Indravati River ଇନ୍ଦ୍ରାବତୀ ନଦୀ, is a tributary of the Godavari River, in central India. The Indravati River is a stream of the river Godavari. Its starting point, found to be the Ghats of Dandakaranya, range from a hilltop village Mardiguda of Thuamula Rampur Block in the Kalahandi district of the state of Odisha. Due to the amalgamation of three streams, The River follows a westerly path and enters Jagadalpur in the state of Chhattisgarh. The river moves from here in a southern route, before eventually uniting with the Godavari at the borders of three states. They are the state of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana. The river at a variety of stages of its course forms the boundary between Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. The river Indravati is also known as the oxygen of the Bastar district of state of Chhattisgarh. This district is one of the greenest and eco-friendly districts, found in the whole of India. A total number of five hydroelectric projects were planned on the river Indravati. They were namely the Kutru I, the Kutro II, the Nugru I, Nugru II and the Bhopalpatnam. However, the plan misfired and did not see the light of the day due to ecological reasons. The Indravati is sometimes known as the "lifeline" of the Kalahandi, Nabarangapur, of Odisha & Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, one of the greenest districts in India. Most of the river course is through dense forests of Nabarangapur & Bastar. The river flows for and has a drainage area of.
Tributaries
The major tributaries of river Indravati are Keshadhara Nalla, Kandabindha Nallah, Chandragiri Nalla, Golagar Nalla, Poragarh Nalla, Kapur Nallah, Muran River, Bangiri Nallah, Telengi Nallah, Parlijori Nallah, Turi Nallah, Chourijori Nallah, Damayanti Sayarh, Kora river, Modang river, Padrikundijori river, Jaura river and Bhaskel river. The important right bank tributaries of the Indravati are Bhaskel, Boarding, Narangi, Nimbra, Kotri and Bandia. The important left bank tributary is Nandiraj.
Indravati Dam
or Upper Indravati Hydro Power Project built near Mukhiguda, Kalahandi is one of the largest Dam in India as well as Asia. It is the largest dam in eastern India which produces 600MW of electricity. The Upper Indravati Project envisages diversion of water, of the Indravati river in its upper reaches into the Mahanadi valley for power generation and irrigation.
Other Dam proposals
A total of five hydroelectric projects were planned on the stretch of Indravati River at various points in time. But none could see the light of the day due to ecological concerns raised in various fora. According to Interstate Agreement as per Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal Report, the State of Odisha has to ensure of water at the Odisha–Chhattisgarh border.
Ecology
The Chitrakoot Falls are located from Jagdalpur, in Chhattisgarh. Indravati National Park and Tiger Reserves are located in the adjoining region of Chhattisgarh state. The Chitrakot fall is almost at the point of its extinct because of indiscriminate construction of check dams near the fall. Social Activists and environmentalists are hell bent on getting the charm of the fall back. Now the fall is worth viewing during the rainy seasons only.
