The Mandovi (

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation ** International Phonetic Association, the organization behind the alphabet * India pale ale, a style of beer * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA ...

: ) or Mahadayi (

: ), formerly known as the Rio de Goa, is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

described as the lifeline of the

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 ...

n state of

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. The Mandovi and the

Zuari The Zuari River ''Zuvari,'' pronounced ) is the largest river in the state of Goa, India. It is a tidal river which originates at Hemad-Barshem in the Western Ghats. The Zuari is also referred to as the Aghanashani in the interior regions. It fl ...

are the two principal rivers in the state of Goa. The Mandovi joins the Zuari at a common creek at Cabo Aguada, forming the

Mormugao Mormugao is a coastal town situated in the eponymous subdistrict of Southern Goa state, India. It has a deep natural harbour and remains Goa's chief port. Towards the end of the Indo-Portuguese era in 1917, thirty-one settlements were c ...

harbour.

Panaji Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

, the state capital and

Old Goa Old Goa (Konkani: ; ) is a historical site and city situated on the southern banks of the River Mandovi, within the Tiswadi ''taluka'' (''Ilhas'') of North Goa district, in the Indian state of Goa. The city was established by the Bijapur ...

, the former

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of Goa, are both situated on the left bank of the Mandovi.

River course

The river has a total length of — in

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 ...

, in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, and in Goa. It originates from a cluster of 30 springs at Bhimgad in the Western Ghats of Belgavi district in Karnataka state. The river has total 2,032 km² catchment area of which 1,580 km², 375 km² and 77 km² catchment area are in Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra respectively. With its cerulean waters, Dudhsagar Falls and Varapoha Falls, it is also known as the Gomati in a few places. The Mandovi enters Goa from the north via the Sattari Taluka and from

Uttara Kannada Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to ...

District of Karnataka near the Castle Rock railway station. The Mandovi flows through

Belagavi Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

in Karnataka and

Cumbarjua Cumbarjua, is an island and town within the Mandovi River in Goa. It is situated to the east of Goa's capital Panjim at a distance of 20 kilometres. It is one of 6 major islands between the Mandovi and Zuari, the others being: * Ilhas de Goa, * ...

, Divar and Chorão in Goa, eventually pouring into the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

. The tributaries of Mandovi or Mhadei include Nerul River,

St Inez Creek The St Inez creek is a creek (tidal), creek located in Panjim, in the coastal state of Goa, India. The creek opens up into the Mandovi River. The creek is in length, with a surface area of and an average width of . The creek begins at the pad ...

Rio de Ourém Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

Mapusa River Mapusa River (Rio de Mapuça) is one of the main tributaries of the River Mandovi in Goa, India. The river originates from the jungles of Dumacem and Amthane, meanders eastward and then southward before it drains itself in the Mandovi river ...

, Valvanti River, Udnai River,

Dudhsagar River Dudhsagar Falls () is a four-tiered waterfall on the Mahadayi River in the state of Goa. It is 60km from Panaji by road and is located on the Belagavi–Vasco Da Gama rail route about 46km east of Madgaon and 80km south of Belagavi . Dudhsaga ...

Ragada River ''Ragada'' () is a 2010 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Veeru Potla and produced by D. Siva Prasad Reddy. It stars Nagarjuna, Anushka Shetty, Priyamani and Dev Gill in lead roles, with the music composed by S. Thaman. ...

and Kotrachi Nadi. The

Cumbarjua Canal The Cumbarjua Canal is a distributary channel formed by the merger of the Mandovi and Zuari rivers in Goa, India. Its flow has led to the formation of river deltas; the most prominent of them are Ilhas de Goa, Cumbarjua and St Estevam. The shallo ...

, which links both rivers, has made the interiors of the Mandovi accessible to ships carrying

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

Iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

is Goa's prime mineral and it is mined in the eastern hills. Three large freshwater isles —

Divar The island of Divar (formerly ''Piedade'') (, pronounced ) (derived from the word ''Dipavati'' or 'small Island' in Konkani) lies in the Mandovi river in the Indian state of Goa. It is one of six major islands within the Mandovi, the others ...

