Rushikulya
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Rushikulya
River in Ganjam District, Madras. It rises in the Rushimalo hill (from which it takes its name), near Danngabadi in the Chinnakimedi Maliahs, in 19 55' N. and 84 8' E., and runs south-east to Aska and thence south-east and east into the Bay of Bengal at Ganjam town, in 19 22' N and 85 4' E Its length is about 115 miles, and the towns on its banks are Surada, Aska, Puru- shottapur, and Ganjam It is spanned at Aska by a fine masonry bridge of nineteen arches It is joined by the Pathama near Surada, by the Bhaguva in Dharakota estate, by the Mahanadi at Aska, and by the Godahaddo in the Beihampui tahtk. The river dries up in the hot season
At Aska and at Pratapuram near Purushottapur, where its channel turns northwards for a short distance, a large festival is held every year in Febiuary or March, when thousands of people bathe in its waters The river is utilized for irrigation by means of a series of works known collectively as the Rushikulya Project, This was begun in 1884, has already cost 48 lakhs, and is still being extended. It renders the water of the Rushikulya and its tributary, the Mahanadl, available for cultivation in the Berhampur taluk and one corner of Goomsur. The main dam across the Rushikulya is at Jannimilh, between Surada and Aska, above the junction with the Mahanadl. Its catchment at this point is 650 square miles To intercept flood-water which would otherwise run to waste, a tributary has been dammed higher up and a reservoir formed at Surada, from which a supply can be let down to the Jannimilh dam. The Mahanadl has been treated in the same way, there being a dam at Madhavaborida, 6 miles below Russellkonda. Its catchment at this point is 870 square miles. A subsidiary reservoir, fed by dams across two tributaries of the Mahanadl, has been formed just above Russellkonda. From the Madhavaborida dam a channel 20 miles long, called the Mahanadl canal, runs through a comer of the Goomsur taluk (irrigating 6,500 acres) into the Rushikulya above the Jannimilh dam, and thus still further increases the supply available there. From the Jannimilli dam the main Rushikulya canal, 54 miles long, runs south through several zamlnddns and on into the Berhampur taluk. It has sixteen distributaries, with an aggregate length of 136 miles. The cultivable area commanded by the project is 142,000 acres (of which 106,000 are in the Berhampur taluk\ and the extent at present irrigable is 102,000 acres In 1903-4, 90,000 acres of first crop were watered by it and 1,000 acres of second crop. There is seldom sufficient water /or much second crop. The gross and net revenue earned m 1903-4 was Rs. 97,000 and Rs. 35,000. The project is technically classed as protective and not productive (it is the only work so classed in the Presidency), and is not remunera- tive, the profits on the capital outlay being at present only 0-71 per cent. Neither the river nor the canals are used for navigation. It is under contemplation to construct another reservoir at Pattupilr, by damming the Godahaddo river, to supplement the supply avail- able.
