[mayuresh]

This was a short trip to Khodshi dam, a picnic spot near Karad off NH4.

There is a new wall under construction right in front of the old dam. With the
dam fully filled and overflowing, this gave a nice opportunity to get its
picturesque view right from the front.

This opportunity will get closed perhaps within another year as the
construction progresses. Of 17 doors of the dam, about 10 are already
completed.


View from the Khodshi village off NH4

The village after which the dam is named is right after the toll booth prior to
Karad. Following map will give an idea:
KaradNH4_Khodshi in India | cycling Map | MapMyRIDE

Like is the case with river Krishna in this region, one side of the river is a
steep hill, while the other is flat on which most inhabitation has happened.
Khodshi village is on the steep side. It is actually the opposite side,
Saidapur, that forms a picnic spot. At present you have to cross Karad city to
reach the other side. Once the new wall completes, perhaps pedestrian passage
may be allowed on the wall.

Khodshi (NH4) side view of the dam


Main chowk in the village


An inquisitive bunch examining the intruders!


Route to NH4



About the construction activity

I am not sure what's the logic behind building a new wall. Is it because the
old wall is ageing, is it about increasing the capacity, the officials at the
site could not explain properly. There is a hydro-electric power plant coming
up on Saidapur side. May be that necessitated a new wall.

View of full construction activity from Saidapur side


The curved doors


Channels for the curved doors where they are yet to be fit



The Saidapur side of the dam, a picnic spot

This is opposite of the NH4 side of the dam.

You have to cross Karad city to reach the canal route shown below to reach the
other side of the dam. Following bridge is on the way out after crossing Karad.

Newly constructed bridge on the Karad - Vita road (one that is elevated),
not yet opened for traffic. The old one (lower one) gets submerged in water
fully in high flood situations.

There is no proper road to reach the dam from this side. You have to use muddy
road by the side of the canal that originates at this dam. We tried the
following route first, though the locals said our car will face problems here
due to narrow width and advised another route.
KaradKhodshiDam1 in India | cycling Map | MapMyRIDE


We took the following route, as advised, though it anyway merges with the above
route half way through
KaradKhodshi2 in India | cycling Map | MapMyRIDE


After the dam, Krishna meets Koyna at a famous spot called Preeti Sangam in
Karad. After the Sangam, it again becomes parallel to the canal route. At a few
places there is just a narrow land between the canal and the post-Sangam river,
on which this route is located.

One of the many acute turns Krishna takes


Canal wall at its origin


You get this beautiful view at the end of the canal




Renuka mandir

The picnic spot is actually hardly recognized as Khodshi dam. It is known as
Renuka Mandir. You will find it easy to get directions by this name rather than
dam, indicating this temple is famous.




Jwari (Jowar) seems to be the main crop (besides sugarcane) here. Rotis of this
(called Bhakri in Marathi), are traditional food in this region (and I think in
parts of Karnataka).



Views from the new wall

It was a little difficult to reach the new wall's doors, though not too risky
as the water gets diverted to the middle doors though you can see the old dam
quite closely from the side door slots where the curved doors are yet to be
fit. It was very pleasant to just sit over there.

There was a constant roar of the gushing water. There is a saying in Marathi
"Santha Vahate Krishna Mai" (Calmly flows mother Krishna ..) due to largely
calm flow of Krishna. Would have begged to differ here though ...

(Had some videos that would have given better idea. Will try to upload. Seems
you can't on bhp servers directly.)






Stay and eating options

There are several good stay options in Karad. Hotel Sangam has been our
preferred option for many last visits. It is a very old hotel with a good
reputation.

For the first time the experience was very disappointing. At about mid night we
were woken up by bites of tiny bed bugs. Disgusting. We asked for change of the
room and in the second room discovered that the situation was same. Asked for a
change yet another time on a different floor where we could finally manage to
sleep. Shifted most of the baggage back into the car at night itself to avoid
those creatures entering the baggage. Will have to look for other hotels next
time around.

For food, Surya in Hotel Sangam's campus serves good Gujarathi thali. Nothing
remarkable about Sangam's restaurant called Maharaja. The place is not very
airy and we weren't comfortable there.

Pankaj is another good hotel a stone's throw away. Last time we tried, the
service was just too slow here, though food was good.

Inside the city there is Alankar right opposite to ST Stand, which seems very
good, though it was too crowded to even get an entry when we went there in the
evening. Never imagined, would face a parking problem at a place like Karad. It
was that crowded. Had to make do with some small restaurants around there.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!