TheChitravathi is an inter-state river insouthern India that is atributary of thePenna River. Rising inKarnataka, it flows intoAndhra Pradesh and its basin covers an area of over 5,900 km2. The pilgrim town ofPuttaparthi is located on its banks.
Chitravathi river originates atChikkaballapur and flows through theChikkaballapur district of Karnataka before entering Andhra Pradesh where it drains the districts ofAnantapur andCuddapah before joining thePenna river.[1] The Chitravathi river basin covers an area of 5,908 km2.[2] The mandals that it drains in the two states areBagepalli,Gorantla,Hindupur,Puttaparthi,Bukkapatnam,Dharmavaram,Tadipatri andMudigubba.[3] The river joins the Penna atGandikota in Kadapa district where the Gandikota irrigation project is being undertaken by theGovernment of Andhra Pradesh as part of itsJalayagnam project.[4][5] Chitravathi is a seasonal river that comes alive after themonsoons.[6] Along with thePapagni, it forms a part of the middle Penna sub-basin and is a right bank tributary of thePenna.[7]
The proposal to build abarrage at Paragodu by theGovernment of Karnataka 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.[6][8][9]
Sand mining, much of itillegal, is rampant in the Chitravathi basin and this has resulted in severedepletion of groundwater resources in the region.[10]
Chitravathi is also known as theDeva Kanya and it flows through the pilgrim town of Puttaparthi, the place of Indian spiritual leaderSathya Sai Baba. It is considered sacred by many people on account of its association with Sathya Sai Baba.[1][11]
14°09′31″N77°49′04″E / 14.15861°N 77.81778°E /14.15861; 77.81778