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The 'Kaveri River' (Kannada: ಕಾವೇರಿ, Tamil: காவிரி also spelled '''Cauvery''' in English) is one of the major rivers of India, which is considered sacred by Hindus. The river originates at Talakaveri in the Western Ghats in the state of Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the southeastern lowlands, emptying into the Bay of Bengal through two principal mouths.
The Kaveri River basin is estimated to be 27,700 square miles with many tributaries including the Shimsha, the Hemavati River, the Arkavathy River, Honnuhole River, Lakshmana Tirtha River, Kabini River, Bhavani River, the Lokapavani River, the Noyyal River and the Amaravati River. Rising in southwestern Karnataka state, it flows southeast some 475 mi (765 km) to enter the Bay of Bengal. East of the city of Mysore it forms the island of Sivasamudra, on either side of which are the scenic Sivasamudram Falls that descend about 320 ft (100 m).^[1] The river is the source for an extensive irrigation system and for hydroelectric power.^[2]
The river has supported irrigated agriculture for centuries and served as the lifeblood of the ancient kingdoms and modern cities of South India.

Contents

Mythic origin: Goddess Kaveri

River course

Kaveri in Karnataka

Kaveri in Tamil Nadu

River usage

Water sharing

Points of interest

Religious significance

References

External links

Mythic origin: Goddess Kaveri

According to the legend there was once born upon earth a girl named Vishnumaya or Lopamudra, the daughter of Brahma, but her divine father permitted her to be regarded as the child of a mortal called Kavera-muni.
In order to obtain beatitude for her adoptive father, she resolved to become a river whose waters should purify all sin. Hence it is said that even the holy Ganges resorts to going underground once in the year to the source of the Kaveri, to purge herself from the pollution contracted from the crowd of sinners who have bathed in her waters.
A different version of the origin of the Kaveri is that when Agastya was performing ''tapasya'', a crow flew near him and tilted the Kamandala he was using. The water from the Kamandala started flowing as the River Kaveri.
In India many rivers are personified as goddesses. The most important ones are Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, and also Sarasvati, the goddess of learning who is also representing a mythical river.

River course

The river is considered to rise at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri hills in Kodagu, though there is not a flow at this point all year round. It forms the principal drainage of this district, and is already a major river when it leaves the Western Ghats near Kushalanagara.
After the river leaves the Kodagu hills and flows onto the Deccan plateau, it forms two islands, Srirangapatna and Shivanasamudra and. It also drops into the Hogenakal Falls just before it arrives in the towns of Hogenakal in the state of Karnataka and Srirangam in Tamil Nadu. At Sivasamudra Island the river drops 320 ft (98 m), forming the famous Sivasamudram Falls known separately as ''Gagana Chukki'' and ''Bhara Chukki''. India's first hydroelectric plant (built in 1902) was on the left falls and supplied power to the city of Bangalore. In 1906, Bangalore became the first city in Asia to be fully electrified and to have electric street lights.

The river enters Tamil Nadu in all splendor after leaving the great falls in Hogenakal. From there it meanders into the southern plains. It is in the composite district of Thanjavur that the rich, silt-laden river delta region is formed before it empties into the Bay of Bengal through its two mouths.

Kaveri in Karnataka

In its course through Karnataka, the channel is interrupted by twelve "anicuts" (dams) for the purpose of irrigation. From the anicut at Madadkatte, an artificial channel is diverted a distance of 72 miles, irrigating an area of 10,000 acres (40 km²), and ultimately bringing its water supply to the town of Mandya. Near Srirangapatna, there is an aqueduct, the Bangara Doddi Nala, which was constructed in the 17^th century by the Wodeyar maharaja of Mysore, Ranadhira Kantirava, in memory of his favorite consort. It is said to be the only aqueduct where the water from a river, dammed upstream, is carried by the aqueduct over the very same river few miles downstream . This aqueduct also served as a motorable bridge till 1964. In addition to providing many ancient and modern canals with water from the river for irrigational purposes, the Kaveri also serves as the main drinking water source for many towns and villages. The cities of Mandya and Mysore depend almost entirely on the Kaveri for their drinking water supply.
The great Hogenakal Falls marks the exit of kaveri from karnataka.

Kaveri in Tamil Nadu

After entering Tamil Nadu, the Kaveri flows into Stanley Reservoir, and exits the reservoir at Mettur Dam. The Kaveri forms the boundary between the Erode District and the Salem district. The Bhavani River joins the Kaveri at the town of Bhavani, where the Sangameshwara Temple, an important pilgrimage spot in southern India, was built at the confluence of the two rivers. The Amaravati River joins the Kaveri at a place called Tirumukkudalur near Karur.
Sweeping past the historic rock of Tiruchirapalli, it breaks into two channels (at the island of Srirangam), which enclose between them the delta of Thanjavur (Tanjore), considered both the "rice bowl" and garden spot of southern India. The northern channel is called the Kollidam (Coleroon). The other channel keeps the name of Kaveri and empties into the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar, a few hundred miles south of Chennai or Madras. On the seaward face of its delta are the seaports of Nagapattinam and Karaikal.
An ancient surviving irrigation work is the Grand Anicut or ''Kallanai'', a dam of unhewn stone, 328 meters (1080 ft) long and 20 meters (60 ft) wide, spanning the stream of the Kaveri proper.
The chief 19^th century work is the anicut across the Kollidam which is 2250 ft. long, and was constructed by Sir Arthur Cotton between 1836 and 1838.