Chorão Alexandre Magno Abrão (April 9, 1970 – March 6, 2013), known professionally as Chorão, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, skateboarder, filmmaker, screenwriter and businessman. Best known for being a founding member and the vocalist/main ly ...

and

Vanxim Vanxim or Capão is an island of Goa situated in the Ilhas region. One can reach here by taking a ferry from Divar. The colonial name for Vanxim was Capão. One may see a lot of houses with few villagers many of whom are fisher-folk in the area ...

are present in the Mandovi near the town of Old Goa. The island of Chorão is home to the

Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is an estuarine mangrove habitat, which is declared as the bird sanctuary, and located on western tip of the Island of Chorão along the Mandovi River, Goa, in India. The sanctuary is named after Salim Ali, the eminent I ...

, named after the renowned ornithologist

Salim Ali Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali (12 November 1896 – 20 June 1987) was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist. Sometimes referred to as the "Birdman of India", Salim Ali was the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and wrot ...

. A regular ferry transports the inhabitants between the isles and the mainland.

Bridges

Spanning across the Mandovi River near

Panjim Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

are three parallel Mandovi Bridges. The older bridge collapsed in the 1980s before a new bridge was constructed to accommodate heavy transport vehicles. The Mandovi Bridge links the towns of

Porvorim Porvorim (pronounced ), is the '' de facto'' legislative and executive capital of the state of Goa as both the Goa Legislative Assembly and Secretariat are functioning from the same complex in the region of Alto Porvorim in porvorim.(Alto � ...

. On 14 June 2014, the foundation stone for the third bridge, which is the largest bridge in Goa, was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It will span and will be higher than the existing bridges and will be spaced in between the two. The 3rd Mandovi bridge is named Atal Setu after former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The bridge was inaugurated on 27 January 2019 at the hands of Union Roads Minister Nitin Gadkari, Goa CM Manohar Parrikar. During the winter months, the peak tourist season, special dusk cruises on the Mandovi - complete with serenading bands - add to the charm of the river.

Interstate water sharing

The sharing of the waters of this river is a cause of dispute between the governments of Karnataka and Goa. The Karnataka government proposes to divert some water from the Mahadayi river to the Malaprabha River basin as part of the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project, as approximately 188

tmcft Tmcft, (Tmc ft), (TMC), (tmc) is the abbreviation of thousand million cubic feet (1,000,000,000 = 109 = 1 billion), commonly used in India in reference to volume of water in a reservoir or river A river is a natural stream of fresh wa ...

of water at 75% dependability is available in the river.

Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT), also referred to as the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal, is a tribunal that adjudicates the dispute over River Mhadei water allocation. The sharing of the waters of this river is a cause of dispute betwee ...

under

Interstate River Water Disputes Act The Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (IRWD Act) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted under Article 262 of Constitution of India on the eve of reorganization of states on linguistic basis to resolve the water disputes that woul ...

has been constituted to decide the sharing of the river waters by the riparian states. In August 2018, Mahadayi Water Tribunal verdict permitted Goa to use 24 tmcft (excluding the 9.395 tmcft prevailing uses), Karnataka to use 13.42 tmcft of which 5.5 tmcft is meant for use within the river basin and for diversion to the Malaprabha reservoir, and around 8 tmcft for power generation (including 3.9 tmcft for export outside the basin) and Maharashtra to use 1.33 tmcft for consumptive purposes. The tribunal assessed the water generated in the river catchment area of Karnataka and Maharashtra as 32.11 tmcft and 7.21 tmcft respectively at 75% dependability. The tribunal has apportioned only 40.125 tmcft of Mandovi river water for consumptive uses among the three riparian states. Karnataka approached the Supreme Court alleging injustice is done in allocation of water to the state.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Goa Inter-state disputes in India Rivers of Karnataka Geography of North Goa district Geography of South Goa district Geography of Belagavi district Geography of Uttara Kannada district

River course

Bridges

Interstate water sharing

See also

References