| Vaigai River | |
|---|---|
 Vaigai River inMadurai | |
 Map of Vaigai river | |
| Location | |
| Country | India |
| Districts | Theni Dindigul Madurai Sivagangai Ramanathapuram |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Varusanadu hills |
| • location | Tamil Nadu, India |
| Mouth | |
• location | Palk Bay |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 295 km (183 mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Peranai[1] |
| • average | 28.8 m3/s (1,020 cu ft/s) |
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Vaigai is a semi-perennial river in the Indian state ofTamil Nadu. It flows through the districts ofTheni,Dindigul,Madurai,Sivagangai, andRamanathapuram in the southern part of the state. The city ofMadurai is situated on the banks of the river. The river is 295 km (183 mi) long, with itsdrainage basin spread across 7,009 km2 (2,706 sq mi).
Vaigai originates inVarusanadu Hills of theWestern Ghats, and flows north through theCumbum Valley, between thePalani Hills to the north and the Varusanadu Hills to the south. It rounds the eastern corner of the Varushanad Hills, and turns southeast, running through southern Tamil Nadu. The river empties into thePalk Bay nearAlagankulam in the Ramanathapuram district. During the 20th century, the river basin was extensively developed for irrigation, flood control, and the generation ofhydroelectric power.
There are two etymologies for the name 'Vaigai'. The first is derived from a combination of twoTamil language words 'vai' meaning Earth and 'yai' meaning sky, a reference to the mythology associated with the origin of the river.[2][3] As perKoodal Purana, which details the origin of the Vaigai river flowing throughMadurai,Vishnu took the form ofTrivikrama, with one of his feet rising to theBrahmaloka, the abode ofBrahma in the skies. Brahma washed the raised foot and the water flowed into a rivulet. As the river came from the sky and fell into Earth, it was called as 'Vaiyai', which later became 'Vaigai'.[4] The river is mentioned as such in variousSangam literary works (circa 300 BCE to 300 CE),[5][6][7] such as theParipatal.[4] A large number of banana trees sprang up in the place and it came to be known as Kadhalivana, a forest of banana trees.[2][3] The second etymology is derived from the words 'vai' meaning keep, and 'kai' meaning hand, literally meaning 'the river that brings water when one touches it'.[2][3]
The river is mentioned inSanskrit as 'Kritamala'. Satyavrata, aPandya king, was a staunch devotee of Vishnu. Vishnu emerged from the 'Kritimala' river as a fish (Matsya avatar, one of theavatars of Vishnu) to teach theVedas to the ruler. The Pandyas later adopted the fish as the ensign of the kingdom.[2][3] In the Sanskrit texts, the river is also mentioned asVegavatī.[8]
The Vaigai is a 295 km (183 mi) long semi-perennial river.[9]: 4 The river originates in the eastern slopes of theVarusanadu Hills in theWestern Ghats. It flows northwards for some distance, before it turns eastwards, and then flows roughly southeast till it reaches theBay of Bengal atPalk Bay nearAlagankulam.[9]: 3 The river is at its peak volume during the monsoons, and often ends up dry in the summer.[10]
The tributaries of the Vaigai include Suriliyar, Theniar, Varattar, Nagalar,Varahanadhi,Manjalar, Marudhanadhi, Sirumaliar, Sathaiyar, andUppar.[9]: 3 [11] Suriliyar and Theniar join the river initially before it turns eastwards. Most of the tributaries including Varattar, Nagalar, Varahanadhi, Manjalar, Marudhanadhi, Sirumaliar, and Sathaiyar originate in thePalani andSirumalai Hills and join the river along its course. Uppar originates in the Alagar hills and joins the Vaigai nearManamadurai.[9]: 3
The river has a 7,009 km2 (2,706 sq mi)drainage basin spread across the districts ofTheni,Dindigul,Madurai,Sivagangai, andRamanathapuram[9]: 1 [12] The basin stretches from theWestern Ghats in the west to theBay of Bengal in the east, and is bound by thePeriyar basin in the west,Kaveri and Pambar-Kottakaraiyar basins to the north, andGundar basin in the south. It is about 289–295 km (180–183 mi) long east-to-west and 15–55 km (9.3–34.2 mi) wide north-to-south.[9]: 2
The topography of the Vaigai watershed can be divided into three distinct regions: a western mountainous terrain with valley complexes, a central upland plateau, and an eastern flat coastal plains.[9]: 5 The upper basin in the west lies in the Western Ghats, with elevations reaching up to about 2,600 m (8,500 ft) in the highest hills. Fertile valleys such as theCumbum Valley lie between the hills and form important agricultural lowlands in this region. The middle basin around Madurai is relatively flatter, while the lower basin near Ramanathapuram consists of low-lying coastal plains. Major urban centers in the watershed include the city ofMadurai on the river’s banks, as well as towns likeTheni,Dindigul, andRamanathapuram.[9]: 2 [13]
The soils in the Vaigai basin consists ofred soil in the Cumbum valley and nearby the Vaigai dam. Mixed red and sandy soil is found in select rocky areas.Black soil occurs areas aroundAndipatti, andlateritic soil is found in the slopes of the Palani Hills and north west of Manamadurai. The lower section of the basin predominantly consists ofalluvial soil.[9]: 8
The land within the Vaigai River watershed is utilized for a mix of agriculture, forests, settlements, and other uses. Broadly, the basin's land consists of as one-third agricultural land, one-third forests, and one-third scrub/wasteland, with a small fraction under water bodies or urban areas. Agricultural lands cover 2,359 km2 (911 sq mi) of land area, and includes irrigated wet croplands concentrated in valley areas and near tanks, and dry croplands in the plains. About 30% of the watershed is forested, mainly in the western hilly region, and include medium to dense natural forests, andforest plantations.. A significant portion of the remaining land is classified asscrubland with sparse vegetation. There are many small water bodies in the Vaigai basin including man-made tanks andreservoirs, providing irrigation storage and groundwater recharge. The urban and built-up land occupies about 1–2% of the land area in the basin.[9]: 7
TheVaigai Dam is built across the river inPeriyakulam taluk, in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu.[14] It provides water for irrigation for the six basin districts and theVirudhunagar district through irrigation canals. It is also the source of drinking water for Madurai.[15] An agricultural research station, run by theGovernment of Tamil Nadu, is located near the dam.[16]
TheMullaperiyar Dam, located inPeriyar district in Kerala, was built in 1895 under the supervision ofJohn Pennycuick, based on a plan proposed over a century earlier byPradani Muthirulappa Pillai ofRamnad. An earlier dam was washed away by floods, post which the masonry dam was constructed in 1895.[17] The dam is located on thePeriyar River, and the water from the dam is diverted through Viravanar and Suriliyar to the Vaigai river during the monsoons.[9]: 3
