
Sindphana is a minor tributary of
Godavari
The Godavari (, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...
river that originates around the Chincholi hill in Patoda Taluka,
Beed District
Beed district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, iːɖ is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in India. The district headquarters are located at Beed. The district occupies an area of 10,693 km² and has a popu ...
,
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 India. Crossing west to east its
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
covers nearly 80% of Beed District, making it the most important river within the district. The
Majalgaon Dam, constructed across the river, irrigates 93885 hectares of land in Beed, Parbhani & Nanded districts.
Origin
The Sindphana rises in the Chinchol hill at the north-west apex of the Balagat plateau in the Patoda Taluka of
eed District
Course
From the site of origin the river flows in a northeasterly course past Amalner, a small village in the Patoda taluka. About a kilometre below Chavarwadi it makes a right-angle turn to follow a north-westerly direction flowing to Sindphana village, where the
Sindphana Dam sits across the river. Here, it resumes its north-easterly course once again. After the confluence of another tributary, the Kinha, the Sindphana has a fairly long easterly course flowing alongside the villages Yelamb, Pimpari and Hirapur, beyond which it is joined by one of its tributaries - the
Bindusara River. Its flow is interrupted by the
Majalgaon Dam at
Majalgaon, after which it flows north-eastwards and then northwards to join the Godavari at Manjarath village,
Pathri
Pathri is a town, near the city of Parbhani and a municipal council in Parbhani district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It has been claimed that Pathri is the real birthplace of Sai Baba, which has been subject to controversy. Maharashtra ...
taluka,
Parbhani District
Parbhani district () is one of the eight districts in the Marathawada region of Maharashtra state of India. Parbhani city is the headquarters of this district. Parbhani district is well known for the Marathwada rebellion and religious tour ...
at an elevation of 407m.
Tributaries
Left bank
The only important tributaries
of the Sindphana on its left bank are the Ad, the Belpar and the Kinha in the western part. In the eastern part the tributaries on the left flank flowing from the north are very small sized streams.
*The ''Ad'' rising on the northern slopes of the Chincholi hills flows by Kotan in a north-easterly direction to fall into the backwaters of the reservoir created by the Sindphana Dam.
*The ''Belpar'' also rises on the northern slopes of the Chincholi hills to the west of the Ad. After flowing past Hatola, it makes a short diversion out of the
Ahmednagar district
Ahmednagar district (Marathi pronunciation: �ɦ(ə)məd̪nəɡəɾ, officially Ahilyanagar district, is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical city of Ahmednagar is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar ...
and after re-entering the district, flows by Pimpalner to join the Sindphana at Gomalwada.The Belapara Project Lake is situated on this river.
*The ''Kinha'' river (alternatively known as the Sina) rising in the hills to the west of Pangri village, flows in an easterly or north-easterly course, sometimes within and sometimes outside the district and joins the Sindphana just above Nimbgaon. The Kinha has several small tributaries such as the Manikarni. flowing by Manur, and the Nandidara, flowing by Ukirda.
Right bank
There are innumerable right flank tributaries of Sindphana flowing from the Balaghat slopes, the more important of which, in order from west to east are the ''Uthola'' flowing by Raimoha, the ''Utawal''i flowing by Khokarmoha and Khalapuri, the ''Dombri'' flowing by Dombri, Ukhanda and Rajuri and joining the Sindphana opposite to Shiras marga, the ''Bindusara'', the ''Takur'' rising on the eastern slopes of Pimpalgaon Ghat, the ''Pimpalner'' river and the ''Kundalika''. Of these the Bendsura and the Kundalika are of considerable size and length and require some detailed consideration.
*''Bindusara'': The
Bindusara
Bindusara (320 BCE – 273 BCE) () was the second Mauryan emperor of Magadha in Ancient India. The ancient Greco-Roman writers called him Amitrochates, a name likely derived from his Sanskrit title ''Amitraghāta'' ("slayer of enemies").
...
rises near Waghera, 2 kilometres north-west of Limba Ganesh and has a fairly long course on the northern slopes of the Balaghat plateau first flowing northwards and after Kadamwadi eastwards to Pali village, receiving a number of tributaries on both banks comprising a fairly large catchment area of 183 square kilometres. This has been taken advantage of by the
Bindusara project. About 8 kilometres below Pali the river flows through
Beed
Beed (Marathi pronunciation: iːɖ is a city and headquarters of eponymous Beed district of Maharashtra state in India.
History
Beed is a historical city of possibly medieval origin. Its early history is obscure. Historians speculate, base ...
town with a north-north-east course to join the Sindphana. The headward erosion of this comparatively large sized stream has been so considerable that the watershed to the south has migrated further south here than at other places.
*The ''Kundalika'', called very often by the shortened form Kundka, rises to the north-east of Neknur and flows first in a north-easterly direction and then in an easterly direction up to Nagjheri after which it has a general northerly course to join the Sindphana a few kilometres upstream of Manjlegaon.
Dams
*
Majalgaon Dam
*
Sindphana Dam
References
{{Hydrography of Maharashtra
Rivers of Maharashtra
Tributaries of the Godavari River