Buckingham Canal

The Buckingham Canal is a 796km long fresh water navigation canal, running parallel to the Coromandel Coast of South India from Kakinada in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh to Villupuram District in Tamil Nadu. The canal connects most of the natural backwaters along the coast to Chennai (Madras) port. It was constructed during British Rule, and was an important waterway during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Originally called Cochrane Canal in 1806, it was then called Lord Clive’s Canal for a brief while. It finally became Buckingham Canal in 1878 as it was on the order of the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos — as Governor of Madras — that the extension of the canal was taken up to help people affected by famine. Buckingham it was and has come to be.It was first known as the North River by the British and was believed to be partly responsible for reducing cyclone damage to much of the Chennai - southern Andhra coastline.Construction phasesOriginally known as Cochrane's canal, the first segment of the canal was a saltwater navigation canal, constructed in 1806, from Chennai North to Ennore for a distance of 11mi. It was financed by Basil Cochrane. Subsequently, it was extended north to Pulicat Lake, 40km north of Chennai. The canal was taken over by the government of Madras Presidency in 1837 and further extended, ultimately reaching 315km north of Chennai to Vijayawada on the banks of the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh, and 103km south of Chennai to Marakkanam in Tamil Nadu. When the canal was opened, it was named Lord Clive's Canal and later Buckingham Canal. However, the section in Chennai was known as Cochrane's Canal for much of the 19th century.