Modi River or Modi Khola is a tributary of
Gandaki River
The Gandaki River, also known as the Narayani and the Gandak, is one of the major rivers in Nepal and a left bank tributary of the Ganges in India. Its total catchment area amounts to , most of it in Nepal. In the Nepal Himalayas, it is nota ...
in
Parbat district
Parbat District ( ne, पर्वत जिल्ला , is a hilly area of Nepal. It is a part of Gandaki Province and one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Kusma as its district headquarters, covers an area of and ...
of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
. It is a snow-fed perennial river originating from
Annapurna Mountains and has a catchment area of 675 km2. It meets the Kali Gandaki River at Modi Beni of Parbat District. The total length (from head to the confluence) of the river is approximately 50km.
[Bhandari, I.S., 2019. Rampant Development of Water Diversion Projects as a Threat to Fish Diversity: A Case of the Modi Khola. Hydro Nepal: Journal of Water, Energy and Environment 24, 17–19. https://doi.org/10.3126/hn.v24i0.23576
] The main tributaries of Modi river are Bhurangdi Khola, Rati Khola, Pati Khola, Malyangdi Khola, Ghandruk Khola and Ambote Khola. The mean annual precipitation in the basin is approximately 2700mm and 80% of the total annual rainfall occurs during the
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 osci ...
.
Water Use
The river banks Modi Khola consists of forest area and few agricultural and cultivated land. It is argued that the water of the Modi Khola is not suitable for irrigation purpose as the water in the Khola mainly comes from the melting glaciers and is too cold for crops.
Fisheries
Commercial or traditional fish farms/ponds are not present in the Modi river. However, the river has various fish species (mainly
Asala or Snow trout) naturally.
Other fish species are carps (Schizothorax plagiostomus, Schizothorax richardsonii, Schizothoraichthys progastus, Garra gotyla and Garra annandalei) and catfish (Glyptothorax pectinopterus and Pseudecheneis sulcata).
Drinking water
The water from Modi Khola is not used for drinking purpose.
Hydropowers
Following hydropower projects are either constructed, under-construction or under planning in this river, all of them are run-of-river types.
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Upper Modi A Hydroelectric Power Plant (42MW)
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Upper Modi Hydroelectric Power Plant(14MW)
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Landruk Modi Hydroelectric Power Plant (86.59MW)
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Middle Modi Khola Hydroelectric Power Plant(15.1MW) - under construction
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Modi Khola Hydroelectric Power Plant(14.8MW) - operating
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Lower Modi Khola Hydroelectric Power Plant(20MW) - under construction
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Lower Modi-1 Hydroelectric Power Plant(10MW) - operating
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Lower Modi-2 Hydropower Project(10.5MW)
Gallery
File:Modi Khola - panoramio.jpg, River view
File:Modi Khola (River) -IMG 4592.jpg , At Sinuwa village
File:Jhinudanda-Landruk-46-Modi Khola-2013-gje.jpg, Jhinudanda-Landruk
File:Modi khola.JPG, Flooded view
File:Jhinudanda-Landruk-18-Modi Khola-Bruecke-2013-gje.jpg, At Landruk
File:Modi Hydropower Project Intake - panoramio.jpg, A Hydropower Intake
See also
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Gandaki River
The Gandaki River, also known as the Narayani and the Gandak, is one of the major rivers in Nepal and a left bank tributary of the Ganges in India. Its total catchment area amounts to , most of it in Nepal. In the Nepal Himalayas, it is nota ...
References
{{reflist
Rivers of Gandaki Province