Mahanadi River

News: After a prolonged legal battle over sharing Mahanadi river water in a designated tribunal, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have now expressed willingness to resolve the dispute amicably between themselves.

About Mahanadi River

• The Mahanadi (literally meaning big river) is an important river of the Peninsular India.
• Source: It has its source in the northern foothills of Dandakaranya near Sihawa in Raipur District of Chhattisgarh at an elevation of 442 m.
• Drainage basin
  • The upper part of its drainage basin lies in the saucer-shaped basin called the ‘Chhattisgarh Plain’.
  • 53 % of the drainage basin of this river lies in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, while 47 per cent lies in Odisha.
  • The river is bounded in the north by Central India hills, in the south and east by the Eastern Ghats and in the west by Maikal hill range.
• Course of river
  • From its source, the river takes a north easterly course.
  • Beyond Seorinarayan it flows eastwards and after entering Odisha, it turns southwards below the Hirakud Dam.
  • Further below it turns eastwards near Sonepur.
  • On reaching the Eastern Ghats, the river flows through a narrow Gorge for 23 km near Tikkarpara Range and finally emerges in a delta at Naraj 11 km west of Cuttack.
  • Falls into: The Mahanadi finally empties itself in the Bay of Bengal after flowing for a distance of 857 km.
• Tributaries: This basin is surrounded by hills on the north, west and south as a result of which a large number of tributaries join the main river from these sides.
  • Left bank tributaries: lb (251 km), the Mand (241 km), the Hasdo (333 km) and the Sheonath (383 km)
  • Right bank tributaries: Ong (204 km), the Jonk (196 km), and the Tel (295 km)
• Delta: The delta of Mahanadi spreads over an area of 9,500 sq. km and is over 150 km broad.
• Mahanadi Water Dispute
  • Parties involved: The dispute is between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
  • Legal action and Tribunal formation: In November 2016, Odisha moved the Supreme Court seeking formation of a tribunal.
    • The Government of India constituted the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2018 under the Inter-State Water Disputes Act.