North Koel River

Course

The North Koel rises on the Chhota Nagpur plateau and enters Latehar district, below Netarhat near Rud. After flowing nearly due west for about 20 mi, it turns north at an almost complete right angle through a gorge at Kutku, and flows through the centre of the district until it falls into the Son a few miles north-west of Haidarnagar.

From its source to its junction with the Son its length is about 260 km, and since it drains a catchment area of at least 3500 sqmi, it naturally contributes a large supply of water to the Son during the rains; at other times the stream is not deep enough to enable cargo boats of even small dimensions to make their way up to Daltonganj. In many places the reaches of this river present scene of great beauty and sometimes even of grandeur, such as the rocky bed and rapids north of Hutar and the gorge at Kutku.

Mention may be made of the metamorphic rocks which form the watershed between the North Koel and the Damodar to the west of the Chandwa-Balumath road.

The North Koel, along with its tributaries, meanders through the northern part of Betla National Park.

Tributaries

The principal tributaries are the Auranga and the Amanat, both of which join it from the east, the former at Kechki, 10 mi south and the latter 5 mi north of Daltonganj.

North Koel Project

The North Koel project is being implemented at Mandal near Kutku. The project has a 64.82 m high dam, from which water will be released for picking up by the Mohammadganj Barrage and Indrapuri Barrage. This Dam will be known as Kutku Dam. Hydro-electric power generation would be 2 x 12 MW. The construction of the dam was started in 1972 but halted in 1993 as it did not receive environmental clearance as the dam falls inside the Palamu Tiger Reserve.

In November 2018, the environment ministry gave the approval and environmental clearance for construction of the dam. The dam will flood 11,000 hectares of forest land of Palamu Tiger Reserve and seven villages. On 5 January 2019, the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone for construction. In 2023, the Central government hiked its share of project costs for completion of the project. The villages were received compensation during starting of the project. But villagers again demanded compensation and rehabilitation of affected families. In 2023, construction of the dam was halted due to disagreement between the government and villagers on the issue of numbers of affected families, their rehabilitation. Jharkhand state government has not decided the compensation amount, so the Central government have not released any compensation fund. This resulted in the halt of construction work.

References

References

1. "Gazetteer of Palamu District".
2. "Betla National Park".
3. "River System".
4. "Projects in Jharkhand". North Koel Hydroelectric Project.
5. "Inter State Issues". North Koel Project.
6. "Project Tiger Reserves in India". Palamu Tiger Reserve.
7. (23 April 2024). "Mandal Dam: Modi's Ambitious Irrigation Project Still Hangs Fire". [[Times of India]].
8. (18 February 2020). "How Jharkhand's Mandal dam could destroy the environment, livelihoods, and 3.4 lakh trees". [[Caravan Magazine]].
9. (16 April 2022). "Jharkhand: Palamu Tiger Reserve Plans To Expand Core Area By 100 Sqkm". Times of India.
10. (5 October 2023). "Centre hikes contribution to complete stalled North Koel irrigation project". The Hindu.
11. "JAVADEKAR VOWS TO MAKE KUTKU DAM OPERATIONAL".
12. (7 August 2024). "1972 में शुरू हुआ था झारखंड के इस डैम का काम, आज तक अधूरा, अब केंद्रीय मंत्री लेंगे जायजा". News18.
13. (7 August 2024). "मंडल डैम निर्माण में आई अड़चन दूर करने झारखंड आएंगे केंद्रीय जलशक्ति मंत्री". Live Hindustan.
14. (8 February 2025). "मंडल डैम: मुआवजा वितरण की प्रक्रिया तय नहीं! पलामू सांसद ने जल शक्ति मंत्री से की मुलाकात". ETV Bharat.