The Adan River () is a river in

Washim District Washim district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �aːʃim is a List of districts of Maharashtra, district in Maharashtra, India. The headquarters is at Washim. The area of the district is . Officer Members of Parliament *Sanjay De ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and a principal

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Painganga River The Painganga River (also known as the Penganga River) is the chief river of the Buldhana district, Hingoli district, Nanded district, Yavatmal district, Chandrapur district and Washim district in the Maharashtra state in India. It flows along the ...

Geography

The source of the Adan River is in the

Washim district Washim district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �aːʃim is a List of districts of Maharashtra, district in Maharashtra, India. The headquarters is at Washim. The area of the district is . Officer Members of Parliament *Sanjay De ...

. The

Arunavati River Arunavati river is a seasonal tributary of the Tapi river in India. It originates and flows from the Sangvi village and merges into the Tapi river near Uparpind village in Shirpur tehsil. The river flows mostly in monsoon. There are many dam ...

meets the Adan River about 13 kilometres before it joins the Painganga River. The river dries up in the summer, leaving only pools towards the end of its course. Two dams have been built on the Adan; one at its origin near Sonala village and the other near

Karanja Lad Karanja Lad, or Karanja, is a city of a Municipal council in Washim district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. The town is named after Saint Karanj. Karanja is a holy place for Hindus, Jainism, Jains, and Musli ...

city, both in

. The river then flows

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

. Adan Dam was built in 1977 near

, Washim district around 13 km from where the Adan River meets the Painanga.

Environmental Impact of the Adan Dam

In two separate reports on the

environmental impact Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans ( human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot reco ...

of the Adan Dam on the aquatic

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

of the river and the surrounding fishing communities in 2008 and 2012, Dr Nilesh K. Heda reported the following effects: * Effect on

Fishing Communities Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, biotic and abiotic component, abiotic things occurring nature ...

: The new reservoir has led to large areas of the river becoming inaccessible to local anglers who cannot fish for most of the year due to the low water level. The construction of the dam has led to high levels of

siltation Siltation is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary o ...

and

hydrophyte Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). In lakes, rivers and wetlands, aquatic vegetations provide cover for aquat ...

growth. These changes have led to the local

Bhoi The Bhoi (also known as Bauri) is an ethnic community found in Odisha who speak the Odia language. They are classified as a Scheduled Caste (SC) according to Reservation system of India, and were historically subjected to untouchability. Tradit ...

people having to rely less on their more sustainable, traditional fishing techniques. * Effect on

Aquatic Ecosystem An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environ ...

: The diversity and abundance of

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

has declined since the construction of the dam. Some species of fish have been completely wiped out from the area of the river about the dam (namely eutropiichthys vacha, anguilla bengalensis bengalensis, barilius species,

tor khudree ''Tor khudree'', the Deccan mahseer, Khudree mahseer, or black mahseer, is a freshwater fish of the Cyprinidae, carp family found in major rivers and reservoirs of India and Sri Lanka. Found throughout India, following large-scale introductions o ...

, tor mussullah, and gonoproktopterus kolus). Heda reports that local elders noticed that, as well as fish species,

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

s and

tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

s had also been wiped out.

Fish of Adan River

The following species were found to be present in the Adan river by Dr Nilesh Heda: * Acanthocobitis moreh *

Amblypharyngodon mola The mola carplet (''Amblypharyngodon mola'') is a species of carplet in the family Danionidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, although IUCN considers its presence certain only in Pakistan, India, and Banglad ...

* Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis * Barilius bendelisis * Other barilius species *

Chanda nama The elongate glassy perchlet (''Chanda nama'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Asiatic glassfish family Ambassidae, the only species in the genus ''Chanda''. It is native to an area of south Asia from Pakistan to Burma, in the Indomalayan ...

* Channa orientalis * Channa punctatus * Channa striatus * Cirrhinus fulungee * Danio aequipinnatus * Other danio species * Garra mullya *

Glossogobius giuris ''Glossogobius giuris'', the tank goby, is a species of goby native to fresh, marine and brackish waters from the Red Sea and East Africa through South Asia and the Indian Ocean to China, Australia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. This spe ...

