IRJC International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research Vol.1 Issue 7, July 2012, ISSN 2277 3630 CHANGING PARADIGMS OF RIVER VALLEY SETTLEMENTS- KRISHNA RIVER VALLEY MR. SATHISH S* *Doctoral Student, Institute of Development Studies, Manasagangothri, University of Mysore, Mysore-570006.Karnataka State, India. INTRODUCTION Very first settlement after adaption of agriculture was around rivers. These river valley settlements have definite birth and extinction by various factors. They are the early settlements and starting point of urbanization. Any urbanization attracts migration due to opportunities created by social grouping. Tracing of Historical development in these settlements give clear picture of urbanization process. They also become places of study for human achievements in terms of architecture, urbanization, social, political and economic developments. Conserving these precincts for posterity becomes the prime necessity. These settlements are ignored in developmental process. Water conservation and distribution of scarce resource lead to complexities indecision making in projects. Frequent floods impacts on normal life. Planning in river valley, calls for addressing developmental process in multilayers of decision making involving various specialized agencies. Government needs advice on these issues by past experiences in similar situations. An attempt is made to understand these forces for conducive developmental process in changing times. Krishna valley region is chosen as it experiencing rapid migration tendencies and change of climatic conditions along with changing river course due to soil erosion and levels of water courses. This article Concludes in organizational and strategic decision making systems for positive development and conservation of settlements of historic value. KEYWORDS: Developmental Process, Historic value, Social grouping, Strategic decision making. ______________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION The Indian River Systems can be divided into four categories – the Himalayan, the rivers traversing the Deccan Plateau, the Coastal and those in the inland drainage basin (Figure 1). The Himalayan rivers are perennial as they are fed by melting glaciers every summer. During the monsoon, these rivers assume alarming proportions. Swollen with rainwater, they often inundate villages and towns in their path. The Gangetic basin is the largest river system in India, draining almost a quarter of the country. www.indianresearchjournals.com 145 IRJC International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research Vol.1 Issue 7, July 2012, ISSN 2277 3630 The rivers of the Indian peninsular plateau are mainly fed by rain. During summer, their flow is greatly reduced, and some of the tributaries even dry up, only to be revived in the monsoon. The Godavari basin in the peninsula is the largest in the country, spanning an area of almost one- tenth of the country. The rivers Narmada (India‟s holiest river) and Tapti flow almost parallel to each other but empty themselves in opposite directions. The two rivers make the valley rich in alluvial soil and teak forests cover much of the land. While coastal rivers gush down the peaks of the Western Ghats into the Arabian Sea in torrents during the rains, their flow slow down after the monsoon. Streams like the Sambhar in western Rajasthan are mainly seasonal in character, draining into the inland basins and salt lakes. In the Rann of Kutch, the only river that flows through the salt desert is the Luni. The major river system of India are discussed below. KRISHNA RIVER SYSTEM The Krishna is one of the longest rivers of India (about 1300 km in length). It originates at Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra, passes through Sangli and meets the sea in the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh. The Krishna River flows through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The traditional source of the river is a spout from the mouth of a statue of a cow in the ancient temple of Mahadev in Mahabaleshwar. Its most important tributary is the Tungabhadra River, which itself is formed by the Tunga and Bhadra rivers that originate in the Western Ghats. Other tributaries include the Koyna, Bhima, Mallaprabha, Ghataprabha, Yerla, Warna, Dindi, Musi and Dudhganga rivers. www.indianresearchjournals.com 146 IRJC International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research Vol.1 Issue 7, July 2012, ISSN 2277 3630 FIGURE 1: MAJOR RIVERS IN INDIA It is also referred to as Krishnaveni in its original nomenclature. The Krishna River is the fourth largest river in India after the Ganges, the Godavari and the Narmada. COURSE Krishna river rises at Mahabaleswar near the Jor village in the extreme north of Wai taluka,district satara, Maharashtra in the west and meets the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh, on the east coast. It also flows through the state of Karnataka. The delta of this river is one of the most fertile regions in India and was the home to ancient Satavahana and Ikshvaku Sun Dynasty kings. Vijayawada