The Khandadhar Falls is located at Nandapani,

Bonaigarh Bonaigarh, also locally known as Bonai, is a subdivision of Sundergarh district of the Indian state of Odisha. It is 162 km east of the district headquarters in Sundargarh. It is a sub-divisional headquarter. The town is surrounded by the ...

Sundargarh Sundergarh is a town in Sundergarh district of the Indian state of Odisha. As of 2011 2011 Census of India, census, the municipality had a population of 45,036. Sundargarh is recognized as an industrial district in Odisha. Steel, fertilizer, ce ...

district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

. It is the 9th highest waterfall in India and second highest waterfall in Odisha after

Barehipani Falls Barehipani Falls is a two tiered waterfall located in Simlipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is one of the highest waterfalls in India. Location The waterfall is situated at 21.932759N 86.380145E on the B ...

Mayurbhanj Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in Odisha state in eastern India. It is the largest district of Odisha by area. Its headquarters are at Baripada. Other major towns are Rairangpur, Karanjia and Udala. , it is the third-most-popu ...

Location

The Khandadhar Falls is from

Rourkela Rourkela is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about west of state capital Bhubaneswar and is surro ...

via

, and from

Kendujhar Kendujhar is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha. Climate Politics Mohan char ...

The falls

It looks like a sword that's why it named as khanda(sword) dhara

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

. The Korapani Nala, a small stream, plunges from a height of in a single drop. Khandhadhar Falls

Legend

There is an interesting legend amongst the Pauri Bhuiya tribals who inhabit the area around Khandadhar. The legend is reproduced from

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: “A Pauri Bhuiya legend speaks of how their mountains came to be so munificent. The Sundergarh branch of the community was once possessed by a rapacious goddess named Kankala Devi, who consumed trees, soil and everything else. In despair, the Pauri Bhuiya placed her on a rock, which she ate through as well—creating a deep hole from which poured out the Khandadhara (split-rock waterfall). So they had water. Then a couple from the community went to visit relatives at the eastern, or

Keonjhar Kendujhar is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha. Climate Politics Mohan char ...

, end of the Khandadhar mountain range. Their prospective hosts were away but a pile of

grains A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legume ...

had been left outdoors and, amazingly, not even the birds were eating it. Inside the heap, the couple discovered a small goddess, Kanta Kumari, protector of the region’s prosperity. They stole her and brought her back to Sundergarh, and so her bounty became theirs.”

Impact of mining

The Kalinga Commercial Corporation Limited operates the Kurmitar mine on the Khandadhar hill range spread over 133 hectares. It exports

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

manganese ore Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. The diversion of a mountaintop stream has resulted in partial drying up of the Khandadhara Falls. The state owned Odisha Mineral Corporation has mines in the area spread over 1,212.hectares. It has signed agreements with Adhunik Metaliks and Rexon Strips for supply of iron ore. Odisha government intends to lease out 2,500 hectares to

POSCO India POSCO India Private Limited (commonly POSCO India or Posco-India) is an Indian subsidiary of Korean conglomerate POSCO. Its parent company POSCO signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2005 with the state government of Odisha to construct a ...

. There has been protests locally and the matter has gone to court. As of 2012 court judgement is awaited.

References

External links