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Context

• The Odisha government has roped in IIT, Guwahati, for a physical and mathematical modeling study for the rejuvenation of the Brahmani River Delta.

About

• It is a major inter-state east-flowing river amongst the peninsular rivers in India.
• The river is known as Dhamra in its lower reaches.
• It is formed by the confluence of the Sankh and South Koel rivers near the major industrial town of Rourkela in Odisha.
• Both the sources of the Brahmani River are on the Chota Nagpur Plateau.
• The Sankh River has its origins near the Jharkhand- Chhattisgarh border, along with the South Koel River, which also rises in Jharkhand.
• The Brahmani River basin is bounded in the north by the Chhotanagpur plateau, in the west and south by the Mahanadi basin, and in the east by the Bay of Bengal.
• It is one of the few rivers that cut across the Eastern Ghats and has formed a minor gorge at Rengali in Odisha, where a dam has been built.
• The basin flows through Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Orissa States, draining a total area of 39,033 sq. before it outfalls into the Bay of Bengal.
• It winds generally south-southeast past Bonaigarh and Talcher in Odisha and then turns east to join the northern branches of the Mahanadi River, which then empties into the Bay of Bengal at Palmyras Point.
• The Brahmani delta that is formed at this point is the site of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, famous for its estuarine crocodiles.
• The total length of its run is about 799 km, of which 541 km are in Odisha itself.
• The principal tributaries of this river are Sankh, Tikra, and Karo.

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