Rivers in India

Arkavathi River – Originates in Nandi Hills and Joins River Kaveri

Arkavathi River is one of the important rivers and tributaries to the Kaveri river that originates from the mountain. It is the tributary of the Kaveri River which joins near Kanakapura, Ramnagar District, Karnataka. It flows down Ramanagara and Kanakapura and later joins the Kaveri River.

Arkavathi River Information


  • Name of the river: Arkavati
  • Location: Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Ramanagara
  • Origin: Nandi Hills, Chikkballapura
  • Length: 190 km

The course of the River


Arkavati River originates in Nandi Hills located in Chikballapur District and flows down to Ramanagara and Kanakapura and drains into Chikkarayappanahalli Lake near Kanivenarayanapura. 34kms down Kanakapura in the Ramanagara District the river drains into Kaveri River. Arkavati River is one of the important tributaries to Kaveri River and it has 3 major tributaries namely, Kumudavathi, Suvarnamukhi, and Vrishabhavathi.

The river Arkavati is important to Bangalore City as it the major source of drinking water. Water from this river drains into 2 reservoirs namely Hesaraghatta and Tippagondanahalli. A 3rd dam was built to store this river water namely the Manchanabele dam and the water from Hesaraghatta and Tippagondanahalli reservoirs are being used by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to meet drinking water for Bangalore urban population.

Planning of Water Resource


In the early 1890s when Bangalore had a population of around 180,000 the dewan of Mysore Kingdom decided to constructed a dedicated water source for the city and constructed Chamarajendra Waterworks at Hesaraghatta.

This was meant to be a source of water for up to 250,000 people, however, by 1918, the population of the city touched 250,000 which prompted the Sir M Visvesvaraya committee to construct another reservoir to supply water to the Bangalore population. But the stage was designed to supply water for up to 300,000 people however this was also not sufficient which the government resorted to Kaveri River to supply drinking water to the city.

Decline and Revival


In the 1980s when Bangalore was urbanizing rapidly there was a demand for drinking water and due to population, the firewood demand went up and the forestry department distributed free eucalyptus trees.

These trees grew rapidly, however, these required sever water which drained groundwater and thus severely affecting the water flow and plans were made rejuvenate the river and in 2005, the Arkavathy-Kumudvati River Rejuvenation Committee was formed to rejuvenate the river.

However, BWSSB attempted to purify the river water by increasing the dissolved oxygen level and planting a series of plants to remove pollutants and reduce sewage inflow to the river.

[ Also Checkout: Rivers in Karnataka with Images ]

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