Sileru River is a tributary of

Sabari River Sabari River is one of the main tributaries of Godavari. It originates from the western slopes of Eastern Ghats in Odisha state from Sinkaram hill ranges at 1370 m MSL. It is also known as Kolab river in Odisha.The Sabari river basin receives ...

. It originates in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and also flows through

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

before merging with Sabari.

Sabari river Sabari River is one of the main tributaries of Godavari. It originates from the western slopes of Eastern Ghats in Odisha state from Sinkaram hill ranges at 1370 m MSL. It is also known as Kolab river in Odisha.The Sabari river basin receives ...

crosses the border into Andhra Pradesh to merge with

Godavari river The Godavari (IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwa ...

. Sileru (known as Machkund in its upper reaches) river joins Sabari river tri-junction boundary point of Andhra Pradesh,

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prad ...

and Odisha.

Hydro power potential

Sileru river has huge potential of hydro electricity generation which has been substantially harnessed by constructing Machkund (120 MW), Balimela (510 MW), Upper Sileru (240 MW), Donkarayi (25 MW) and Lower Sileru hydro (460 MW) power projects. Chitrakonda (60 MW) hydro project located at the toe of Balimela earth dam is planned to utilise the head available across the earth dam.

Irrigation potential

The water released from the Balimela power station is used for irrigation in the Potteru tributary basin of Sabari in Odisha. At present the water released from the other power stations is not useful to irrigation needs except during lean flow period in main Godavari river for the requirements of

Godavari delta The Godavari (IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...

Uttarandhra Uttarandhra or North coastal Andhra, also known as Kalinga Andhra is a region consisting of six northern districts of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises the districts of Srikakulam, Parvathipuram Manyam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapat ...

region can create huge irrigation potential with the perennial water supply from the available water storages in Seleru river basin. The mid lands of

East Godavari district East Godavari is a district in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Its district headquarters is at Rajahmundry. As of census 2011, it became the most populous district of the state with a population of 5,151,549. In the Madras Pre ...

can get augmented water supply by diverting Sileru river water from Donkarayi reservoir (310 m MSL) towards east of

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and ...

by constructing 35 km long tunnel with enhanced power potential. Similarly, mid lands of

Vishakhapatnam District Visakhapatnam district (formerly known as Vizagapatam district) is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, headquartered at Visakhapatnam. It is one of the twenty-six districts in Andhra Pra ...

Vizianagaram district Vizianagaram district is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with its headquarters located at Vizianagaram. The district was once the part of ancient Kalinga.Saripilli Dibbilingeswara te ...

and

Srikakulam district Srikakulam district is one of the twenty-six districts of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Uttarandhra region of the state, with its headquarters located at Srikakulam. It is one of the six districts, located in the extreme ...

can get augmented water supply by diverting Sileru river water from Guntawada weir (head works of Upper Sileru power station) at 410 m MSL towards east by constructing 30 km long tunnel with enhanced power potential. The diverted water of Sileru river to the east can also be used to supply water to the Polavaram left bank canal and

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

city's continuous drinking water needs when water level is not adequate in Polavaram reservoir during non monsoon months. The water released from the Lower Sileru power station can be diverted to Yeleru reservoir by gravity with a 70 km long tunnel to create additional irrigation in East Godavari district. Part of the water released by Lower Sileru power station can also be used for the planned Lower Sileru irrigation scheme located in Sileru and Sabari basins.

References

{{Eastern Ghats , state=collapsed Tributaries of the Godavari River Rivers of Odisha Rivers of Andhra Pradesh Eastern Ghats Uttarandhra Rivers of India

Hydro power potential

Irrigation potential

See also

References