The Baitarani (also spelled Vaitarani) is one of six major rivers of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, India. Venerated in popular epics and

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

s, the Baitarani River is a source of water for agricultural

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

. The coastal plain of Odisha has the name of "Hexadeltaic region" or the "Gift of Six Rivers". These

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

s divide the coastal plain into three regions from north to south. The Baitarani, the Mahanadi and the Brahmani rivers form the Middle Coastal Plain, with evidence of past "back bays" and present lakes.

Sources

The Baitarani originates from the Gonasika/Guptaganga (Cow Nose Shaped) hills, and starts flowing over a stone looking like the nostril of a cow. Afterwards, for about half a kilometre, the river flows underground and is not visible from outside. The Baitarani is known here by the name Guptaganga or the Gupta Baitarani, in Gonasika of Keonjhar district in

state of India at an elevation of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The uppermost part of the river, about in length, flows in a northerly direction; then it changes its path suddenly by 90 degrees and flows eastward. The beginning portion of Baitarani briefly marks the boundary between the states of

and

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

Course

The river enters a plain at Anandapur and creates a deltaic zone at Akhuapada. The river is in length and drain into the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

after joining of the Brahmani at Dhamra mouth near Chandabali. The river has 65 tributaries, of which 35 join from the left side and 30 from the right. The river basin in Odisha is spread among 42 blocks of eight districts. Budhi, Kanjori, Ambajhara, Mushal, Kusei, Salandi are some of the tributaries of Baitarani.

Location

A major portion of the river basin lies within the state of Odisha, while a small patch of the upper reach lies in Jharkhand state. The upper Baitarani basin on the western slopes of the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

, comprising the Panposh-Keonjhar-Pallahara plateau, is one of the two plateaus forming "The Central Plateaus"—one of Odisha's five major morphological regions.

Dams and barrages

Dam on the Baitarani river at Singhanali

Dams and barrages on the Baitarani and its major tributary, the Salandi, irrigate . The proposed Bhimkund and upper Baitarani multi-purpose projects envisage many more dams across this river and its tributaries to provide irrigation to more than . A new barrage was established near Anandapur and it was inaugurated by the CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik.

Flooding

Flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing is a regular phenomenon in the Baitarani basin. The inhabitants near the river live in fear of loss to life and property. Even a two-day rain in July 2005 caused the river to overflow its banks, affecting 140,000 people in 220 villages of Jajpur and Bhadrak districts. In at least two places the embankments were breached and flooding occurred, inflicting loss of life and property. Apart from the long pending construction of a dam at Bhimkund and other proposed measures like riverbed excavation and construction of embankments etc. in the deltaic region, there remain the unaddressed

land use Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: fo ...

issues in the upstream, to which, till date, no serious thoughts or efforts have been directed.

Industry and water quality

Due to drainage into the

, its water become salty as it heads towards the end of the River. Baitarani basin, with its rich mineral and agricultural resources and with availability of cheap labour, offered an ideal ground for establishment and operation of various industries. However, the principal development activities in the industrial, agricultural and mining sectors have contributed significantly towards deterioration in the water quality. ''Baitarani River Basin Project''
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Cultural impact

It forms part of the boundary between Balasore district and Undivided

Cuttack district Cuttack district is one of the 30 districts of Odisha state in India. It is located in the coastal part of the state and its administrative headquarters are located in the city of Cuttack. As of 2011 Census, after Ganjam district, Ganjam, it is t ...

. There is a saying that "he who bathes in it and gives alms will always be free from torments inflicted by Yama." The district Jajpur is the gift of river Baitarani. Historical evidences show early civilization on the bank of this river. Currently the district is subject to massive floods which are common during monsoon.

References

{{Coord, 20, 45, N, 86, 48, E, display=title, region:IN_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of Jharkhand Rivers of Odisha Geography of Odisha