Amaravati River

Amaravathi River
River Amaravathi and its tributaries
Basin
Main source	Anamalai Hills, Chinnar River, Pambar River at 473 meters (1,552 ft) 10°21′2″N 77°14′14″E / 10.35056°N 77.23722°E
River mouth	Karur at 360 feet (110 m) 10°57′36″N 78°4′53″E / 10.96000°N 78.08139°ECoordinates: 10°57′36″N 78°4′53″E / 10.96000°N 78.08139°E
Watershed area	8,380 square kilometers (3,240 sq mi)[1]
Countries	Idukki District, Kerala India
Physiognomy
Length	282 kilometers (175 mi)

The Amaravati River is a tributary of Kaveri River in Karur and Tirupur, Tamil Nadu state, South India. It is Tribution of the Pambar and Chinnar rivers in Kerala.

Route

The 282-kilometre (175 mi) long Amaravati River begins at the Kerala/Tamil Nadu border at the bottom of Manjampatti Valley between the Annamalai Hills and the Palni Hills in Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in Tirupur district. It descends in a northerly direction through Amaravathi Reservoir and Amaravathi Dam at Amaravathinagar. It is joined by the Kallapuram River at the mouth of the Ajanda valley in Udumalaipettai. It joins with the Kaveri at Thirumukkudal, about 10 kilometres (6 mi) from Karur. The ancient name of the river is Anporunai and locals still use the name amrandhu, a derivative.^[2]

Use

This river irrigates over 60,000 acres (240 km²) of agricultural lands in Tiruppur and Karur districts.^[3] The Amaravathi Dam has 4 Megawatts electric generating capacity installed. The Amaravathi River and its basin, especially in the vicinity of Karur, are heavily used for industrial processing water and waste disposal and as a result are severely polluted due to large amount of textile dyeing and bleaching units.^[4]

History

Amaravathi, which invokes the greenery and Kalpavriksha tree of Lord Indra's heaven. The name Amaravathi echoes the Hinduism/ Buddhist past of southern India. And also by the Hindu methodology, river is from the graceness of goddess Ambaal form the heaven. The Amaravathi river swells into life in the Anjanad valley (Anaimalai, Kerala state) of the Western Ghats, whose slopes are awash with Kurinji blossoms once every 12 years, descends to the plains near Udumalaipettai, Tamil Nadu, and flows to make the rich plains of Dharapuram and Karur . It is one of the longest rivers (282 km) in Tamil Nadu, with another names like Aan pournai, Aambravathi which join with the river Cauvery, near Karur.

Gallery

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  The view of Amaravathy River near the Arjuneswarar Temple in Kadathur

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  The Dry Amaravathi River bed at Karur

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  Toll plaza near Karur on NH7

Notes

1. "Integrated Hydrological Data Book" (PDF). India. p. 76. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
2. The Rivers of Kongu
3. The Hindu, M. Gunasekaran To assess water loss in Amaravathi basin 2 April 2007
4. Marcus Moench, RETHINKING THE MOSAIC, Investigations into Local Water Management, Addressing Constraints in Complex Systems, Chapter 1: Meeting the Water Management Needs of South Asia in the 21st Century, pub: Nepal Water Conservation Foundation, Kathmandu, and the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A., 1999, pp 145-146