Bhima River

The Bhima is an important river in the southwest India. It is a tributary of the Krishna River. It rises in Maharashtra and flows through Karnataka. This river, also known as Punya Damini Bhima, is regarded by the people of south India in the same way as they do Ganga. Legend has it that Lord Shankar came near the mountains of Bhima Shankar after he killed the demon named Tripursur. In that place he found the king Bhimak under penance. Bhimak begged Lord Shankar for his blessings so that a sacred river would be formed from His sweat. The Lord obliged, and this is how, the River Bhima is believed to have been formed. It was named after the pious king Bhimak. On the bank of this river is situated a holy place named Pandarpur and a Jyotirling named Bhima Shankar, which symbolizes Lord Shiva.

The river is rain-fed and the volume of the river varies based on the monsoonal changes. While is it stagnant in the summer season, it is prone to flood during the monsoon in August. In 2005, the districts of Solapur, Coorg, Bijapur and Gulbarga were severely flooded. But the receding floodwaters leave behind a deposition of rich alluvial soil that is good particularly for the cash crops. There are 2 dams in the basin of this river to ensure proper supply of irrigation water. There are about 24 villages of Karnataka and 22 of Maharashtra, whose inhabitants depend on this river for their livelihood.

However, Karnataka often complains that Maharashtra does not release enough water to their use, or that the latter uses up water from the upper course of the river. Maharashtra, argues that Karnataka should take necessary steps to ensure the safety of their own share of the river e.g. preventing the sand mafia from breaching portions of barrages. They allow the water to run out, and the barrage dries up, before they can extract sand. Many villages along the banks of the Bhima River have been receiving polluted water. The water is polluted due to untreated effluents being released in the river by the municipal corporations of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.

Course
The River rises at 19°04′03″N 073°33′00″E near the Bhimshankar Temple in Bhimshankar Heights. This is in the Taluka called Ambegaon, west of the Western Ghats which is called Sahyadri. The origin is in Pune District in the state of Maharashtra. Along with many smaller tributaries, it flows through the Bhimshankar Wildlife Sanctuary and enters the Khed Taluka. The Chas Kaman Reservoir and dam are situated here. It leaves Khed Taluka and forms the boundary between Havali Taluka and Shirur Taluka.

This 861 km long river has Western Ghats on the west, the Balaghat Range in the north, and the Mahadeo Hills in the south. It meanders through innumerable number of Talukas and is joined by a large number of tributaries before it finally meets the Krishna River along the border between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, 24km north of Raichur. Here, the Bhima’s length is greater than that of the Krishna. The river has a catchment area of 70,614 sq. km.

Tributaries

The Bhima has a large number of tributaries which join it at different points along its journey through the talukas. Kumandala, Bhama, Indrayani, Mula- Mutha, Dhomal Vel, Kamania, Ghod, Chandani, Kamini, Moshi, Bori, Sina, Man, Bhogwati and Nira are some of its major tributaries.

The Indrayani rises near Lonavla and is joined by the Bhama River, after which it travels for 14 km and enter the Bhima at Tulapur.

The Mula-Mutha is formed by the confluence of the Mula River and the Mutha River at Pune and is joined by the Kamania on the right, after which they enter the Bhima.

The Ghod rises in the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, and flows through Maharashtra. It flows for about 200 km before joining the Bhima. The Kukadi River is an important tributary of the Ghod which is the last western tributary of the Bhima.

The Nira flows from the Shirwal in Khandala Taluka and meets the Bhima at Nira Narsingpur near Akluj. Karha is an important tributary of the river.

The Sina is an important tributary of the river which rises near Ahmednagar, flows through Maharashtra and Karnataka joins it in the Solepur District.

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