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| Rushikulya River | |
|---|---|
 The Rushikulya River | |
 | |
| Etymology | FromOdia |
| Native name | ଋଷିକୁଲ୍ୟା ନଦୀ (Odia) |
| Location | |
| Country | India |
| Parts | Odisha |
| Administrative areas | Kandhamal,Ganjam |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Daringbadi,Kandhamal,Odisha,India |
| • coordinates | 19°04′N84°01′E / 19.07°N 84.01°E /19.07; 84.01 |
| Mouth | Puruna Bandha,bay of Bengal |
• location | Chhatrapur,Ganjam,Odisha,India |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 165 km (103 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Baghua, Dhanei, Badanadi |
| • right | Ghodahada |
TheRushikulya River is one of the major rivers inOdisha and covers the entire catchment area in the districts ofKandhamal andGanjam of Odisha. The Rushikulya originates about 1000 metres from the Rushimala Hills part of theDaringbadi hills of theEastern Ghats range.Daringbadi, where the river originates, is called the 'Kashmir ofOdisha '. The river lies within the geographical coordinates of 19.07 to 20.19 north latitude and 84.01 to 85.06 east longitude. It meets theBay of Bengal at Puruna Bandha in Ganjam. Its tributaries are the Baghua, the Dhanei, the Badanadi, etc. It has no delta as such at its mouth.
The river flows from theDaringbadi hill station in theKandhamal district. In theGanjam district, it flows throughSurada,Dharakote,Asika, Pitala,Purusottampur,Taratarini, Pratappur,Alladigam,Brahmapur,Ganjam, and theChhatrapur block. The river is 165 km long and has a total catchment area of 7700 km2. The mean monthly flow rate is estimated to be 89.64 cumecs during the 1992-93 periodunder the Daily rainfall-runoff modelling of Rushikulya river, Orissa.
In 1993, biologists from the Odisha Forest Department and theWildlife Institute of India learned that large-scale nesting ofolive ridley sea turtles took place near the mouth of the Rushikulya River. This area is the location of one of the largest mass nesting (arribada) sites of olive ridley sea turtles in India.[1] The villages near the mouth are Pali Bandha, Puruna Bandha, Gokhara Kuda, and Kantia Pada, where one can find the nesting sites of the olive ridley turtles. These are fishermen's villages.
Brahmapur is situated in the basin; other important towns areChhatrapur,Ganjam,Aska,Bhanjanagar,Bellaguntha, andSurada.
Several large-scale industries have been set up in the basin. Among them are Grasim Industries Ltd-Ganjam Chemical Division (formerly Jayashree Chemical Ltd). Aska Co-operative Sugar Industries Ltd. Nuagam, Aska Spinning Mills, Monorama Chemical Works Ltd., Orissa Tubes Pvt. Ltd., etc. There are about 3360 small-scale industries of different categories, mainly food and allied, forest & wood-based, rubber and plastic products, andglass andceramics. There is enough scope for setting up forest-based industries. The basin is rich in mineral wealth. The major economic minerals areclay, limestone, manganese, sand talc, black sand, and grinding materials.
