Mahé River (also known as Mayyazhipuzha or the English Channel of India) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

. It flows through the

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 ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

and the coastal exclave of Mahé in

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

The flow of the river

The Mahé River originates in the slopes of the Western Ghats part of the

Wayanad district Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

. Initially the river flows through the hilly eastern towns of the

Kozhikode district Kozhikode (), or Calicut district, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its Southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The district is 67.15% urbanised. ...

like Vilangad,

Vanimel Vanimal or Vanimel is a village located in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, India. Bhoomivathukkal is the current business center of Vanimal village and Vayalpeedika is the Heritage city which was the main commercial hub during 1970-'90. The P ...

, Jathiyeri, Perod and

Nadapuram Nadapuram is a census town and a special grade Panchayath located in Kozhikode District of Kerala, coming under Nadapuram assembly constituency. It is in North Malabar region of Kerala, India; spread over an area of 20.44 km2 Awards Nadapur ...

. Then the river enters into the Malabar plains where it flows through several towns namely, Parakkadavu, Kadavathur, Peringathur,

Eramala Eramala is a village in Kozhikode district, Kerala, India. The village is also home to a popular annual celebration called Orkkatteri Chantha. Demographics India census, Eramala had a population of 32,151 with 15,069 males and 17,082 females ...

, Kunnumkara, Kariyad and Peringandi. Then the river flows through the northern boundary of the Union Territory of Mahé and empties into the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

Economy

The influence on the economy of the region traversed by the river is very little. The river has been used for inland navigation and transportation of articles from interior villages to Mahé and back, in olden days. The government of Puducherry has planned to build a fishing

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

at the estuary of the river. However owing to technical reasons the harbour, which is under construction, is on the beach adjacent to the estuary. To enhance tourist potential of Mahé a Riverside Walkway, originating from the Water Sports Complex at Manjakkal, Mahé, on the banks of the river stretching out to the breakwater of the ishing Harbours also being built by the government of Puducherry.

Trivia

M. Mukundan Maniyambath Mukundan, (born 10 September 1942) commonly known as M. Mukundan, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Many of his early works are set in Mahé (Mayyazhi) which has earned him the moniker, ''Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran''. He is ...

's magnum opus novel ''

Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil ''Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil'' () is a Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali peo ...

'' (P. 1974 ;

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

for "On the banks of the Mahé River"), celebrates this river. Mayyazhi river known as the "English channel" in India during the period of British rule, because it separated British-ruled Tellicherry from French-ruled Mahé. It is the most polluted river in God's Own Country.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahe River Rivers of Kannur district Rivers of Puducherry Rivers of Kozhikode district Rivers of Wayanad district Rivers of the Western Ghats Rivers of India

The flow of the river

Economy

Trivia

See also

References

External links