Skip to content
YearMaps
River

Mahi

River

Mahi is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. 2 dams stand on this watercourse and are written up below. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.

Feature Class
River
Dams Recorded
2
Coordinates
23.28°, 73.81°
7.0
Coordinates: 23.2808° N, 73.8103° ECountry: IndiaOpenStreetMap ↗

About Mahi

The Mahi (મહી નદી, मही नदी) is a river in western India. It rises in Madhya Pradesh and, after flowing through the Vagad region of Rajasthan, enters Gujarat and flows into the Arabian Sea. It is one of the relatively few west-flowing rivers in India, alongside the endorheic Luni River, the Sabarmati River, the Tapi River and the Narmada River. Most peninsular rivers in India flow eastward into the Bay of Bengal or northward into the Ganges River.

It has given its name to the Mahi Kantha agency of Bombay, and also to the mehwasis, marauding highlanders often mentioned in Arabian chronicles.

The Mahi River originates near Minda village, which is situated in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

The Mahi River rises in the western Vindhya Range, just south of Sardarpur, and flows northward through Madhya Pradesh state. Turning northwest, it enters Rajasthan state and then turns southwest to flow through Gujarat state through the north of Vadodara city outskirts and enters the sea by a wide estuary before Khambhat after about a 360-mile (580-km) course.

Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Mahi River (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Mahi: Key Facts

Key facts about Mahi
Length550 km
Drainage basin34,842 km²
MouthArabian Sea

Facts from Wikidata Q542539 (CC0).

Dams on the Mahi

2 dams on the Mahi, ordered by structural height, with their reservoirs and generating capacity.

Dams on the Mahi
DamHeightCapacityCompleted
Kadana Dam66 m240 MW1979
Mahi Bajaj Sagar43 m140 MW1983

Kadana Dam

Masonry dam · Gujarat, India

Kadana Dam is a masonry dam on the Mahi in Gujarat, India, standing 66 m (217 ft) high and completed in 1979. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 240 MW. The structure impounds Kadana Reservoir.

Kadana Dam is an earthen and masonry dam on the Mahi River in Mahisagar district of the Indian state of Gujarat. The construction of the dam began in 1979 and was completed in 1989.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Kadana Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Dam type
Masonry
Structural height
66 m (217 ft)
Installed capacity
240 MW
Impounded river
Mahi
Reservoir
Kadana Reservoir
Location
Gujarat, India
Year completed
1979
Height rank
#65 of 115 indexed
Output rank
#74 of 102 indexed
Coordinates
23.3117°, 73.8317°

Notable: Regulates flood pulses of the Mahi river into the Gulf of Khambhat.

Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Kadana Dam ranks #65 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #74, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).

Nearest cities: Ratlam (122 km), Gandhinagar (122 km), Vadodara (130 km).

View on the live map

Mahi Bajaj Sagar
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Mahi Bajaj Sagar

Earthen / Masonry dam · Rajasthan, India

Mahi Bajaj Sagar is an earthen / masonry dam on the Mahi in Rajasthan, India, standing 43 m (141 ft) high and completed in 1983. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 140 MW. The structure impounds Mahi Bajaj Sagar.

Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam is a dam across the Mahi River. It is situated 16 kilometres from Banswara town in Banswara district Rajasthan, India. The dam was constructed between 1972 and 1983 for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation and water supply. It is the longest dam and second largest dam in Rajasthan. It is named after Jamnalal Bajaj. It is the biggest multipurpose project for tribal area of Rajasthan.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Dam type
Earthen / Masonry
Structural height
43 m (141 ft)
Installed capacity
140 MW
Impounded river
Mahi
Reservoir
Mahi Bajaj Sagar
Location
Rajasthan, India
Year completed
1983
Height rank
#99 of 115 indexed
Output rank
#79 of 102 indexed
Coordinates
23.6267°, 74.5367°

Notable: Lifeline for the tribal Banswara district in southern Rajasthan.

Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Mahi Bajaj Sagar ranks #99 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #79, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).

Nearest cities: Ratlam (59 km), Udaipur (136 km), Ujjain (137 km).

View on the live map

Major River Dossiers

Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.

Connected Reaches

Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.

Water Bodies in the Catchment

Settlements Along the Reach

Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby

Surrounding Terrain

Mahi: Quick Answers

Where is Mahi?
Mahi is located in India, at 23.2808° N, 73.8103° E.
Are there dams on the Mahi?
Yes. YearMaps records 2 dams on the Mahi: Kadana Dam, Mahi Bajaj Sagar.
What is the tallest dam on the Mahi?
Kadana Dam is the tallest dam recorded on the Mahi, at 66 m (217 ft), completed in 1979.
Which dam on the Mahi generates the most electricity?
Kadana Dam has the largest installed hydroelectric capacity on the Mahi: 240 MW. Installed capacity is the maximum rated output, not the annual average.