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Godavari river map

The Godavari River, adjacent to the town of Kovvur

This article is about the river Godavari in India. For other uses, see Godavari (disambiguation)

The Godavari (Marathi language:गोदावरी,Telugu Language:గోదావరి) is a river that runs from western to south India and is considered to be one of big river basins in India. It originates near Trimbak in Nashik District of Maharashtra state in the Republic of India. It flows east through the states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh into the Bay of Bengal near Rajahmundry.¹

The Godavari River is sacred to Hindus and has several pilgrimage centers on its banks.

1 Course
2 Place of pilgrimage
3 River basin and tributaries
4 Major towns and cities along the river
5 Dams and bridges along the river
6 Railway Bridges Near Rajahmundry
7 Places of interest
8 Notes
9 External links
10 See also

Course

The Godavari River is a major waterway in central India, originating in the Western Ghats and flowing eastwardly across the Deccan Plateau between the states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, then crossing the latter state and turning to flow in a southeast direction until it empties into the Bay of Bengal through two mouths. Its tributaries include Indravati River, Manjira River, Bindusara River, Moosi River and Sabari River.²

Although the river arises only 80 kilometres from the Arabian Sea, it flows 1,465 km to empty into the Bay of Bengal. Just above Rajahmundry (Rajah-mahendra-varam), there is a dam that provides water for irrigation. Below Rajahmundry, the river divides into two streams that widen into a large river delta which has an extensive navigable irrigation-canal system, Dowleswaram Barrage (Dhawal-eshwaram) that links the region to the Krishna River delta to the southwest.³

The Indrawati, Wainganga, Wardha, Pench, Kanhan and Penganga rivers, discharge an enormous volume of water into the Godavari system.

The Godavari River has a drainage area of 313,000 km² that includes more than one state. The Manjra river is its major tributary.⁴

Godavari entered to Andhra pradhesh at Kandhakurthi in Nizamabad District. It is called as Triveni sangamam (Three rivers).

Place of pilgrimage

The Godavari has been held as a special place of pilgrimage for many thousands of years. Many famous personalities, including Baladeva (5000 years ago) and more recently Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (500 years ago) have bathed in her waters as an act of worship.

River basin and tributaries

Detailed list of Tributaries

The Godavari River has a drainage area of 313,000 km² in six states- Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Orissa. The major tributaries include Sabari, Indravati, Pranahita and Manjra.

Major towns and cities along the river

In Maharashtra:

In Andhra Pradesh:

Dams and bridges along the river

A barrage was built on the river at Dowleswaram was built by Sir Arthur Cotton in 1850. It was rebuilt as a barrage and roadway during 1980s and named after him. The roadway connects Dowleswaram in East Godavari and Vijjeswaram in West Godavari.

There is also a big dam built just after the source of the river at Trimbakeshwar. The dam is in the town of Gangapur, which literally means a town on a river. The dam provides drinking water to the residents of Nashik and also supplies water to the thermal power station situated downstream at Eklahara, which provides power to the town.

There is another multipurpose project on the Godavari River named Sri Ram Sagar Project in Nizamabad District. It is in the town of Pochampad, 60km away from Nizamabad. It irrigates 4 districts of Northern Telangana Region of Andhra Pradesh and supplies power.

Railway Bridges Near Rajahmundry

There are 3 railway bridges which are connected in between East Godavari and West Godavari districts.

Havelock bridge (Named after the then Madras Governor)
Rail-cum-road bridge
New railway bridge

Havelock bridge

Started in 1876 and from 19th century onwards it's been helping in transportation between the old Madras state to Calcutta. The first Godavari rail bridge was built in 1897, under the supervision of Granville Mills and Er.Walton, British engineers, across the mighty River Godavari connecting East Godavari with West Godavari. Stretching for three kilometres, constructed with stone masonry and steel girders, this bridge served the trains plying between Chennai and Howrah. With the increased traffic in goods and passengers, a rail-cum-road bridge was built a quarter century ago across the downstream of the river. Since this first rail bridge outlived its purpose by serving for more than 100 years, train services on this bridge were suspended in 1997 with the commissioning of the third Godavari bridge. Today, the first Godavari bridge still stands as a monument of human endeavor and skill.

Rail-cum-road bridge

This bridge is constructed to serve as both a Railway bridge and as a Road way between the East Godavari and West Godavari Districts.

New Railway Bridge

This bridge was started in 1997, built across the Upstream of the river.

Places of interest

Like any other major rivers in India, the banks of this river also has many pilgrimage sites.

Trimbakeshwar - One of the twelve Jyotirlingas and ancient temple of Lord Shiva.
Nashik - One of the four Sinhastha Kumbh Mela, Hindu pilgrimage place.
Paithan - Saint Eknath's native place, famous Jayakwadi dam, and a beautiful garden name as Sant Dnyneshwar Udyan.
Nanded - Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, One of the five most sacred places in Sikhism.
Bhadrachalam - Hindu Temple of Lord Rama.
Rajahmundry - Center for Telugu Literature. A town that symbolises Telugu Culture. It is the native of Aadikavi Nannaya, one of the writers of kavitrayam. Famous for the Godavari Pushkaralu - an event that happens once in every 12 years, celebrated with pomp and glory and attended by lakhs of people from all round the world. A bath in Godavari during the pushkaram period is said to be equivalent to bathing in the holy River Ganga.
Pattiseema - a village where a Hindu temple is located on a small hill on an island in the river.
Basar (originally, Vyasara) - Sri Gyana Saraswathi temple is situated on the banks of Godavari, in Adilabad district, Andhra Pradesh. It is 210 km from state capital Hyderabad and accessible by road and rail (nearest major station: Nizamabad, although Basar station also exists). It is considered that the sage Vyasa wrote the Mahabharata on the banks of Godavari at this location, and thus the place came to be known as Vyasara.

The Jayakwadi dam near Paithan is one of the largest earthen dam in India. This dam was built to address the problem of drought in Marathwada region and problem of flood along the bank of river. Two 'left' and 'right' canals provide the irrigation to fertile land up to Nanded district. This dam has major contribution in industrial development of Aurangabad.

Notes

^ "River Godavari". rainwaterharvesting.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-12.
^ "Ponnaiyar". Person uknown. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
^ "Godavari River". Retrieved on 2006-11-12.
^ "Rivers of Western Ghats". Retrieved on 2006-12-09.

External links

Godavari River in 1911[1]
Nashik City
Contrasting Behavior of Osmium in the Godavari River Estuary, India, 2001[2]
River Basin Report: Godavari River[3]
Variations of Monsoon Rainfall in Godavari River Basin[4]