Painganga River

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Context

• Protests were staged against a proposed dam project on the Painganga river in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra recently.

About Painganga River

• The Painganga River (also known as the Penganga River) is the chief river of the Buldhana district, Hingoli district, Nanded district, Yavatmal district, Chandrapur district and Washim district in the Maharashtra state in India.
• It is deeply entrenched and difficult to navigate.
• It rises in the Ajantha range and is a major tributary of the Wardha River, the other major river in the district.
• Wardha River flows into Pranhita River which in turn flows into Godavari River, which finally ends into the Bay of Bengal just east of Rajahmundry in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
• It is acutely deep-rooted and difficult to navigate.
• The total length of the river is 676 km.
• The Penganga River gets flooded in the rainy and winter seasons and partially flooded in the summer.
• It provides irrigation to the Washim and Yavatmal districts in Maharashtra.

Tributaries:

• The Penganga River’s tributaries include the Adan, Kas, Arunavati, Kayadhu, and Pus Rivers.

Isapur Dam:

• Two dams are being constructed on the river, namely Upper Painganga and Lower Painganga.
• This dam is also known as the Isapur Dam.