The Pench River is an Indian tributary of the

Kanhan River The Kanhan River is an important right bank tributary of the Wainganga River draining a large area lying south of Satpura range in central India. Along its 275 km run through the Indian States of Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh, it receives its ...

. It originates in the Chhindwara district of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and flows across Pench National Park, which is a reserve for the Tiger Project of India. The two big dams of the Pench River supply water to the city of

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

and to the big thermal power plant located there. Machagora Pench dam supply the water to Seoni district and Chhindwara district for agriculture through irrigation canels.

Pench National Park

The river separates Pench National Park into two halves, east and west Pench. The Pench Tiger Reserve derives its name after the Pench River, which flows from north to south across the reserve. The reserve is situated on the south of the Satpura Hill Ranges in the Seoni District and Chhindwara District in the

state of India. The topography is undulating, with most of the area enclosed by small hill ranges and abrupt slopes on all the sides. The Pench river flowing through the centre of the Reserve is usually dry by April, but a number of water pools, locally known as ''dohs'', are found along the course of the river. These serve as waterholes for wild animals. A few perennial springs also exist in the region. Recently, a number of earthen ponds and shallow wells have been created, providing well-distributed sources of water across the reserve.

Dam

The hydroelectric Totladoh Dam on the Pench River was the first interstate project of Maharashtra. It is located in the Pench National Park. The next big dam is Kamthikhairy Dam near just downstream of the Totladoh Dam the town of Navegaon Khairy located in Parseoni Taluka. More than 70% of the drinking water in

is supplied from the dams. The Pench right canal is made up of combination of concrete lining and

Bituminous geomembrane Bituminous geomembrane (BGM) is a type of geomembrane consisting of a reinforcing geotextile to provide mechanical strength and elastomeric bitumen (often called asphalt in American English, U.S.) to provide impermeability. Other components such ...

lining in select areas to limit seepage. It supplies water to Nagpur, the Koradi Thermal Power Station, and the

Khaparkheda Thermal Power Station Khaparkheda Thermal Power Station is located in Khaperkheda Town Nagpur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsu ...

, and the rest of the water is use for irrigation in Parseoni taluka, Kalmeshwar taluka, Saoner taluka, Kamthi taluka, and rural Nagpur. The Pench left canal irrigates Parseoni taluka, Ramtek taluka, and Mauda taluka and provides water for the NTPC

Mauda Super Thermal Power Station Mauda Super Thermal Power Station or NTPC Mauda is located at Mauda a Tehsil in Ramtek subdivision of Nagpur district in Nagpur revenue Division in the Berar region in the state of Maharashtra, India. The power plant is one of the coal based pow ...

and other industrial purposes.

References

{{Godavari basin Rivers of Maharashtra Rivers of Madhya Pradesh Rivers of Nagpur District Tributaries of the Godavari River