Mahanadi River

As the name goes, Maha means great or big and nadi means river. This is the biggest river that flows in Odisha. It forms a delta that starts from Cuttack and then the river flows into the Bay of Bengal. The majestic river is the pride of the state of Odisha and there are many projects for power and agriculture that is situated along its bank. The river also is the perfect place for tourist and has tourism avenues to add. The economy of Odisha therefore is dependent on this river to quite an extent. The livelihood of many in the state is drawn from the wealth that this river holds in its underwater surface.

While being the life harbinger of the state, this river also has the other face where it turns violent and destroys both life and property. Flooding of the river is quite a common phenomenon and then the devastation it causes its adjoining areas has been of unprecedented nature. For this reason the state administration has been building up dams and the major project is the one at Sambhalpur called the Hirakud dam or Hirakud Hydel project. This dam is the largest earth dam in the world. The dam not only generates power supply for the districts of Hirakud and Rourkela where aluminium and steel; is made, the water also helps in irrigation of the Sambhalpur and Balangior areas.

The river water of the Mahanadi has been a matter if dispute between administrative bodies in the state. While there have been allegations of the water being used for industrial purpose rather than agricultural, the State Administrative machinery refused to accept this charge. People who formed the Mahanadi Bachao Andolan group claimed that the state government had been allocating water from the Mahanadi indiscriminately to industries. This was leading to lowering of water levels in the Hirakud, which they said in the long run would be detrimental to the state. The river water they mentioned was not enough to last the non-rainy season of the state.

Course

The origin of the Mahanadi occurs in the state of Chhattisgarh in the highland region. It flow a total of 860 km by distance before it ends up in the Bay of Bengal. The other states that the river traverses through are Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. A considerable part of the peninsula is drained by this river. The Gandhi minar has been constructed on one side of the Hirakud dam which stands on one side of the Mahanadi River. Other side has the Ashok minar.

Near Boudh a township, the river changes course where it flows south rather than south east. A few kilometers on, the river changes direction eastward till it reaches Tikarpara this lies in the Barmul canyon. The river flows though wooded areas from here and forms a gorge that is 22 km long. The height at which the river flows in this region is between 475 to 915 meter. Together with the Brahmani River the Mahanadi forma a very large delta between which the city of Cuttack exists.

Mangroves and rice cultivation that takes place in this delta region produces quite a large quantum of yield.

Tributaries

Tel River

While there are many tributaries that join up with the Mahanadi during its course, one of the main tributary is the Tel River. This is the second largest river in the state of Odisha. It flows quite close to the town of Titilagarh and the point where it flows into the Mahanadi is a spot for tourist interest. The view is quite panoramic as also the landscape of the surrounding region. The main course of the Tel River is in the district of Sonpur. A famous temple for lord Shiva is located on this river bank named the Baidyanath temple. This offers tourist attraction to this river.

Ong River

Ong River is another major tributary of the Mahanadi. This river starts at the Nawapara district and then flows into the extreme south west side of Padampur region. The course of the river is a wide semi circle leaving the district of Gaisilat by a few kilometers and then joining with the Mahanadi in the district of Subarnapur.

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