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Baitarani River | |
---|---|
Native name | ବୈତରଣୀ ନଦୀ (Odia) |
Location | |
Country | India |
State | Odisha |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Gonasika Guptaganga Hills |
• location | Keonjhar, Odisha |
• coordinates | 21°30′17″N85°33′07″E / 21.5048443°N 85.5518782°E |
Mouth | Bay of Bengal |
• location | Odisha |
• coordinates | 20°46′37″N86°57′17″E / 20.776826°N 86.954804°E |
Length | 360 km (220 mi) |
Discharge | |
• location | Bay of Bengal [1] |
• average | 903 m3/s (31,900 cu ft/s) [1] |
The Baitarani (also spelled Vaitarani) is one of six major rivers of Odisha, India. Venerated in popular epics and legends, the Baitarani River is a source of water for agricultural irrigation. The coastal plain of Odisha has the name of "Hexadeltaic region" or the "Gift of Six Rivers". These deltas divide the coastal plain into three regions from north to south. The Baitarani, the Mahanadi and the Brahmani rivers form the Middle Coastal Plain, with evidence of past "back bays" and present lakes. [2]
The Baitarani originates from the Gonasika/Guptaganga [3] (Cow Nose Shaped) hills, and starts flowing over a stone looking like the nostril of a cow. Afterwards for about half a kilometre the river flows underground and is not visible from outside. The Baitarani is known here by the name Guptaganga or the Gupta Baitarani, in Gonasika of Keonjhar district in Odisha state of India at an elevation of 900 metres (3,000 ft) above sea level. The uppermost part of the river, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) in length, flows in a northerly direction; then it changes its path suddenly by 90 degrees and flows eastward. The beginning portion of Baitarani acts as the small part of boundary between the states of Odisha and Jharkhand. [4]
The river enters a plain at Anandapur and creates a deltaic zone at Akhuapada. The river is 360 kilometres (220 mi) in length and drain into the Bay of Bengal after joining of the Brahmani at Dhamra mouth near Chandabali. [5] The river has 65 tributaries, of which 35 join from the left side and 30 from the right. The river basin in Odisha is spread among 42 blocks of eight districts. Budhi, Kanjori, Ambajhara, Mushal, Kusei, Salandi are some of the tributaries of Baitarani.
A major portion of the river basin lies within the state of Odisha, while a small patch of the upper reach lies in Jharkhand state. The upper Baitarani basin on the western slopes of the Eastern Ghats, comprising the Panposh-Keonjhar-Pallahara plateau, is one of the two plateaus forming "The Central Plateaus"—one of Odisha's five major morphological regions.
Dams and barrages on the Baitarani and its major tributary, the Salandi, irrigate 61,920 hectares (153,000 acres). The proposed Bhimkund and upper Baitarani multi-purpose projects envisage many more dams across this river and its tributaries to provide irrigation to more than 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi). A new barrage was established near Anandapur and it was inaugurated by the CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik.
Flooding is a regular phenomenon in the Baitarani basin. The inhabitants near the river live in fear of loss to life and property. Even a two-day rain in July 2005 caused the river to overflow its banks, affecting 140,000 people in 220 villages of Jajpur and Bhadrak districts. In at least two places the embankments were breached and flooding occurred, inflicting loss of life and property. Apart from the long pending construction of a dam at Bhimkund and other proposed measures like riverbed excavation and construction of embankments etc. in the deltaic region, there remain the unaddressed land use issues in the upstream, to which, till date, no serious thoughts or efforts have been directed.
Due to drainage into the Bay of Bengal, its water become salty as it heads towards the end of the River.
Baitarani basin, with its rich mineral and agricultural resources and with availability of cheap labour, offered an ideal ground for establishment and operation of various industries. However, the principal development activities in the industrial, agricultural and mining sectors have contributed significantly towards deterioration in the water quality. [6]
It forms part of the boundary between Balasore district and Undivided Cuttack district. [7] There is a saying that "he who bathes in it and gives alms will always be free from torments inflicted by Yama." [8]
The district Jajpur is the gift of river Baitarani. Historical evidences show early civilization on the bank of this river. Currently the district is subject to massive floods which are common during monsoon.