* Gonoproktopterus kolus *

Labeo rohita The rohu, rui, ruhi or roho labeo (''Labeo rohita'') is a species of fish of the carp family, found in rivers in South Asia. It is a large omnivore and extensively used in aquaculture. Description The rohu is a large, silver-colored fish o ...

Lepidocephalus thermalis ''Lepidocephalus'' is a genus of loaches native to rivers in the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand and Manipur, north east India. Members of this genus are known as "spirit loaches".Deein, G., Tangjitjaroen, W. & Page, ...

Macrognathus aral ''Macrognathus aral'', the one-stripe spiny eel, is a small fish from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. It usually is found in running and stagnant waters of freshwater and brackish waters. It is in length. After mating, eggs are ...

* Mastacembelus armatus *

Mystus bleekeri ''Mystus'' is a genus of fish in the family Bagridae native to Asia. Phylogenetic relationships within this genus are poorly understood, though it has been suggested that there are two major lineages. Species There are currently 62 recognized s ...

* Mystus cavasius * Other mystus species * Nemacheilus species *

Notopterus notopterus The bronze featherback (''Notopterus notopterus'') is a ray-finned fish in the family Notopteridae found in South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. Although primarily found in fresh water, it has been known to enter brackish water. At present, it ...

Ompok bimaculatus ''Ompok bimaculatus'', known as butter catfish, is a species from the Siluridae, sheatfish Family (biology), family native to Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, but recently identified in Myanmar. It also indetif ...

* Oreochromis mossambica *

Oreonectes evezardi ''Oreonectes'' is a genus of fish in the family Nemacheilidae found in the rivers and caves of Asia. Many of these species are troglobitic. Species These are the currently recognized species in this genus: * '' Oreonectes andongensis'' X.-M. L ...

* Osteobrama cotio peninsularis * Osteobrama vigorsii *

Parambassis ranga ''Parambassis ranga'', commonly known as the Indian glassy fish, Indian glassy perch, or Indian X-ray fish, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the Asiatic glassfish family Ambassidae. It is native to an area of South Asia from Pakista ...

Puntius amphibius The scarlet-banded barb (''Puntius amphibius'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Puntius''. It is found in streams in India and Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known histor ...

* Puntius sarana sarana *

Puntius sophore The pool barb, spotfin swamp barb, or stigma barb (''Puntius sophore'') is a tropical freshwater and brackish fish belonging to the Puntius genus in the family Cyprinidae. It is native to inland waters in Asia and is found in India, Nepal, Banglad ...

* Other puntius species * Puntius ticto * Rasbora daniconius * Rita species * Salmostoma horai * Salmostoma novacula * Schistura denisoni denisoni * Thynnichthys sandkhol *

Tor khudree ''Tor khudree'', the Deccan mahseer, Khudree mahseer, or black mahseer, is a freshwater fish of the Cyprinidae, carp family found in major rivers and reservoirs of India and Sri Lanka. Found throughout India, following large-scale introductions o ...

* Tor mussulah *

Tor tor ''Tor tor'', commonly known as the tor mahseer or tor barb, is a species of cyprinid fish found in fast-flowing rivers and streams with rocky bottoms in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan. It is a commercially important food and game ...

Wallago attu ''Wallago attu'', boal, or helicopter catfish, is a species of freshwater catfish of the family Siluridae, native to South and Southeast Asia. ''W. attu'' is found in large rivers and lakes in two geographically disconnected regions (disjunct di ...

* Xenentodon cancila

Local People

The local Bhoi people live in fishing communities on the banks of the river. The Bhoi are traditionally dependent upon the Adan for food and so their traditional way of life is at risk due to depleting fish resources. Bhoi

References

{{fishing history, expanded=villages Fishing communities in India Rivers of Maharashtra Tributaries of the Godavari River

Geography

Environmental Impact of the Adan Dam

Fish of Adan River

Local People

See also

References