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Tungabhadra River

14th August, 2024

Tungabhadra River

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Context: A flood alert has been sounded downstream of the Tungabhadra dam in Karnataka’s Koppal district after one of the 33 crest gates of the massive stone masonry dam across the Tungabhadra river was washed away. 

Name of the River

Tungabhadra.

     

 

Origin

  • By merger of two rivers called Tunga and Bhadra at Koodli in the Shimoga district of Karnataka.
  • Both the rivers originate from eastern slopes of the Western Ghats.

Drained into

At  Sangamaleshwaram in Andhra Pradesh it joins Krishna River. (Largest tributary of the Krishna River).

Length

531 km.

Catchment area

70,000 sq km.

Flows through

  • Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
  • Part of Peninsular Drainage System.

Tributaries

Bhadra, the Haridra, the Vedavati, the Tunga, the Varda and the Kumdavathi.

Agriculture

  • Rice, sugarcane, cotton, and oilseeds.
  • It is the life-line of 6 chronically drought prone districts of Bellary, Koppal and Raichur in Karnataka (popularly known as the rice bowl of Karnataka) and Anantapur, Cuddapah and Kurnool in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Dams/Projects

  • Tunga Anicut Dam, the Bhadra Dam, the Hemavathy Dam.
  • The  Tungabhadra Dam also known as Pampa Sagar, completed in 1953.

Wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.

Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, Tungabhadra sanctuary.

Historical significance

  • The river was an important source of water for the Vijayanagara Empire.
  • Hiriya canal drew water from a dam across the Tungabhadra and irrigated the cultivated valley that separated the “sacred centre” from the “urban core”. 
  • Devaraya I  of Vijayanagara Empire constructed a large dam across Tungabhadra River and canalcum-aqueduct several kilometres long from the river to the capital city.
  • The city of Hampi, which was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, was located on the banks of the river, other ancient temples and monuments, including the Virupaksha Temple and the Vijaya Vittala Temple.

Threat to the river

Rapid urbanization and industrialization, Mining.

Tungabhadra River Board

The Tungabhadra Board is a Statutory Body constituted by the President of India.

Tungabhadra Board is an Interstate Project of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana States.

The  Board consists of Chairman appointed by Government of India and 4 other members from Government of India, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana.

The major functions of the Board are regulation of supplies of water to the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana in accordance to the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal award.

Board conducts its meetings once in 6 months and resolve the issues put forth before it.

List of Important Cities on Rivers banks

City

State

River

Agra

Uttar Pradesh

Yamuna

Ahmedabad

Gujarat

Sabarmati

Allahabad

Uttar Pradesh

Confluence of Ganga, Saraswati, and Yamuna

Ayodhya

Uttar Pradesh

Sarayu

Badrinath

Uttarakhand

Alaknanda

Bhagalpur

Bihar

Ganga

Bangalore

Karnataka

Vrishabhavathi

Bareilly

Uttar Pradesh

Ram Ganga

Cuttack

Odisha

Mahanadi

Chennai

Tamil Nadu

Adyar

Coimbatore

Tamil Nadu

Noyyal

Delhi

Delhi

Yamuna

Dibrugarh

Assam

Brahmaputra

Ferozpur

Punjab

Satluj

Gaya

Bihar

Falgu

Gwalior

Madhya Pradesh

Chambal

Guwahati

Assam

Brahmaputra

Haridwar

Uttarakhand

Ganga

Hyderabad

Telangana

Musi

Jabalpur

Madhya Pradesh

Narmada

Jamshedpur

Jharkhand

Subarnarekha

Jaunpur

Uttar Pradesh

Gomti

Kanpur

Uttar Pradesh

Ganga

Kolkata

West Bengal

Hooghly

Kurnool

Andhra Pradesh

Tungabhadra

Kota

Rajasthan

Chambal

Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh

Gomti

Ludhiana

Punjab

Sutlej

Mathura

Uttar Pradesh

Yamuna

Nasik

Maharashtra

Godavari

Pandharpur

Maharashtra

Bhima

Patna

Bihar

Ganga

Panaji

Goa

Mandavi

Rourkela

Odisha

Brahmani

Sambalpur

Odisha

Mahanadi

Surat

Gujarat

Tapti

Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir

Jhelum

Tirucharapalli

Tamil Nadu

Kaveri

Ujjain

Madhya Pradesh

Shipra

Varanasi

Uttar Pradesh

Ganga

Vadodara

Gujarat

Vishwamitri, Mahi, Narmada

Vijayawada

Andhra Pradesh

Krishna

Source

https://aciwrm.karnataka.gov.in/storage/pdf-files/Brochures/BROCHURE_2019_River_Basin_Profile_Down.pdf

https://www.nativeplanet.com/travel-guide/origin-tungabhadra-river-hampi-and-her-heritage-007972.html

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/tungabhadra-dam-gate-swept-away-karnataka-flood-alert-d-k-shivakumar-dam-repair-work-9510416/

https://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/tungabhadra-board/ 

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following statements.

  1. Pandharpur is a city on the banks of Chandrabhaga River in Maharashtra.
  2. Tiruchirappalli is situated on the banks of Tungabhadra River.
  3. Hampi is located on the bank of the Cauvery River.

How many of the above statement/s is/are correct?

A. Only one

B. Only two

C. All three

D. None

Answer A

Statement 1 is incorrect

It is a major holy place in Maharashtra and it is also called South Kashi (Dakshin Kashi) in Maharashtra. It is famous for the Lord Vitthala temple situated on the bank of Bhima river. Bhima river is also known as Chandrabhaga as it takes shape like crescent moon near the town and hence gets the name.

Statement 2 is incorrect

It is situated on the banks of river Cauvery. It is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The famous Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is located in Tiruchirappalli.

Statement 3 is correct

It was the capital of the Vijayanagara kingdom and is located on the bank of the Tungabhadra River. Hampi is located in Karnataka. Many famous temples like Virupaksha Temple, Nandi Statue etc are located in Hampi.