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Baitarani River ବୈତରଣୀ ନଦୀ | |
---|---|
Native name | ବୈତରଣୀ, ଗୁପ୍ତଗଙ୍ଗା (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 travels a distance of 360 kilometres (220 mi) to 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 join from the right side. 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 a 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 marooning occurred, inflicting massive losses of life and property. Apart from the long pending construction of a dam at Bhimkund and proposed other measures like river bed 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.
The Godavari is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharashtra. It flows east for 1,465 kilometres (910 mi), draining the states of Maharashtra (48.6%), Telangana (18.8%), Andhra Pradesh (4.5%), Chhattisgarh (10.9%) and Odisha (5.7%). The river ultimately empties into the Bay of Bengal through an extensive network of tributaries. Measuring up to 312,812 km2 (120,777 sq mi), it forms one of the largest river basins in the Indian subcontinent, with only the Ganga and Indus rivers having a larger drainage basin. In terms of length, catchment area and discharge, the Godavari is the largest in peninsular India, and had been dubbed as the Dakshina Ganga.
Damodar River is a river flowing across the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The valley is rich in mineral resources and is home to large-scale mining and industrial activity. It was also known as the Sorrow of Bengal because of its ravaging floods 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 sq km in winter to 1,144 sq km 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 Saptakoshi for its seven upper tributaries. These include the Tamur River originating from the Kanchenjunga area in the east and Arun River and Sun Kosi from Tibet. The Sun Koshi's tributaries from east to west are 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.
Jajpur is a district of Odisha state in eastern India. The Odisha Government carried out a re-organisation of districts of Odisha in 1993. The erstwhile Cuttack district was split into multiple districts with Jajpur being one of them. The district came into being on 1 April 1993.
Anandapur is a town and a municipality of Kendujhar district in the state of Odisha, India.
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 North Andhra States in India, between Rushikulya and Godavari basins.
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.
Rengali dam is a dam located in Odisha, India. It is constructed across the Brahmani River in Rengali village, located 70 km from Angul in Angul district.
The Sankh River flows across Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha states in India. The river flows for 240 kilometres (150 mi) before it meets the Koel River in Odisha.
South Koel River is a 285 kilometres (177 mi) long river which runs across Jharkhand and Odisha states in India. It originates on the Lawapani Waterfalls, near Lohardaga, Chota Nagpur Plateau a Lawapani Waterfalls, near Lohardaga, Chota Nagpur Plateau 82.5 kilometres (51 mi) from Ranchi, and conjoins the Belsiangar and Singbhum Rivers. The Koel is fed by three streams in Jharkhand, namely the North Karo, South Karo and Koina. The South Koel enters Odisha and joins with Sankh River at Vedavyas near Rourkela from where it is named as Brahmani.
Ghasipura is a census town and an administrative block in the Anandapur Subdivision of Kendujhar District, Odisha, India. It lies on the way from Bhubaneswar to Kendujhar at a distance of 160 km from the former and 80 km from the later. The whole block comprises 179 villages including the village Ghasipura.
The Polavaram Project is an under construction multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in the Eluru District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. The project has been accorded National project status by the Central Government of India. Its reservoir back water spreads up to the Dummugudem Anicut and approx 115 km on Sabari River side. Thus back water spreads into parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha States. It gives major boost to tourism sector in Godavari Districts as the reservoir covers the famous Papikonda National Park, Polavaram hydro electric project (HEP) and National Waterway 4 are under construction on left side of the river. It is located 40 km to the upstream of Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage in Rajamahendravaram City and 25 km from Rajahmundry Airport.
Thakurmunda is a block headquarter and a small market area in Mayurbhanj district in the state of Odisha, India. Thakurmunda is referred as the largest block of mayurbhanj district having a radius of 40kms. The nearest city is Karanjia. Thakurmunda is a place to stay and tour the Mayurbhanj region. This region is home to Similipal, one of the most important wildlife parks of India. The national park comprises lush valleys, forest lands and scores of ancient temples.
The Garhjat Hills is a mountain range formed by a series low-lying hills, plateaux, ridges and meadows that stretch into Odisha from the Utkal Plains in the Chotanagpur region of Jharkhand and the Chhattisgarh Plains. The range, also known as the Odisha Highlands, runs in a north east to south west direction for about 382 km along the Odisha coast, covering 76,800 km2 (29,700 sq mi).
Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary wildlife sanctuary situated Keonjhar district in Odisha, India, covering an area of 191 km2 was established in 1978. Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary was declared vide F.F.A.H. notification dated the 6th December 1978 S.R.O. No.213/80 – In exercise of powers conferred by Section 18 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the State Government. Executive orders declared the most important and large forest blocks as reserved forests during the 1910-15 settlement operation. Forest blocks, i.e., Benamunda, Bandhanjhari, and Ranibeda, were reserved during 1925-26. The proposal for constituting Hadagarh sanctuary was initiated during 1976-77 when the task force committee on crocodile farming in Orissa decided to release the mugger in the reservoir of Salandi dam (Hadagarh) because of favorable climatic conditions for that species. It was decided to declare the reservoir and peripheral forests under Anandapur and Karanjia Forest Division as Sanctuary and suspend the rights of local people under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Thus the Hadagarh sanctuary came into existence by notification no. SF (W) - 160/78- 34113/FFAH dated 6.12.78 of Forest Department, Orissa. The above sanctuary comprises Boula RF in Anandapur and Satakosia R.F. (part) of Karanjia Forest Divisions. Later, its potential as an elephant reserve was recognized, and improvement work was started through Project Elephant to develop the sanctuary. Now, this sanctuary has been included in Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve.