Sileru River is a tributary of

Sabari River Sabari River is one of the main tributaries of Godavari. It originates from the western slopes of Eastern Ghats in Odisha state from Sinkaram hill ranges at 1374 m MSL. It is known as Kolab River in Odisha. The Sabari river basin receives nearl ...

in southern

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 ...

. It originates in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and also flows through

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 ...

before merging with Sabari.

Sabari river Sabari River is one of the main tributaries of Godavari. It originates from the western slopes of Eastern Ghats in Odisha state from Sinkaram hill ranges at 1374 m MSL. It is known as Kolab River in Odisha. The Sabari river basin receives nearl ...

crosses the border into Andhra Pradesh to merge with

Godavari river The Godavari (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganges River, Ganga River and drains the third largest Drainage basin, basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. It ...

. Sileru (known as Machkund in its upper reaches) river joins Sabari river tri-junction boundary point of Andhra Pradesh,

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

and Odisha.

Hydro power potential

Sileru river has huge potential of hydro electricity generation which has been substantially harnessed by constructing Machkund (120 MW), Balimela (510 MW), Upper Sileru (240 MW), Donkarayi (25 MW) and Lower Sileru hydro (460 MW) power projects. Chitrakonda (60 MW) hydro project located at the toe of Balimela earth dam is planned to utilise the head available across the earth dam.

Irrigation potential

The water released from the Balimela power station is used for irrigation in the Potteru tributary basin of Sabari in Odisha. At present the water released from the other power stations is not useful to irrigation needs except during lean flow period in main Godavari river for the requirements of Godavari delta.

Uttarandhra North Andhra or Uttara Andhra (IAST: ''Uttara Āndhra''), also known as Kalinga Andhra (IAST: ''Kaḷiṅga Āndhra''), is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is between the Eastern Ghats and the coast of the Bay of B ...

region can create huge irrigation potential with the perennial water supply from the available water storages in Seleru river basin. The mid lands of

East Godavari district East Godavari is a district in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Its district headquarters is at Rajamahendravaram. Geography This district is surrounded by: * North East: Alluri Sitharama Raju district * North West: Eluru ...

can get augmented water supply by diverting Sileru river water from Donkarayi reservoir (310 m MSL) towards east of

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 ...

by constructing 35 km long tunnel with enhanced power potential. Similarly, mid lands of Vishakhapatnam District,

Vizianagaram district Vizianagaram district is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with its headquarters located at Vizianagaram. The district was once the part of ancient Ka ...

and

Srikakulam district Srikakulam district is a district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Uttarandhra region of the state, with its headquarters located at Srikakulam. It is one of the six districts, located in the extreme northeastern direction ...

can get augmented water supply by diverting Sileru river water from Guntawada weir (head works of Upper Sileru power station) at 410 m MSL towards east by constructing 30 km long tunnel with enhanced power potential. The diverted water of Sileru river to the east can also be used to supply water to the

Polavaram Polavaram may refer to: * Polavaram, Eluru district, a village in Andhra Pradesh * Polavaram, Krishna district, a village in Andhra Pradesh * I. Polavaram, East Godavari district, a village in Andhra Pradesh *I. Polavaram mandal The I. Polavara ...

left bank canal and

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

city's continuous drinking water needs when water level is not adequate in Polavaram reservoir during non monsoon months. The water released from the Lower Sileru power station can be diverted to Yeleru reservoir by gravity with a 70 km long tunnel to create additional irrigation in East Godavari district. Part of the water released by Lower Sileru power station can also be used for the planned Lower Sileru irrigation scheme located in Sileru and Sabari basins.

References

{{Eastern Ghats , state=collapsed Tributaries of the Godavari River Rivers of Odisha Rivers of Andhra Pradesh Eastern Ghats Uttarandhra

Hydro power potential

Irrigation potential

See also

References