Damodar River is a river flowing across the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The valley is rich in mineral resources and is known for large-scale mining and industrial activity. It was also known as the Sorrow of Bengal because of the ravaging floods it caused in the plains of West Bengal. The construction of several dams on the Damodar and its tributaries has helped control some of the flooding.
The Brahmani is a major seasonal river in the Odisha state of eastern India. The Brahmani is formed by the confluence of the Sankh and South Koel rivers, and flows through the districts of Sundargarh, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Jajapur and Kendrapara. Also South Koel can be considered as upper reaches of Brahmani. Together with the river Baitarani, Brahmani forms a large delta before emptying into the Bay of Bengal at Dhamra. It is the second widest river in Odisha after Mahanadi.
The Utkal Plain is part of the East Coastal Plain of India. It is a coastal plain in the Odisha state of eastern India. It includes the delta of the Mahanadi River, Brahmani River, Baitarani River. The most prominent physiographic feature of this plain is the Chilka Lake. It is the biggest lake in the country and its area varies between 780 km2 in winter to 1,144 km2 in the monsoon months.
The Subarnarekha River flows through the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.
Kendrapara District is an administrative district of Odisha state in eastern India. The town of Kendrapara is the district headquarters. Kendrapara District is situated in the eastern portion of the state, and is bounded on the north by Bhadrak district, on the east by the Bay of Bengal, on the south by Jagatsinghpur District, on the west by Cuttack District on the northwest by Jajpur District.
The Kosi or Koshi is a transboundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India. It drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence of tributaries north of the Chatra Gorge onwards, the Kosi River is also known as the Saptakoshi for its seven upper tributaries. These include the Tamur River originating from the Kanchenjunga area in the east and Arun River and the Sun Kosi from Tibet. The Sun Koshi's tributaries from east to west are the Dudh Koshi, Likhu Khola, Tamakoshi River, Bhote Koshi and Indravati. The Saptakoshi crosses into northern Bihar, India where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district. The Kosi is the third-largest tributary of the Ganges by water discharge after the Ghaghara and the Yamuna.
Anandapur is a town and a municipality of Kendujhar district in the state of Odisha, India.
The Juang are an Austroasiatic ethnic group found only in the Gonsaika hills of Keonjhar district of Odisha. Some Juangs, however migrated to neighbouring plains of Dhenkanal district of Odisha during the Bhuiyan revolt in the late 19th century. The Juang language belongs to the Munda family of the Austroasiatic languages. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government. The 2011 census showed their population to be around 50,000.
Kendujhar District, is an administrative district of Odisha. The district is one of the fifth Scheduled Areas of Odisha. The town of Kendujhar is the district headquarters. The district has three sub-divisions, Anandapur, Champua, and Kendujhar.
The River Nagavali also known as Langulya is one of the main rivers of Southern Odisha and Andhra States in India, between Rushikulya and Godavari basins.
The Mayurakshi is a major river in Jharkhand and West Bengal, India, with a long history of devastating floods.
Odisha is one of the 28 states in the Republic of India. Odisha is located in the eastern part of the Indian peninsula and the Bay of Bengal lies to its East while Chhattisgarh shares its border in the west and north-west. The state also shares geographic boundaries with West Bengal in the north-east, Jharkhand in the north and Andhra Pradesh in the south. The state is spread over an area of 1,55,707 km2 and extends for 700 km from north to south and 500 kilometres from east to west. Its coastline is 450 km long. The state is divided into 30 districts which are further subdivided into 314 blocks called tahasil.
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The 2022 Odisha floods were a series of floods in Odisha, which lasted from 14 August 2022 to 7 September 2022.