“Mahanadi River: The Mighty Lifeline of East Central India” [2023 -Map]

Mahanadi river

• The Mahanadi river originates at a height of 422 meters above mean sea level near to Pharsiya village, Nagri town in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh.
• Mahanadi river of peninsular India is one of the major inter-state east flowing rivers.
• The length of Mahanadi river from its source of origin to its confluence in the Bay of Bengal is nearly 851 Km, of which, 357 Km lies in Chhattisgarh and remaining 494 Km in Odisha.
• In Water Potential the Mahanadi river ranks second to the Godavari river among the peninsular rivers.
• The basin of Mahanadi river is bounded on various sides
  • On the north by the Central India hills
  • On the south & east by the Eastern Ghats
  • On the west by the Maikala range.
• The Mahanadi basin spreads over an area of 1,41,589 Sq.km. which is 4.3% of the total geographical area of India and it lies in following states:
  • Chhattisgarh
  • Odisha
  • Jharkhand
  • Maharashtra
  • Madhya Pradesh

Mahanadi River Facts

Catchment Area

Topography of Mahanadi river basin

• The upper reaches of the Mahanadi basin is on a very undulating plateau with hilllocks.
• The southern part of this plateau is open and to the east and west of it there are a number of hill ranges having steep slopes which results in water draining directly into the Mahanadi river.
• The Mahanadi basin upto Manibhadra is continuously tilt towards the main valley so no drainage congestion is experienced here.

Major Dams/Projects on Mahanadi

 Geology of the Basin

• The catchment area of Mahanadi river upto Manibhadra majorly consists of Archean terrain and gneiss rock formation.
• The hills have igneous and metamorphic rocks, some important types are quartzite, phyllite, quartz schist, Mica schist and granite.
• The sub-basin consists of alluvial formation of recent origin of varying thickness.

Urban Centres and Industries in Mahanadi Basin

Soil and Land use

• Odhisa
  • The soil types found in the Mahanadi river basin are red and yellow soils mainly. 
  • Mixed red and black soils is found in parts of the Bolangir, Sambalpur, and Sundargarh districts of Orissa. 
  • Laterite soil occurs in the lower parts of Orissa.
  • The coastal plains of the Mahanadi consists of the deltaic soil.
• Chhattisgarh
  • The main soils are Black soil and sandy soil with “Kankar” that is found in the Mahanadi basin of Chhattisgarh.
• The basin has an extensive area under forests except in the Chhatisgarh and coastal plains of Odhisa. 
• Forest and agriculture are the main stay of the people in the interior parts of the Mahanadi basin. 
• The Chhatisgarh and coastal plains recieveing high incidence of rainfall are predominantly rice growing areas.

Major Tributaries of Mahanadi

Major Dams/Projects on Mahanadi

Mahanadi river tributaries

• Left Bank tributaries:
  • Seonath
  • Hasdeo
  • Mand
  • Ib.
• Right Bank tributaries:
  • Ong
  • Tel
  • Jonk.

Left Bank Tributaries

Seonath River

• The Seonath River is the longest tributary of Mahanadi river.
• Seonath River rises in an undulating region with numerous small groups of hills at an elevation of about 533 meters near Kotgal and flows for length of 383 km to join the Mahanadi river on its left near Kharghand.
• The main sub tributaries of the Seonath
  • On the right bank
    • Kharhara
    • Tandula
    • Kharun
  • On the left bank.
    • Surh
    • Hanp
    • Agar
    • Arpa 
• The total drainage area of the Seonath River is nearly 30,761 sq. km. which is about 22% of the total drainage area of the Mahanadi basin.

 Hasdeo River

• Hasdo River rises at a height of 915 meter at a place near to Sonhat in the Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh.
•  The Hasdo river covers a length of nearly 333 km to merge into the Mahanadi river on its left near to the  village Mahuadih.
•  The total drainage area of the Hasdo river is 9,856 sq. km, which is about 6.96% of the Mahanadi basin area.
• The principal sub tributary of the Hasdo River is  Gej River.
• Hasdo River merge into the Mahanadi River in Chandarpur in Chattisgarh,  28 km before Mahanadi river reaches the Hirakud Dam.

Mand River

• The Mand river originates at a height of 686 meters in the Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh and travels for 241 km. to reach its confluence with the Mahanadi river on its left bank near Chandarpur.
• The total catchment area of the Mand river is nearly 5,200 sq. km.
• The principal tributaries of Mand river are:
  • Koirja nalla,
  • Gopal nalla,
  • Chhindai nalla
  • Kurket river

Ib river

• The Ib River source is in the hills near Pandrapat, in the Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh State at an height of about 762 meters.
• Ib River is rain-fed river and nearly 80% of its runoff occurs during the monsoon period.
• The important tributaries of the Ib river are:
  • Maina
  • Sapal 
  • Bheden 
• The total length of the Ib River is about 251 km and it falls into the Hirakud Reservoir on its left.
• The total drainage area of the Ib River is 12,447 sq. km.

Right Bank tributaries

Ong River

• Ong river rises at a height of 457 meters on a hill in the northern outskirts of the Gandhamardan ranges situated to the right of the Jonk River.
• The major tributaries of the Ong river are:
  • Chira nalla
  • Surangi
  • Utalioe
  • Khira.
• The Ong River travels a length of 204 km to join the Mahanadi river on its right about 11 km from Sonepur.
• The drainage area of the Ong River is about 5,128 sq.km.
• The climate of the Ong river basin is mainly dry sub-humid.

Tel river

• The Tel River have its source in the plain and open country in the Koraput district of Odhisa, nearly 32 km to the west of Jorigam.
• The Tel river travels a length of 296 km to join the Mahanadi River on the right bank, 1.6 km below Sonepur.
• Its principal tributaries are
  • Udanti,
  • Indra,
  • Lant,
  • Sutkel,
  • Hatti,
  • Ret,
  • Uttei,
  • Raul
  • Khadago.
• The Tel river sub-basin is roughly rectangular in shape.
• The total drainage area of the Tel River is 22,818 sq. km. approx.

Jonk river

• The Jonk river originates in the sonabeda plateau in Nuapada district of Odhisa at a height of 700 meters.
• The Jonk river merges into the Mahanadi river near Sourinarayan upstream of the Hirakud dam, after traveling a length of about 182 km.
• The important tributaries Of Jonk river are
  • Machkanalla,
  • Sukha nalla,
  • Kantra nalla
  • Kermel nadi 
  • Ranidhara nalla. 
• It Jonk river drains an area of about 3,484 sq.km., that is about 2.46% of the total area of the Mahanadi river basin.

Major Industries in the Mahanadi basin

FAQ

Read more about Mahanadi river on CWC website