No Flood Threat in Mahanadi | 03 Aug 2024

Why in News?

According to the government officials there is no fear of flood on the Mahanadi River system.

Key Points

• The Mahanadi River system is the third largest of peninsular India after Godavari and Krishna, and the largest river of Odisha state.
• The catchment area of the river extends to Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
• Its basin is bounded by the Central India hills on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south and east and by the Maikala range in the west.
• Source:
  • It rises from a place near Sihawa, near Raipur in the state of Chhattisgarh to the south of Amarkantak.
• Major Tributaries:
  • The Seonath, the Hasdeo, the Mand and the Ib rivers joins Mahanadi from left whereas the Ong, the Tel and the Jonk joins it from right.
• Mahanadi River Dispute:
  • The Central Government constituted Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2018.
• Major Dams/Projects on Mahanadi:
  • Hirakud Dam is the longest dam of India.
  • Ravishankar Sagar, Dudhawa Reservoir, Sondur Reservoir, Hasdeo Bango and Tandula are other major projects.
• Urban Centres :
  • Three important urban centres in the basin are Raipur, Durg and Cuttack.
• Industries:
  • Mahanadi basin, because of its rich mineral resource and adequate power resource, has a favourable industrial climate.
    • Iron and Steel plant at Bhilai
    • Aluminium factories at Hirakud and Korba
    • Paper mill near Cuttack
    • Cement factory at Sundargarh.
• Other industries based primarily on agricultural produce are sugar and textile mills.
• Mining of coal, iron and manganese are other industrial activities.