The Pench River is an Indian tributary of the

Kanhan River The Kanhan River is an important right bank tributary of the Wainganga River draining a large area lying south of Satpura range in central India. Along its 275 km run through the Indian States of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, it receives ...

. It originates in the

Chhindwara district Chhindwara district () is a List of districts of Madhya Pradesh, district of Madhya Pradesh state in India, and Chhindwara town is the district headquarters. Chhindwara was the largest district in Madhya Pradesh with an area of 10,293 square k ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and flows across

Pench National Park Pench National Park is a national park in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. It is part of Pench Tiger Reserve and covers an area of . It was declared a sanctuary in 1965, raised to the status of a national park in 1975 and en ...

, which is a reserve for the Tiger Project of India. The two big dams of the Pench River supply water to the city of

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

and to the big thermal power plant located there. Machagora Pench dam supplies water to Seoni district and

for agriculture through irrigation canels.

Pench National Park

The river separates Pench National Park into two halves, east and west Pench. The

Pench Tiger Reserve Pench Tiger Reserve or Pench National Park is a tiger reserve in India straddling across Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. On the Madhya Pradesh side, it encompasses a core area of , with a buffer of , making for a total protected area of . On t ...

derives its name after the Pench River, which flows from north to south across the reserve. The reserve is situated on the south of the Satpura Hill Ranges in the Seoni District and

Chhindwara District Chhindwara district () is a List of districts of Madhya Pradesh, district of Madhya Pradesh state in India, and Chhindwara town is the district headquarters. Chhindwara was the largest district in Madhya Pradesh with an area of 10,293 square k ...

in the

state of India. The topography is undulating, with most of the area enclosed by small hill ranges and abrupt slopes on all the sides. The Pench river flowing through the centre of the Reserve is usually dry by April, but a number of water pools, locally known as ''dohs'', are found along the course of the river. These serve as waterholes for wild animals. A few perennial springs also exist in the region. Recently, a number of earthen ponds and shallow wells have been created, providing well-distributed sources of water across the reserve.

Dam

The hydroelectric Totladoh Dam on the Pench River was the first interstate project of Maharashtra. It is located in the

. The next big dam is Kamthikhairy Dam near just downstream of the Totladoh Dam the town of Navegaon Khairy located in Parseoni Taluka. More than 70% of the drinking water in

is supplied from the dams. The Pench right canal is made up of combination of concrete lining and

Bituminous geomembrane Bituminous geomembrane (BGM) is a type of geomembrane consisting of a reinforcing geotextile to provide mechanical strength and elastomeric bitumen (often called asphalt in U.S.) to provide impermeability. Other components such as sand, a glass ...

lining in select areas to limit seepage. It supplies water to Nagpur, the

Koradi Thermal Power Station Koradi Thermal Power Station (KTPS) is located at Koradi near Nagpur, Maharashtra. The power plant is one of the four major power plants in Vidarbha – a power surplus region of India. The power station began operations in 1974 and is one o ...

, and the

Khaparkheda Thermal Power Station Khaparkheda Thermal Power Station is located in Khaperkheda Town Nagpur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Platea ...

, and the rest of the water is use for irrigation in Parseoni taluka, Kalmeshwar taluka, Saoner taluka, Kamthi taluka, and rural Nagpur. The Pench left canal irrigates Parseoni taluka, Ramtek taluka, and Mauda taluka and provides water for the NTPC Mauda Super Thermal Power Station and other industrial purposes.

References

{{Godavari basin Rivers of Maharashtra Rivers of Madhya Pradesh Rivers of Nagpur district Tributaries of the Godavari River