Godavari river

Also called: Dakshin Ganga · Topic: Drainage System of India: Rivers, Basins and Patterns · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"

Meaning

The Godavari is the largest Peninsular river system in India, by both length and basin area. It rises at Trimbakeshwar in Nashik district, Maharashtra, and flows 1,465 km east to the Bay of Bengal. Its basin covers 3.13 lakh sq km. Maharashtra has the biggest share of this basin (49%), but that is just under half of it.

Because of its great size, it is called the "Dakshin Ganga" (Ganga of the South). Its delta feeds one of India's main rice bowls. Its water is at the centre of the Polavaram project, river-interlinking plans and disputes between states.

Explanation

Origin and course: why it flows east

• The plateau slopes to the east
• The Deccan plateau is high in the west, at the Western Ghats (Sahyadri), and slopes down towards the east coast.

• The Godavari rises on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats at Trimbakeshwar. So it flows east across the whole width of the Peninsula.

• Graded profile (a gentle, even slope along the river's course)

• The plateau is old and stable.

• So for most of its length the river flows in wide, shallow, mature valleys with gentle slopes.

• Gorge in the lower course

• Near Polavaram, the river cuts a gorge (a narrow valley with steep sides) through the Eastern Ghats.

• Below Polavaram it floods heavily.

• Delta at the mouth

• After Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, the river splits into several branches and builds a large delta.
• The river is navigable only in the delta.

Tributaries: the parts of the system

• The main tributaries are the Penganga, Indravati, Pranhita and Manjra.
• Pranhita: carries the joint waters of the Wardha and the Wainganga.
• Indravati: drains the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
• Manjra: joins from the right (south) bank.
• Together these tributaries reach out to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and the Telangana–Andhra region. This is why the basin is the largest in the Peninsula.

Why it builds a delta and is seasonal

• Delta, not estuary
• The river is long and carries a lot of silt (fine soil carried by water).
• The east coast has a gentle slope, and the tides in the Bay of Bengal are fairly weak.

• Silt settles at the mouth faster than waves can wash it away. This builds a delta (a fan-shaped plain of river deposits where the river splits into branches before reaching the sea).

• Rain-fed and seasonal

• The river has no glaciers feeding it, so it depends only on rain.

• Its flow is high in the monsoon and low in summer.

• Floods

• The slope is gentle and the delta is low.
• Cyclones from the Bay of Bengal bring extra rain, which makes the floods below Polavaram worse.

Basin shares among states

Part of basin	Share
Maharashtra	49%
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh	20%
Rest	Andhra Pradesh. Since 2014, a large part of this lies in Telangana

Where it occurs

• Source: Trimbakeshwar, Nashik district, Maharashtra, on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats.
• States in the basin: Maharashtra (largest share), Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
• Tributary regions:
• Wardha and Wainganga, which join to form the Pranhita.

• The Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, drained by the Indravati.

• Lower course: the gorge at Polavaram, then the delta below Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. The river then enters the Bay of Bengal.

• Polavaram Irrigation Project:
• Where it is: a multi-purpose dam near Ramayyapeta village, Polavaram mandal, West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh [2].
• How it was planned: under the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal award of 1980 [2].
• Planned benefits: irrigation for 4.36 lakh ha, 960 MW of hydropower and drinking water for 28.50 lakh people [2].
• Water transfer: it will divert 80 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of Godavari water into the Krishna basin. This makes it an inter-basin transfer [2].
• Status and funding: it was declared a National Project under Section 90 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The Centre executes it and pays 100% of the remaining cost of the irrigation part, counted as on 1 April 2014 [2][3].

• Submergence dispute: the reservoir will flood land in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, including many tribal villages. These states oppose how much land will go under water.

• Proposed interlink: the Mahanadi (Manibhadra)–Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link would bring surplus Mahanadi water into the Godavari [4].

Don't confuse with

• Krishna:
• It is the second largest east-flowing river and is 1,401 km long.
• It rises at Mahabaleshwar, not at Trimbakeshwar.

• Its delta forms below Vijayawada. The Godavari delta forms below Rajahmundry.

• Mahanadi:

• It rises at Sihawa, Chhattisgarh, and is 851 km long.
• Its delta is near Cuttack, Odisha.

• The Indravati drains Bastar but flows into the Godavari, not the Mahanadi.

• Narmada and Tapi:

• These are west-flowing rivers in rift valleys (valleys formed where land sinks between faults).

• They form estuaries (wide mouths where the sea comes in). The Godavari forms a delta.

• Kaveri:

• It is fed by both the south-west and north-east monsoons, so it flows nearly all year.
• The Godavari is seasonal, with high flow in the monsoon and low flow in summer.

Prelims Hooks

• Source: Godavari → Trimbakeshwar, Nashik (Maharashtra). Do not mix it up with Mahabaleshwar, which is the source of the Krishna.
• Order by length: Godavari (1,465 km) > Krishna (1,401 km) > Mahanadi (851 km) > Kaveri (800 km).
• Tributary match: Penganga, Indravati, Pranhita and Manjra flow into the Godavari. The Pranhita is formed by the joint waters of the Wardha and the Wainganga. The Manjra joins on the right bank.
• Basin trap: Maharashtra has the largest share (49%), which is just under half. Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh together have 20%.
• Dam–river pair: Polavaram → Godavari. It became a National Project under Section 90 of APRA, 2014 [2][3].
• Lower course: the gorge at Polavaram, the delta below Rajahmundry, and navigation only in the delta.

Mains Points

• Floods in the lower basin (GS-III, disasters):
• The gentle slope, the low delta and cyclone rain from the Bay of Bengal cause severe floods below Polavaram.

• Multi-purpose dams such as Polavaram try to combine flood control with irrigation and power [2].

• Interlinking and inter-basin transfer (GS-III, resources):

• The Godavari is treated as a "surplus" basin.
• Polavaram's 80 TMC transfer to the Krishna and the Mahanadi–Godavari link aim to send water south to the Krishna, Pennar and Kaveri basins [2][4].

• Concerns:

  • Tribal land goes under water.
  • Less silt reaches the delta, which can make it shrink.
  • States disagree about how much water is truly "surplus".

• Disputes between states (GS-I/II):

• Many states share the basin, and Telangana was created in 2014.
• Polavaram's submergence in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana shows how one state's project affects its neighbours.
• The Krishna–Godavari delta is a key rice bowl. This raises the stakes for sharing the water fairly.

Related concepts

• Mahanadi river
• Krishna river
• Kaveri river

Read more

• The east-flowing Peninsular rivers: Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri