Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage

The Dowleswaram Barrage, officially the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage, spans the lower Godavari near Rajamahendravaram, about fifty miles before the river reaches the Bay of Bengal. Its line crosses two midstream islands. The British irrigation engineer Sir Arthur Cotton built the original barrage, completed around 1850; it stood 15 feet tall, ran for 3.5 km and went up in four sections so floods could pass during the work. Land that had lain flooded and unused was brought under the plough, and Cotton's works are credited with averting famine and lifting the economy of southern India.

Between 1970 and 1982 the barrage was rebuilt to a height of 10.6 metres, with four arms and 175 bays stretching 3.6 km. Its water serves two crops a year across 65 mandals of East and West Godavari. The Cotton Museum, built in the engineer's memory, is a visitor attraction in Rajamahendravaram.