State of India’s Rivers for India Rivers Week, 2016 Author Manoj Misra Contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 3 1. State Profile ....................................................................................................................................... 3 2. River Basins in Chhattisgarh............................................................................................................. 5 3. Water: ................................................................................................................................................ 6 4. Pollution Sources: ............................................................................................................................. 7 5. Water Harvesting Structures ............................................................................................................. 9 6. Inter-State Agreements ..................................................................................................................... 9 RIVER BASINS ......................................................................................................................................... 11 MAHANADI .............................................................................................................................................. 11 7. Salient Features: .............................................................................................................................. 17 8. Mythology & Folklore .................................................................................................................... 24 9. Archaeological Exploration Of Jonk River .................................................................................... 28 10. Biodiversity: ................................................................................................................................ 29 11. Impact of human activities on the river system .......................................................................... 31 12. Dam cum Barrage over river Arpa: ............................................................................................. 39 13. Chhattisgarh - Odisha conflicts simmering over River Mahanadi .............................................. 41 14. River People’s movements / campaigns ..................................................................................... 43 15. Red (Critical), Pink (Threatened) and Blue (healthy) Status of rivers of Mahanadi ................... 45 16. Recommendations: ...................................................................................................................... 46 GANGA SUB BASIN ................................................................................................................................ 47 17. Rivers of Ganga basin within the state of Chhattisgarh .............................................................. 48 18. Mythology and Archeology ........................................................................................................ 50 19. Threats to rivers .......................................................................................................................... 51 GODAVARI ............................................................................................................................................... 53 20. The Indravati ............................................................................................................................... 54 21. Following are the key tributaries of river Indravati: ................................................................... 56 India Ri ver Week - Chhattisgarh 2016 22. Following rivers rise or flow within the state but empties directly into the river Godavari ....... 62 23. Mythologies, History and Archeology ........................................................................................ 63 24. Human Impacts ........................................................................................................................... 64 25. The Red River (Sankhini) ........................................................................................................... 66 26. Dams on Indravati River ............................................................................................................. 68 27. Threat Assessment ...................................................................................................................... 70 NARMADA SUB BASIN .......................................................................................................................... 71 28. Narmada Basin ............................................................................................................................ 71 BRAHMANI SUB BASIN ......................................................................................................................... 72 29. Brahmani Basin ........................................................................................................................... 72 Maps Map No 1: District Division of Chhattisgarh ................................................................................................ 3 Map No 2: River Map of Chhattisgarh ......................................................................................................... 4 Map No 3: River Basin Map of Chhattisgarh ............................................................................................... 5 Map No 4: Mahanadi River Basin .............................................................................................................. 11 Map No 5: Drainage map of Sheonath basin .............................................................................................. 18 Map No 6: Ganga River Basin in Chhattisgarh .......................................................................................... 47 Map No 7: Forest Map of Chhattisgarh ...................................................................................................... 49 Map No 8: Godavari River Basin In Chhattisgarh ...................................................................................... 53 Map No 9: Google earth image of Godavari sub basin in Bastar (CG) ...................................................... 54 Map No 10: Indravati river downstream of the Chitrakoot water fall ........................................................ 70 Map No 11: Narmada Basin In Chhattisgarh .............................................................................................. 71 Map No 12: Brahmani River Basin in Chhattisgarh ................................................................................... 72 1 India Ri ver Week - Chhattisgarh 2016 Tables Table 1: River Basin of Chhattisgarh ............................................................................................................ 5 Table 2: Rivers and Their Stretch & Towns ................................................................................................. 7 Table 3: Toxic Metals in Rivers .................................................................................................................... 8 Table 4: Hydro-electric Projects on Rivers ................................................................................................... 9 Table 5: River Mahanadi System in the State ............................................................................................. 13 Table 6: River Sheonath System in the State .............................................................................................. 19 Table 7: Places of Historical, Religious and Archeological Significance ................................................... 25 Table 8: The Current State of Tributaries of Mahanadi .............................................................................. 45 Table 9: Key Tributaries of River Indravati ................................................................................................ 56 Figures Figure 1: Hill at Sihawa, Raipur. Google Earth Image ............................................................................... 12 Figure 2: Wider headwaters with true origins near Amgaon. Google Earth Image .................................... 12 Figure 3: Excavation Work at Rashmi Drolia ............................................................................................ 27 Figure 4: The Shivnath River near Mohamara village near Durg ............................................................... 32 Figure 5: Wire fencing at the Rasmara village near Durg .......................................................................... 33 Figure 6: Official Visit of Kelo River ......................................................................................................... 34 Figure 7: Kharun river at Mahadev Ghat, Raipur. ...................................................................................... 35 Figure 8: Kharun river near Durg-Raipur highway..................................................................................... 36 Figure 9: Riverfront work in progress at Mahadev Ghat in Raipur ............................................................ 37 Figure 10: Coal Mining in Chirimiri ........................................................................................................... 40 Figure 11: Indravati Waterfall at Chitrakut ................................................................................................