It has its source on Trikut Hills, about 16 kilometres (10 mi) from Deoghar in Jharkhand state.[1] It flows through Jharkhand and then through the districts of Birbhum and Murshidabad in West Bengal before flowing into the Hooghly River. The river is about 250 kilometres (160 mi) long.[2]
Mayurakshi literally means "peacock eyes" (mayur/mor=peacock, akshi=eye). The comparison is with the beautiful feathers on a peacock's tail. Mayurakshi though named after its crystal clear water of the dry seasons, floods its valley during the monsoons. Even after the construction of the Massanjore dam, it wreaks havoc with its floods, washing away embankments.
Many of the rivers that originate on the Chota Nagpur Plateau, including the Mayurakshi, and flow down into West Bengal are rain fed and have for ages wrought havoc with their seasonal floods. Annual rainfall over the basin varies between 765 and 1,607 millimetres (30 and 63 in) with an average of 1,200 millimetres (47 in) of which 80 percent occurs during the monsoon season from June to September.[3]
Some of the historically important floods in this river were recorded by L.S.S. O'Malley in the Bengal District Gazetteers for the districts of Murshidabad and Birbhum. For the district of Birbhum, O'Malley has noted "in 1787 there was a high flood which it is said, in some places swept off villages, inhabitants and cattle, the crops on the ground, with everything that was moveable." O'Malley also recorded that "in 1806 the Mayurakshi and Ajay had a sudden extraordinary rise and floods washed away whole villages." In September 1902, because of heavy rains the Brahmani and the Mayurakshi overflowed their banks and inundated the surrounding country in some places to the depth of 4 to 6 metres (12 to 20 ft) [4]
From the counterpart rupee fund created through supplies of wheat and other materials from Canada for use in India, Canada devoted those rupees to the further development of the Mayurakshi dam project.[5] The Massanjore dam (also called Canada Dam), across the Mayurakshi, was commissioned in 1955. It was formally inaugurated by Lester B. Pearson, Foreign Minister of Canada.[6] Unfortunately, the Massanjore dam located near Dumka in the state of Jharkhand (erstwhile Bihar) was not allowed to have any flood reserve. Simultaneously with construction of dams the state government in 1956, selectively took over flood control embankments till then maintained by the landlords or local bodies.[4] Massanjore dam is about 38 kilometres (24 mi) upstream from Siuri in West Bengal. It is 47 metres (155 ft) high from its base and is 660 metres (2,170 ft) long. The reservoir has an area of 67.4 square kilometres (16,650 acres) when full and has a storage capacity of 617,000,000 cubic metres (500,210 acre⋅ft). It had cost Rs. 16.10 crore.[2]
Tilpara Barrage
Tilpara Barrage near Suri
Apart from the Massanjore Dam there is a barrage, some 32 kilometres (20 mi) downstream, at Tilpara, near Suri. The barrage is 309 metres (1,013 ft) long and had cost Rs. 1.11 crore.[2]
Since 1960
In the four decades between 1960 and 2000 only five years could be identified as flood-free years, when only less than 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) of area were inundated. After major floods in 1978, West Bengal suffered consecutively in 1998, 1999 and 2000. In 1978, seventy two hours of continuous and concentrated rainfall over the western river basin areas of the Bhagirathi viz. from the Pagla-Bansloi to the Ajay, generated so huge flood volume that all embankments on the eastern side of the Bhagirathi were almost washed away and the whole of Nadia district, a larger part of Murshidabad district and northern areas of North 24 Parganas district were flooded and remained underwater for a long time.[4][7] Construction of embankments is the only structural measure available for the provision of relief to the people. Major embankments line long stretches of such rivers as Mayurakshi, Dwarka, Brahmani and Ajay [4][8]
Irrigation and power
Massanjore dam has ensured irrigation of some 2,400 square kilometres (600,000 acres) of land with an estimated resultant increased yield of approximately 400,000 tons of food annually [9] and generation of 2,000 kW of electric power.[10]
^. Baidyanathdham (Deoghar). India Tourism. Archived from the original on 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
^ abcSelim. Mohammad, Irrigation Projects in Birbhum District, published in Paschim Banga, February 2006, (in Bengali), Birbhum special issue, Govt. of West Bengal, p 168-169
^The reference is actually about the Damodar basin which is adjacent to the Mayurakshi basin and has similar climatic conditions. . Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
^ abcdRay, Chandan. . UNESCAP. Archived from the original on 2006-07-16. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
^Cavell, Nik. "Canada and the Colombo Plan". Empire Club address. The Empire Club of Canada. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
^. Bengal. The Statesman 27 September 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
^. Bengal Plus. The Statesman 14 July 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
^Claxton, Brooke. "Documents on Canadian External Relations". Cabinet Document No. 40-54. Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada. Archived from the original on 2007-02-23. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
^. National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original on 2007-02-06. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
^. West Bengal Tourism. Archived from the original on November 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
External links
Tilpara satellite view – Mayurakshi river is against the blue arrow - by moving the map, almost the entire course of the river can be traced.
