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| Godavari River: Rivers of Puducherry |
1. Rivers of Karaikal
2. Rivers of Mahe
3. Rivers of Puducherry
4. Rivers of Yanam
1. Rivers of Karaikal
Arasalar River
Arasalar is one of the five distributaries of the Cauvery river. It separates from Cauvery near the entry point of Tanjore from Trichy and empties into the Bay of Bengal while traversing through Karaikal.
Other major rivers that flow through Karaikal are Noolaar, Puravadayanar, Thirumalairajan, Vanjiar, Nandalar, and Nattar River.
There is a 150 years old bridge on Thirumalairajan river. The bridge is also named after the river the Thirumalai Rajan river bridge.
2. Rivers of Mahe
Mahé River
Mahé River, also known as Mayyazhipuzha, flows through Kerala and the coastal exclave of Mahe (Puducherry). It originates in the hills of Wayanad in the Western Ghats. It traverses the length of 54 km before emptying into the Arabian Sea.
It is also known as the English Channel of India as it was used as a marker to separate British India from French India.
3. Rivers of Puducherry
Gingee River
Gingee River originates from western slopes of Gingee Hills in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu. It has two sources, one in the Pakkammalai hills and other in the mountains of Melmalayanur. They meet at Thenpalai village to form the main river. Gingee River is also known as Sankaraparani River or Varahanadi.
Gingee has six tributaries, namely, Annamangalam, Nariyar Odai, Thondiar, Pambaiyar, Pambai, Guduvaiyar
The only distributary of Sankaraparani is Ariyankuppam River that branches near Thirukanchi.
Ponnaiyar River
Ponnaiyar River, also known as Dakshina Pinakini in Kannada and Thenpennai in Tamil, originates near Nandi hills and empties into the Bay of Bengal while flowing through Puducherry.
Guduvaiyar River
Guduvaiyar River, sometimes pronounced as Kuduvaiyar, originates from Valavanur (Tamil Nadu) and meets Gingee River near Chunnabar Bridge at Ariyankuppam. It is a rain-fed river.
4. Rivers of Yanam
Gautami River
Gautami River is the athreya branch of Godavari River flowing from East Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh and emptying into the Bay of Bengal after flowing near 12 km in Yanam. It is also known as Koringa River.
It should be noted that none of these rivers originates in Puducherry.
On the basis of the drainage system, the rivers also can be classified into 1. Rivers that empty into Bay of Bengal and 2. Rivers that empty into the Arabian Sea. In this manners Rivers of Karaikal, Puducherry, and Yanam empties into the Bay of Bengal, and Rivers of Mahe empties into the Arabian Sea.