Bhavani is an Indian river which flows through Indian states of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, India. It originates from the Western Ghats of Kerala and is one among the 3 rivers of Kerala which flows in eastward direction.

Hydrography

Bhavani river originates from

Nilgiri hills The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

of the Western Ghats, enters the

Silent Valley National Park Silent Valley National Park is a national park in Kerala, India. It is located in the Nilgiri hills, has a core area of , which is surrounded by a buffer zone of . This national park has some rare species of flora and fauna. This area was explo ...

and flows back towards Tamil Nadu. The Bhavani is a long perennial river fed mostly by the

southwest monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

and supplemented by the

northeast monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

. Its watershed drains an area of spread over Tamil Nadu (87%),

(9%) and

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

(4%). The main river courses majorly through

Coimbatore district Coimbatore district is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educ ...

and Erode district in Tamil Nadu. About 90 per cent of the river's water is used for agriculture

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

. The river joins the

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri (hill), Karnataka, Brahmagiri range in th ...

at the

Kooduthurai Kooduthurai, or Mukkoodal is a holy place situated in Bhavani, Tamil Nadu, Bhavani near Erode, Tamil Nadu, India. The place is situated at the confluence of three rivers: Kaveri river, Kaveri, Bhavani River, Bhavani and the mystic Kisan River. O ...

holy site near

Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...

Tributaries

Twelve major

rivulet A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams are ...

s including West and East Varagar rivers join Bhavani draining the southern Nilgiri slopes. At Mukkali, Bhavani takes an abrupt 120-degree turn towards the northeast and flows for another through Attappady plateau. It gets reinforced by the Kunda river coming from the north.

Siruvani river The Siruvani River is a river near Coimbatore, India. It is tributary of Bhavani river, which in turn is a tributary of Kaveri. Part of the Siruvani River is near Mannarkkad in the Indian District of Palakkad, Kerala. The river leads into two ...

, a perennial stream and the Kodungarapallam river, flowing from the south and southeast respectively join the Bhavani at

border. The river then flows east along the base of

Nilgiris The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

and enters the plains near Bathra Kaliamman temple at Mettupalayam after joining with Coonoor river coming from northwest. About downstream, Moyar River, a major tributary originating in

Mudumalai National Park Mudumalai National Park is a national park in the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu, south India. It covers at an elevation range of in the Nilgiri District and shares boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala. A part of this area ha ...

, flows in from the northwest, where it drains the valley between the northern slopes of the Nilgiris and the southern slopes of the Bilgiri Hills. After the Moyar it is blocked by the Lower Bhavani Dam, feeding

Lower Bhavani Project Canal Lower Bhavani Project Canal is a long irrigation canal which runs in Erode district in Tamil Nadu, India. The canal is a valley-side contour canal, fed by Bhavanisagar Dam and irrigates 2.07 lakh hectares of land.

near

Sathyamangalam Sathyamangalam (also known as Sathy) is a town and municipality in Erode district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 8 th century Town. It lies on the banks of the River Bhavani, a tributary of the River Cauvery in the foothills of the West ...

in Erode District. The river continues east for over through Erode District, traversing Kodiveri Dam, near

Gobichettipalayam Gobichettipalayam () is the Selection grade municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Gobichettipalayam taluk. It is situated at the center of the South Indian Peninsula, from the district hea ...

which feeds the Arakkankottai and Thadappalli canals constructed for agricultural purposes. A small barrage across the river was built by Kalingarayan in 1283 CE to feed the Kalingarayan irrigation canal.

Dams

;Bhavanisagar Bhavanisagar dam is located on the Bhavani river in Erode district,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The dam is one of the largest

earthen dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

s in the world. The dam is situated some west of

and from

. The Lower Bhavani Project was the first major irrigation project initiated in India after independence in 1948. It was completed by 1955 and opened for use in 1956. The dam was constructed at a cost of . The dam is long and high. The full reservoir level is and the dam has a capacity of . The dam has two hydel

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

s, one on the east bank canal and the other on the Bhavani river. Each has a capacity of for a total capacity of . ;Kodiveri Kodiveri dam is located on the Bhavani River near

in Western Tamil Nadu. The dam is situated along the State Highway 15 about from

towards

. It was constructed by Kongalvan in the year 1125 CE.

Pollution

Industrial, municipal and

agricultural pollution Agricultural pollution refers to biotic and abiotic byproducts of farming practices that result in contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems, and/or cause injury to humans and their economic interests. The pol ...

of the river results in poor water quality and negative impacts on the health of people, plants and animals dependent on the river water.

References

{{Coord, 11, 26, N, 77, 41, E, display=title, region:IN_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of Tamil Nadu Rivers of Palakkad district Ancient Indian rivers Sacred rivers Rivers of India