is the largest city on the River Krishna. Sangli is the largest city on the river Krishna in Maharashtra state . Ecologically, this is one of the disastrous rivers in the world, in that it causes heavy soil erosion during the monsoon season. It flows fast and furious, often reaching depths of over 75 feet (23 m). Ironically, there is a saying in Marathi (language of Maharashtra) "santh vaahate Krishnamaai" which means "quiet flows Krishna". This term is also used to describe how a person should be, as quiet as Krishna. But, in reality, Krishna causes a high degree of erosion between June and August. During this time, Krishna takes fertile soil from Maharashtra, Karnataka and western Andhra Pradesh towards the delta region. TRIBUTARIES Its most important tributary is the Tungabhadra River, which is formed by the Tunga River and Bhadra River that originate in the Western Ghats. Other tributaries include the Kudali river, Venna River, Koyna River, Bhima River (and its tributaries such as the Kudali River feeding into the Upper Bhima River Basin), Malaprabha River, Ghataprabha River, Yerla River, Warna River, Dindi River, Paleru River, Musi River, Urmodi River, Tarli River and Dudhganga River. The rivers Venna, Koyna, Vasna, Panchganga, Dudhganga, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha and Tungabhadra join Krishna from the right bank; while the Yerla River, Musi River, Maneru and Bhima rivers join the Krishna from the left bank. Urmodi River join Krishna at Kashil, Satara and Tarli River join at Umbraj Satara. Kudali River is first Tributaries of Krishna river join at Khadaki. Three tributaries meet Krishna river near Sangli. Warana River meets Krishna river near Sangli at Haripur. This spot is also known as Sangameshwar. Panchganga River meets Krishna river at Narsobawadi near Sangli. These places are very holy. It is said that Lord Dattatraya spent some of his days at Audumber on the banks of river Krishna. Sangameswaram of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh is a famous pilgrim center for Hindus where Tungabhadra and Bhavanasi rivers join krishna. Sangameswaram temple is now drowned in the Srisailam reservoir and visible for devotees only during summer when the reservoir's water level comes down. www.indianresearchjournals.com 147 IRJC International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research Vol.1 Issue 7, July 2012, ISSN 2277 3630 KRISHNA BASIN Krishna Basin extends over an area of 258,948 square kilometres (99,980 sq mi) which is nearly 8% of total geographical area of the country. The basin lies in the states of Karnataka (113,271 km2), Andhra Pradesh (76,252 km2) and Maharashtra (69,425 km2). Krishna river rises in the Western Ghats at an elevation of about 1337 m just north of Mahabaleshwar, about 64 km from the Arabian Sea and flows for about 1400 km and outfalls into the Bay of Bengal. The principal tributaries joining Krishna are the Ghataprabha, the Malaprabha, the Bhima, the Tungabhadra and the Musi. Most part of this basin comprises rolling and undulating country except the western border which is formed by an unbroken line of ranges of the Western Ghats. The important soil types found in the basin are black soils, red soils, laterite and lateritic soils, alluvium, mixed soils, red and black soils and saline and alkaline soils. An average annual surface water potential of 78.1 km³ has been assessed in this basin. Out of this, 58.0 km³ is utilisable water. Culturable area in the basin is about 203,000 km2, which is 10.4% of the total culturable area of the country. Mullayanagiri peak (1,930m) in Karnataka is the highest point of the Krishna basin. FLOODS In 2009 October heavy floods occurred, isolating 350 villages and leaving millions homeless,[3] which is believed to be first occurrence in 1000 years. The flood resulted in heavy damage to Kurnool, Mahabubnagar, Guntur, Krishna and Nalagonda Districts. The entire city of Kurnool was immersed in approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) water for nearly 3 days. Water inflow of 1,110,000 cu ft/s (31,000 m3/s)st was recorded at the Prakasam Barriage, which surpassed the previous record of 1,080,000 cu ft/s (31,000 m3/s)recorded in the year 1903. The ruling Congress government in Andhra Pradesh state attributed the floods to excessive rainfall in the catchment areas of the river upstream of Srisailam dam. However, in the opinion of most experts, and the general public, the floods occurred due to mismanagement on the part of the state government. Influenced by the drought-like situation that had prevailed till the rain event that led to this flood, and to ensure water for irrigation projects in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, the government of the day dithered, while water management experts exhorted it to empty Srisailam reservoir ahead of the expected deluge. This resulted in an unprecedented volume of water backing up behind Srisailam dam, resulting in floods both upstream of the river, and downstream as well, when all the gates of the dam were opened for several days to bring storage at Srisailam back to normal levels.