Cheyyeru river is a river in the
southern India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...
n state of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
that is a tributary of the
Pennar river
Penna (also known as Pinakini, Pennar, Penner, Penneru (Telugu), Pennai (Tamil)) is a river of southern India. This is a unique river in world where after originating from Nandi hills, it flows as two different streams, one in North and South ...
.
Course
The Cheyyeru is formed by the confluence of the rivers Bahuda and Puncha that originate in Andhra Pradesh. The two streams join at
Rayavaram to form the Cheyyeru which then flows for 87 km before joining the Pennar as a right bank tributary at Gundlamada in the
Sidhout taluk of
Kadapa district
Kadapa district (officially: YSR district; formerly: Cuddapah district) is one of the twenty six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. On 19 August 2005 nomenclature of “Cuddapah” has been changed as “Kadapa” by the Governm ...
,
draining a total area of 7,325 km
2.
The Gunjana river is a tributary of the Cheyyeru and along the Gunjana valley several
paleolithic settlements have been discovered. There are several
gorges on the river including one after the confluence of its headstreams and the Balarajupalle gorge.
The Cheyair series of rocks in the Cudappah rock system of the
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...
, consisting largely of
shales
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...
, is named after the Cheyyeru river.
Waterworks
The Cheyyeru project comprising the 409 metre long Annamayya
earthen dam
An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...
that provides irrigation facilities to its catchment zone is on this river in the
Rajampet mandal of
Kadapa district
Kadapa district (officially: YSR district; formerly: Cuddapah district) is one of the twenty six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. On 19 August 2005 nomenclature of “Cuddapah” has been changed as “Kadapa” by the Governm ...
. The Togurpet project, also in the Kadapa district, is also on the Cheyyeru and was completed during the
Fourth Five-Year Plan period. Percolation tanks have been developed on the river at
Nandalur
Nandalur is a village in Annamayya district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Nandalur mandal of Rajampeta revenue division.
It is 10 km from Rajampet and 42 km from the District headquarters of the Cuddapah dis ...
to augment irrigation facilities in Kadapa.
Important places
Attirala
Hatyaraala is a village in Kadapa district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and ten ...
is a temple town on the Cheyyeru that is associated with several myths. It is believed that the sage
Parasurama
Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the ''Chiranjivi, Chiranjeevis'' (Immortals), who ...
did penance for his sin of
matricide
Matricide is the act of killing one's own mother.
Known or suspected matricides
* Amastrine, Amastris, queen of Heraclea, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC.
* Cleopatra III of Egypt was assassinated in 101 BC by order of her son, Ptole ...
here and that Likhita, the brother of the sage Sankha had his severed hands restored to him after bathing in the river. Attirala houses a Parasurama temple and temples dedicated to
Gadadhara
Gadadhara Pandita, also known as Pandita Goswami, was a close associate of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Gadadhara Pandita Goswami is described as a handsome young boy, student of Nyaya (Indian logic) and ranked highest among the inner circle of Chaita ...
and Treteshwara. Many members of the transgender community visit Attirala to pray for their rebirth as regular human beings and to atone for their sins.
References
{{Coord, 14, 26, N, 79, 10, E, display=title, region:IN_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki
Rivers of Andhra Pradesh
Geography of Kadapa district
Penner River
Rivers of India