Cheyyeru River

Cheyyeru river is a river in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh that is a tributary of the Pennar river.

Cheyyeru River has Nandalur Buddhist site on its bank

Course

The Cheyyeru is formed by the confluence of the rivers Bahuda and Puncha that originate in Andhra Pradesh. The two streams join at Rayavaram to form the Cheyyeru which then flows for 87 km before joining the Pennar as a right bank tributary at Gundlamada in the Sidhout taluk of Kadapa district, draining a total area of 7,325 km².^[1][2] The Gunjana river is a tributary of the Cheyyeru and along the Gunjana valley several paleolithic settlements have been discovered.^[3] There are several gorges on the river including one after the confluence of its headstreams and the Balarajupalle gorge.^[2][4] The Cheyair series of rocks in the Cudappah rock system of the Eastern Ghats, consisting largely of shales, is named after the Cheyyeru river.^[5][6]

Waterworks

The Cheyyeru project comprising the 409 metre long Annamayya earthen dam that provides irrigation facilities to its catchment zone is on this river in the Rajampet mandal of Kadapa district.^[7][8][9] The Togurpet project, also in the Kadapa district, is also on the Cheyyeru and was completed during the Fourth Five-Year Plan period.^[10] Percolation tanks have been developed on the river at Nandalur to augment irrigation facilities in Kadapa.^[11]

Important places

Attirala is a temple town on the Cheyyeru that is associated with several myths. It is believed that the sage Parasurama did penance for his sin of matricide here and that Likhita, the brother of the sage Sankha had his severed hands restored to him after bathing in the river. Attirala houses a Parasurama temple and temples dedicated to Gadadhara and Treteshwara. Many members of the transgender community visit Attirala to pray for their rebirth as regular human beings and to atone for their sins.^[12]

References

1. Jain, Ajit Prasad (1972). Report of the Irrigation Commission, 1972. New Delhi: Ministry of Irrigation and Power. p. 243.
2. RAO, S.S. JAVA (1985). DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK CUDDAPAH. GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH.
3. Kennedy, Kenneth A. R. (2000). God-Apes and Fossil Men: Paleoanthropology of South Asia. University of Michigan Press. p. 170. ISBN 0472110136.
4. Spate, Oskar Hermann Khristian (1967). India and Pakistan: a general and regional geography. Methuen. p. 721. ISBN 978-0-416-42550-5.
5. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, Volume 51, Part 1. Governor-General of India. 1926. p. 56.
6. Krishnan, Maharajapuram Sitaram (1968). Geology of India and Burma. Higginbothams. p. 164. ISBN 9780800214579.
7. "Salient Feature of Cheyyeru / Annamayya Project". Water Resources Information System of India. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
8. "Annamayya Dam gates washed out" (PDF). Dams, Rivers & People. 1 (12): 8. January–February 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
9. State Administration Report. Government of Andhra Pradesh. 1983. p. 205.
10. Reddy, Y. Venugopal (1971). Planning and development of backward regions--a case study of Rayalaseema: proceedings of seminar held from 13th to 15th March 1970. Planning and Co-operation Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 330.
11. "Collector releases irrigation water". The Hindu. 5 February 2006. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
12. "Abode of gods". Frontline. 24 (25). 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2013.

14°26′N 79°10′E