March 24, 2023
mayurakshi, river, also, called, river, major, river, jharkhand, west, bengal, india, with, long, history, devastating, floods, river, upper, reacheslocationcountryindiastatejharkhand, west, bengalcitiesdumka, suri, sainthia, bhandirbanphysical, characteristic. Mayurakshi River also called Mor River is a major river in Jharkhand and West Bengal India with a long history of devastating floods Mayurakshi RiverMor RiverMayurakshi River in its upper reachesLocationCountryIndiaStateJharkhand West BengalCitiesDumka Suri Sainthia BhandirbanPhysical characteristicsSourceTrikut Hill locationDeoghar Jharkhand coordinates24 29 00 N 86 42 0 E 24 48333 N 86 70000 E 24 48333 86 70000Length250 km 160 mi Discharge locationHooghly RiverBasin featuresTributaries rightKopai Brahmani Dwaraka BakreshwarMayurakshi River in Dumka district It has its source on Trikut Hills about 16 kilometres 10 mi from Deoghar in Jharkhand state 1 It flows through Jharkhand and then through the districts of Birbhum and Murshidabad in West Bengal before flowing into the Hooghly River The river is about 250 kilometres 160 mi long 2 Mayurakshi literally means peacock eyes mayur mor peacock akshi eye The comparison is with the beautiful feathers on a peacock s tail Mayurakshi though named after its crystal clear water of the dry seasons floods its valley during the monsoons Even after the construction of the Massanjore dam it wreaks havoc with its floods washing away embankments Contents 1 Floods and their control 1 1 Massanjore Dam 1 2 Tilpara Barrage 1 3 Since 1960 2 Irrigation and power 3 Tributaries 4 References 5 External linksFloods and their control EditMany of the rivers that originate on the Chota Nagpur Plateau including the Mayurakshi and flow down into West Bengal are rain fed and have for ages wrought havoc with their seasonal floods Annual rainfall over the basin varies between 765 and 1 607 millimetres 30 and 63 in with an average of 1 200 millimetres 47 in of which 80 percent occurs during the monsoon season from June to September 3 Some of the historically important floods in this river were recorded by L S S O Malley in the Bengal District Gazetteers for the districts of Murshidabad and Birbhum For the district of Birbhum O Malley has noted in 1787 there was a high flood which it is said in some places swept off villages inhabitants and cattle the crops on the ground with everything that was moveable O Malley also recorded that in 1806 the Mayurakshi and Ajay had a sudden extraordinary rise and floods washed away whole villages In September 1902 because of heavy rains the Brahmani and the Mayurakshi overflowed their banks and inundated the surrounding country in some places to the depth of 4 to 6 metres 12 to 20 ft 4 Massanjore Dam Edit Massanjore Dam at Dumka From the counterpart rupee fund created through supplies of wheat and other materials from Canada for use in India Canada devoted those rupees to the further development of the Mayurakshi dam project 5 The Massanjore dam also called Canada Dam across the Mayurakshi was commissioned in 1955 It was formally inaugurated by Lester B Pearson Foreign Minister of Canada 6 Unfortunately the Massanjore dam located near Dumka in the state of Jharkhand erstwhile Bihar was not allowed to have any flood reserve Simultaneously with construction of dams the state government in 1956 selectively took over flood control embankments till then maintained by the landlords or local bodies 4 Massanjore dam is about 38 kilometres 24 mi upstream from Siuri