Mahanadi River

Why in news?

• Mahanadi river along with its tributaries and other rivers in Odisha are in spate due to the heavy rainfall in its lower basin and also in the upper catchment areas in Chhattisgarh.

About Mahanadi River Basin:

• The Mahanadi river basin extends over states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and comparatively smaller portions of Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh.
• 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.
• It has its source in the northern foothills of Dandakaranya in Chhattisgarh.
• The Mahanadi is one of the major rivers of the peninsular rivers, in water potential and flood producing capacity, it ranks second to the Godavari.
• 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 the basin is covered with agricultural land.
• It is one of the most-active silt-depositing streams in the Indian subcontinent.
• Puri, the famous pilgrimage site is located at one of its mouths.
• Brahmani, Baitarani and Mahanadi form a combined delta before draining into the Arabian sea.
  • This Delta is home to a wide range of bidodiversity including the famous Bhitarkanika national park.
• Mahanadi is dammed by the Hirakud Dam, completed in 1953.

Major Tributaries:

• Left bank Tributaries: Seonath, Mand, Ib, Hasdeo
• Right bank Tributaries: Ong, parry, Jonk, Telen

Water Resources Projects in the Mahanadi Basin:

• Hirakud Dam in Odisha
• Tandula reservoir, Sondur Reservoir, Dudhawa Reservoir, Ravishankar Sagar and Hasdeo Bangoin in Chhattisgarh.

Floods in Mahanadi River Basin

• The basin is subject to severe flooding occasionally in the delta area due to inadequate carrying capacity of the channels.
• The multi-purpose Hirakud dam provides some amount of flood relief by storing part of flood water.
• However, the problem still persists and a lasting solution need to be evolved.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Identify the river using the information given below:

The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It has its source in the northern foothills of Dandakaranya. Puri, the famous pilgrimage site is located at one of its mouths.

(a) Mahanadi

(b) Godavari

(c) Narmada

(d) Yamuna

 Answer