Penna River:
Eighteen youngsters stranded in the floodwaters of the Penna River in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh recently were rescued after a seven-hour operation.
- The Penna River, also known as Pennar, Pinakini, or Penneru, is a river in southern India that flows through the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
- It rises in the Nandi Hills, an upland region on the Deccan plateau, in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district.
- It flows north into Andhra Pradesh state and turns east and then southeast.
- After passage through a gap in the Eastern Ghats range, it again bends east toward the Coromandel Coast, emptying into the Bay of Bengal near the Nellore district.
- It has a total length of about 597 km.
- The river basin lies in the rain shadow region of the Eastern Ghats.
- The river is seasonal, becoming a torrent after the rains and a thin stream during dry periods.
- The Penna River has several tributaries, most of which are seasonal.
- Major ones include the Chitravati, Papagni, Cheyyeru, and Kunderu
- The Penna River is crucial to agriculture in parts of Andhra Pradesh, particularly the drought-stricken Rayalaseema region.
- Several irrigation projects, such as the Somasila, Mylavaram, and Gandikota projects, have been constructed to use the river’s waters for farming and drinking purposes.
