Kathajodi River is an arm of the

Mahanadi River The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and finally merged with Bay o ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, India. It branches off at Naraj, then immediately is bifurcated. The southern branch, known as Kuakhai, which means ''Crow's pool'', and flows into the

Puri district Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one sub-division, 11 tahasils and 11 blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only municipality of the district. Konark, Pipili and Nimapara are the thre ...

. Its mouth is closed by a bar, so that little water flows into it except at flood times. A little lower down from

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

the Kathajodi is bifurcated. The right branch is ''Sidhua'' and the left branch is ''Khatajodi''. From flowing divide area 17 km the Khatajodi is merged with sidhua. The merge area is known as

famous Dalei Ghai. The Kathajodi and the Sidhua create an island known as 42 Mouza. it is near about cuttack town just 2 km. Again the Kathajodi is bifurcated at Gobindpur, the right branch is known as the ''

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

'' and the left branch as the ''Biluakhai''. Flowing in the northerly direction, the river Kathajodi again divides into the ''Alaka'' and ''Kathajodi'' proper, which have been cut off at their head by the ''Devi'' left embankment. The water originally carried by them has been diverted into the ''Devi''. The river Kathajodi is said to have been originally a comparatively small stream. Its name implies that it could at one time be crossed by a plank of wood known as ''katha'' in Odia. During the last century the volume of water passing down its channel increased considerably and the head of the river became too large to carry off the enormous volume of water poured into it by Mahanadi. A

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

and training embankments were, therefore constructed at Naraj between 1860 and 1865, in order to regulate the flow and direct some of the water to the Mahanadi channels. During rains, the river and its branches carry great volume of water in them and at the time of high floods they overflow their banks. To safeguard people from the ravages of flood, embankments have been erected on their banks where necessary. Around Naraj Bridge, which is approximately from

city there are the following villages: Naraja Marthapur (Local Railway Station), Godi Sahi, Sandhapur, Bidyadharapur, Nua Sahi and Ratagarh. All these villages are rich in ancient heritage. The people of these villages cultivate paddy and vegetables. Some of the villages by the side of the Kathajodi River: Raghunathpur, Matagajapur, Mahura, etc. The famous Hansanath Temple dedicated to Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

is situated near Kathajodi River near Paramahansa famous for Jagar Yatra during

Maha Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...

References

{{Mahanadi Basin Rivers of Odisha Rivers of India