Chitravathi River, Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, India

Chitravati Balancing Reservoir at parnapalli

The Chitravathi is an inter-state river in

southern 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 territ ...

that is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

of the Penna River. Rising in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

, it flows into

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 t ...

and its basin covers an area of over 5,900 km². The pilgrim town of

Puttaparthi Puttaparthi ( IAST: ''Puṭṭaparthy'') is a municipality and district headquarters of Sri Sathya Sai district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Puttaparthi mandal of Puttaparthi revenue division. The original name of Put ...

is located on its banks.

Course

Chitravathi river originates at Chikkaballapur and flows through the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka before entering Andhra Pradesh where it drains the districts of Anantapur and Cuddapah before joining the Penna. The Chitravathi river basin covers an area of 5,908 km². The mandals that it drains in the two states are Bagepalli, Gorantla, Hindupur,

, Bukkapatnam, Dharmavaram, Tadipatri and Mudigubba. The river joins the Penna at Gandikota in Kadapa district where the Gandikota irrigation project is being undertaken by the

Government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as, GOAP, or, Andhra Government, is the subnational government for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is an elected government with 175 MLAs elected to the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh f ...

as part of its Jalayagnam project. Chitravathi is a seasonal river that comes alive after the

monsoons A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

. Along with the Papagni, it forms a part of the middle Penna sub-basin and is a right bank tributary of the Penna. Chitravati Balancing Reservoir at parnapalli on 15th January 2018

Chitravati Balancing Reservoir at parnapalli on 15th January 2018

Paragodu project

The proposal to build a barrage at Paragodu by the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

has been opposed by politicians from Andhra Pradesh who argue that the move is likely to affect the availability of water for the various tank irrigation projects that exist in the Andhra districts.

Ecological issues

Sand mining Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in concr ...

, much of it

illegal Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body. Illegal may also refer to: Law * Violation of law * Crime, the practice of breaking the cr ...

, is rampant in the Chitravathi basin and this has resulted in severe

depletion of groundwater Overdrafting is the process of extracting groundwater beyond the equilibrium yield of an aquifer. Groundwater is one of the largest sources of fresh water and is found underground. Groundwater depletion is comparable to a bank account in which mor ...

resources in the region.

Religious significance

Chitravathi is also known as the ''Deva Kanya'' and it flows through the pilgrim town of Puttaparthi, the place of Indian spiritual leader

Sathya Sai Baba Sathya Sai Baba (born Ratnakaram Sathyanarayana Raju; 23 November 192624 April 2011) was an Indian guru. At the age of fourteen he claimed that he was the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, and left his home to serve his devotees. Sai Baba's ...

. It is considered sacred by many people on account of its association with Sathya Sai Baba.

References

{{Hydrography of Andhra Pradesh Rivers of Andhra Pradesh Rivers of Karnataka Penner River Geography of Chikkaballapur district Geography of Kadapa district Geography of Anantapur district Rivers of India