in West Bengal It is 47 metres 155 ft high from its base and is 660 metres 2 170 ft long The reservoir has an area of 67 4 square kilometres 16 650 acres when full and has a storage capacity of 617 000 000 cubic metres 500 210 acre ft It had cost Rs 16 10 crore 2 Tilpara Barrage Edit Tilpara Barrage near Suri Apart from the Massanjore Dam there is a barrage some 32 kilometres 20 mi downstream at Tilpara near Suri The barrage is 309 metres 1 013 ft long and had cost Rs 1 11 crore 2 Since 1960 Edit In the four decades between 1960 and 2000 only five years could be identified as flood free years when only less than 500 square kilometres 190 sq mi of area were inundated After major floods in 1978 West Bengal suffered consecutively in 1998 1999 and 2000 In 1978 seventy two hours of continuous and concentrated rainfall over the western river basin areas of the Bhagirathi viz from the Pagla Bansloi to the Ajay generated so huge flood volume that all embankments on the eastern side of the Bhagirathi were almost washed away and the whole of Nadia district a larger part of Murshidabad district and northern areas of North 24 Parganas district were flooded and remained underwater for a long time 4 7 Construction of embankments is the only structural measure available for the provision of relief to the people Major embankments line long stretches of such rivers as Mayurakshi Dwarka Brahmani and Ajay 4 8 Irrigation and power EditMassanjore dam has ensured irrigation of some 2 400 square kilometres 600 000 acres of land with an estimated resultant increased yield of approximately 400 000 tons of food annually 9 and generation of 2 000 kW of electric power 10 Tributaries EditThe Mayurakshi is fed by tributaries Brahmani Dwaraka Bakreshwar and Kopai 11 References Edit Incredible India Baidyanathdham Deoghar India Tourism Archived from the original on 2007 01 11 Retrieved 2007 02 19 a b c Selim Mohammad Irrigation Projects in Birbhum District published in Paschim Banga February 2006 in Bengali Birbhum special issue Govt of West Bengal p 168 169 The reference is actually about the Damodar basin which is adjacent to the Mayurakshi basin and has similar climatic conditions About the Region Archived from the original on 2007 09 27 Retrieved 2008 05 25 a b c d Ray Chandan Floods and Role of the People Perspective of West Bengal UNESCAP Archived from the original on 2006 07 16 Retrieved 2007 02 19 Cavell Nik Canada and the Colombo Plan Empire Club address The Empire Club of Canada Retrieved 2007 02 19 Canada Dam The Hindu 3 November 2005 Flood situation improves Bengal The Statesman 27 September 2006 Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 Retrieved 2007 02 19 Flood fear stalks rural Birbhum Bengal Plus The Statesman 14 July 2004 Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 Retrieved 2007 02 19 Claxton Brooke Documents on Canadian External Relations Cabinet Document No 40 54 Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada Archived from the original on 2007 02 23 Retrieved 2007 02 19 Birbhhum National Informatics Centre Archived from the original on 2007 02 06 Retrieved 2007 02 19 Rivers West Bengal Tourism Archived from the original on November 9 2009 Retrieved 2009 02 14 External links EditTilpara satellite view Mayurakshi river is against the blue arrow by moving the map almost the entire course of the river can be traced Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mayurakshi River amp oldid 1141259299, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
