Rivers and Drainage system of Odisha
Following is the list of important rivers of Odisha:
Mahanadi
Brahmani
Baitarani
Subarnarekha
Budhabalanga
Rushikulya
Bahuda
vamsadhara
Nagavali
Salandi
Indirabati Kolab
Baitarani River
The Baitarani is one of the important east flowing rivers of peninsular India, flowing eastward and joining the Bay of Bengal. The river rises in the hill ranges of Keonjhar District of Orissa near Manakarancho village at an elevation of about 900m above M.S.L. On its way, many tributaries join the river from both banks. Details of the tributaries have been given in the table below. The basin is situated approximately between east longitudes of 850 – 10’to 870-03’and between north latitudes of 200-35’to 220-15’. The basin is surrounded by the Brahmani on the south and west, the Subernarekha on the orth, the Burhganbalang and the Bay of Bengal on the east. The river is flashy in nature having a total length of 355 km. With the upper reach upto to Anandpur in the hilly reason. There is a considerable fall in geographical gradient from RL 367.000 m at Champua to RL 28.000 m at Anandpur.
Brahmani
The Brahmani is a major inter-state east flowing river amongst the peninsular rivers in India. This basin is situated within the geographical co-ordinates of north latitude 20°-28′- to 23°-35′ and east longitude 83°52′ to 87°03′ approximately. The basin is bounded in the North by Chhotanagpur plateau, in the West and South by the Mahanadi basin and in the East by the Bay of Bengal. The basin flows through Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa States and draining a total area of 39,033 sq.km. before it outfalls in to the Bay of Bengal.
Indravati
The river Indravati rises at an elevation of 914 metres in the Kalahandi district of Odisha on the western slopes of the Eastern Ghats. It flows west-ward through the Kalahandi, Nabarangapur and Koraput districts for 164 kms and after forming the boundary between Odisha and Chhattisgarh states for 9.5 kms, enters the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. After flowing 233 kms in Chhattisgarh, it turns south and flows along the boundary of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra for about 129 kms and joins Godavari River at the junction of the boundaries of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Telangana states.
Mahanadi
The Mahanadi basin extends over states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and comparatively smaller portions of Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, draining an area of 1,41,589 Sq.km which is nearly 4.3% of the total geographical area of the country. The geographical extent of the basin lies between 80°28’ and 86°43’ east longitudes and 19°8’ and 23°32’ north latitudes. The basin has maximum length and width of 587 km and 400 km. It is bounded by the Central India hills on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south and east and by the Maikala range on the west. The Mahanadi is one of the major rivers of the country and among the peninsular rivers, in water potential and flood producing capacity, it ranks second to the Godavari. It originates from a pool, 6 km from Farsiya village of Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh. The total length of the river from origin to its outfall into the Bay of Bengal is 851 km. The Seonath, the Hasdeo, the Mand and the Ib joins Mahanadi from left whereas the Ong, the Tel and the Jonk joins it from right. Six other small streams between the Mahanadi and the Rushikulya draining directly into the Chilka Lake also forms the part of the basin. The major part of basin is covered with agricultural land accounting to 54.27% of the total area and 4.45% of the basin is covered by water bodies.
Subarnarekha
After originating near piska/nagri, near Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, the Subarnarekha traverses a long distance through Ranchi Seraikela Kharsawan and East Singhbhum districts in the state. Thereafter, it flows for shorter distances through Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal for 83 kilometres (52 mi) and Balasore district of Odisha. There, it flows for 79 kilometres (49 mi) and joins the Bay of Bengal near Talsari. The total length of the river is 395 kilometres (245 mi). The basin of the Subarnarekha is smaller than most multi-state river basins in India. The rain-fed river covers a drainage area of 18,951 square kilometres (7,317 sq mi) Fishing at Subarnarekha river near Domohani (confluence of Subarnarekha and Kharkhai) The prominent tributaries of the Subarnarekha are Kharkai, Roro, Kanchi, Harmu Nadi, Damra, Karru, Chinguru, Karakari, Gurma, Garra, Singaduba, Kodia, Dulunga and Khaijori. The Kharkai meets the Subarnarekha at Sonari (Domuhani), a neighborhood of Jamshedpur.
Nagavali
Nagavali River forms a prime river of north eastern Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha. The origin of Nagavali River lies in the eastern slopes of the Eastern Ghats near Lakhbahal, located at an altitude of 1,300 metres in the Kalahandi district of the Indian state Odisha. Langulya is another name for Nagavali River. Nagavali river basin hosts the Niyamgiri hills where the Bauxite mining has been made proposed. However it has been predicted that from the red mud dump area of the Bauxite refinery the rain water run off can pollute the Nagavali River by enhancing the alkalinity of its water.
Nagavali River has a number of tributaries namely Vegavati, Relligedda, Vonigedda, Suvarnamukhi, Vottigedda, Gumudugedda, Srikona, Sitagurha, Satnala, Baldiya, Barha and Jhanjavati. Suvarnamukhi River has its origin in the hills of Salur mandal from where it flows towards an eastern direction, finally joining the Nagavali at Sangam village situated in the Vangara mandal of Srikakulam district. However the origin of Vegavathi River lies in Pachipenta Hills of Pachipenta Mandal.
vamsadhara river
Vamsadhara River is a significant east flowing river between Godavari and Mahanadi which meanders between north-eastern Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha. It is also known as Bansadhara in the state of Odisha. The origin of the river lies in the border of Kalyansinghpur in Rayagada district and Thuamul Rampur in Kalahandi district of Odisha. The river flows for a length of 254 kilometres after which it joins the Bay of Bengal at Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The catchment area of the river comprises an area of 10,830 square kilometres. Kalingapatnam and Mukhalingam, the famed tourist attractions of Srikakulam district are situated along the banks of Vamsadhara River.
One of the major tributaries of Vamsadhara River is Mahendratanaya which originates in Gajapati district of Odisha. It joins the main river in the state of Andhra Pradesh, upstream of Gotta barrage. For diverting the river for irrigation purpose, the construction of Regulapadu barrage has been started.
Bahuda river
The river Bahuda originates near village Luba from the Singharaj hills of the Eastern Ghats in Gajapati district. It flows in the north east direction up to 55 km, south east direction for 17km in Odisha before entering Andhra Pradesh to flow for 18 km. Then it turns in Northeast direction for 6 km in Odisha before meeting the Bay of Bengal near the village Sunapurapeta, Odisha. The river traverses a total length of 96 km and the prominent tributaries are Poichandia, Bogiriadi, Batrada Nalla and Kantajura Nalla. The river is effectively providing water to more than 23,000 acres of the land which includes more than 90 villages in that area.
Rushikulya
The Rushikulya originates at an elevation of about 1000 m. from Rushimala Hills near Matabarhi village of Kandhamal district which is lies within the geographical coordinates of 19.07 to 20.19 north latitude and 84.01 to 85.06 east longitude. It meets the Bay of Bengal at Puruna Bandha of Chhatrapur block.
Its tributaries are the Baghua, the Dhanei, the Badanadi etc. It has no delta as such at its mouth.
It is 165 km long with the total catchment area is 7700 km2. It covers entire catchment area in the districts of Kandhamal and Ganjam district of Odisha.
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