the dam.

Surprisingly, the 'Glass Bungalow' or 'Kannadi Bungalow' as called by the natives, is intact even after three decades under the water.  The first time it resurfaced in 2013, it became the talk of town and people thronged the place for the first visuals. The forest officials, however, had reserved the entry of visitors because they were destroying the historical site.

(The picture is a file photo from 2013 when the bungalow had resurfaced entirely)

• kerala
• history
• dam