River usage

The primary uses of Kaveri are providing water for irrigation, water for household consumption and the generation of electricity.
An estimate at the time of the first Five Year Plan, put the total flow of the Kaveri at 12 million acre-feet(15 km³), of which 60% was used for irrigation.
^[3]
The Torekadanahalli pumpstation sends 540 Mld (million liters per day) of water from Kaveri 100 km to Bangalore ^{[4] [5]}.
The water for the Kaveri is primarily supplied by monsoon rains. Dams, such as the Krishna Raja Sagara Dam and Mettur Dam, and those on its tributaries such as Banasura Sagar Dam project on a Kabini River tributary, store water from monsoon periods and release the water during the dry months. Even so, during the months of February-May, water levels are often quite low, and in some channels and distributaries, riverbeds may become dry. Flow generally begins to increase in June or July . However, in some years when rains are light, the low river level can lead to agricultural distress in areas dependent upon Kaveri for irrigation.
The hydroelectric plant built on the left Sivasamudram Falls on the Kaveri in 1902 was the first hydroelectric plant in Karnataka.^[1]
The Krishna Raja Sagara Dam has a capacity of 49 tmc ft. ^[7] and the Mettur Dam which creates Stanley Reservoir has a capacity of 93.4 tmc ft.(thousand million cubic ft)
In August 2003, inflow into reservoirs in Karnataka was at a 29 year low, with a 58% shortfall. ^[8]. Water stored in Krishna Raja Sagara amounted to only 4.6 tmc ft. ^[8].
The Kaveri, like rivers in general in Kerala, faces many problems, including dry summers, wetland filling, large dams, and pollution^[10]

Water sharing

Water is addressed in the Constitution of India.^[11] The government has set up tribunals for water disputes. The Kaveri Water Disputes Tribunal was set up in June 1990 and has not concluded adjudication.^[12]
Kaveri water sharing has been a major issue of contention between the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the union territory of Pondicherry. A central government agency has been formed to look into this issue.
According to a study conducted by the central government in 1972, the utilisation of water from Kaveri in Tamil Nadu was 489 tmc and Karnataka's utilization of 177 tmc. With the growth in the population, Karnataka wishes to increase its utilization to 465 tmc, against its present usage of 312.32 tmc. It is against this background that Tamil Nadu went to the Supreme Court.
The Kaveri Tribunal, in its interim award of June 1991, ordered that Karnataka should release 205 tmc of water to Tamil Nadu during one "water year" - from June to May. It also stipulated a monthly quota for flow. Karnataka has followed the interim order and has released much more than 205 tmc of water every year except during the year 1995-1996 when the shortfall was merely about 10 percent.^[13][14] The Tribunal which had been investigating the issue for 16 years finaly came out with the verdict on 5th of February 2007 of 419 tmc for Tamil Nadu, 270 tmc for Karnataka, 50 tmc for Kerala and 7 tmc for Pondichery, a verdict which both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are believed to challenge.

Points of interest

★ Talakaveri

★ Srirangapatna

★ Shivanasamudra

★ Krishna Raja Sagara

★ Hogenakal Falls (meaning "smoking rock"): The spray of the river hitting the rocks is so fine that it appears like smoke

★ Mekedaatu (Goat's Leap)

★ Sivasamudram Falls

★ Bhavani, Tamil Nadu

★ Tiruchirapalli (Trichy)

★ Srirangam

★ Thiruvaiyaru

★ Thirukattupalli

★ Swamimalai

★ Kumbakonam

★ Thiruvidaimarudur

★ Mayavaram

Religious significance

Talakaveri is a pilgrimage site set amidst Bramahagiri Hills in Kodagu. Thousands of piligrims flock to the three temple at the source of the river especially on the specified day known as Tula sankramana when the river water has been said to gush out like a fountain at a predetermined time.
During the month of Tula (tamil month Ippasi), devotees take holy dip (tula snanam) in the Kavery in the pilgrim centers in its banks across Tamilnadu, most prominent of them being Mayavaram
The three major river islands have a strong Sri Vaishnava heritage, with sculptures of Lord Vishnu in a reclining posture on the legendary seven-headed serpent (''Sesha'') as his celestial bed (''Sheshashayana''). These three temples are known as Adi Ranga, Madya Ranga, and Anthya Ranga.
On the banks of the Kaveri is the ancient temple town of Talakad where the holy festival Panchalinga Darshana is held every 12 years and devotees bathe in the Kaveri River.^[15]
The Brihadeshvara Temple is located in Thanjavur, not far from the Kaveri.

References

1. World Waterfall Database
2. Shivasamudram Falls
3. http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/1st/1planch26.html
4. http://www.bangaloreit.com/html/govtinformation/frms/bwssbfrm.html
5. http://www.tce.co.in/infra/watersupply/bangalore.pdf#search=%22halli%20pipeline%20Bangalore%22
6. World Waterfall Database
7. http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/26/stories/2006032614180300.htm
8. http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug03/i3.asp
9. http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug03/i3.asp
10. Problems Faced by Rivers in Kerala
11. Water in the Indian Constitution
12. Interstate Water Disputes
13. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1919/19190040.htm
14. http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/aug/12flip.htm
15. Talakkad - Panchalinga Temples

External links

★ For some moments of solitude