The Godavari River is a major waterway in India, next in importance to the Ganges and Indus rivers. It ascends at Triambak which is situated near Nasik in the Western Ghats northeast of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in Maharashtra. The Godavari flows some 1400 km southeast across south-central India into Andhra Pradesh, and drains into the Bay of Bengal through its seven mouths. Its major tributaries are the Manjra and Indravati rivers. The Godavari River is sacred to all religious people. It has several places of pilgrimage on its banks. Every twelve years, Pushkaram, a major bathing festival, is held on the banks of the river. It is sometimes called the 'Ganga of the South,'
Its tributaries include Indravati River, Manjira River, Bindusara River, Moosi River and Sabari River. Although the river arises only 80 kilometres from the Arabian Sea, it flows 1,465 km to empty into the Bay of Bengal. Just above Rajahmundry [Rajahmahendravaram] there is a dam that provides water for irrigation. 
. Below Rajahmundry, the river divides into two streams that widen into a large river delta which has an extensive navigable irrigation-canal system, Dowleswaram Barrage [Dhawaleshwaram]that links the region to the Krishna River delta to the southwest. The Indrawati, the Wainganga, the Wardha, the Pench, the Kanhan and Penganga rivers, discharge an enormous volume of water into the Godavari system. A barrage was built on the river at Dowleswaram was built by Sir Arthur Cotton during 1850. It was rebuilt as a barrange and roadway during 1980s and named after Sir Aruthur Cotton. The roadway connects Dowleswaram in East Godavari and Vijjeswaram in West Godavari.There is also a big dam on the Godavari River built just after the source of the river at Trimbakeshwar.
The dam is in the town of Gangapur, which literally means a town on a river. The dam provides drinking water to the residents of Nashik and also supplies water to the thermal power station situated downstream
at Eklahara which provides power to the town.
There is another multipurpose project on the Godavari River named "Sriramsagarproject" in Nizamabad District. It is in the town of Pochampad, 60km away from Nizamabad. It irrigates 4 districts of Northern Telangana Region of Andhra Pradesh and supplies power.
Godavari is one of the most sacred rivers of India. Every twelve years, Pushkaram fair is held on its banks of the river. Thousands of people have a holy dip in the sacred waters of the river to purify themselves of all their sins. Legend has it that Sage Gautama lived on the Brahmagiri Hills at Triambakeshwar with his wife Ahalya. The rishi kept his stock of rice in a granary.
. Image of Godess Godavari Once, a cow entered his granary and ate up the rice. When the rishi tried to ward the cow away with Durbha grass, it fell dead. The rishi wanted to relieve himself of the sin of ‘Gohatya’. He worshipped Lord Shiva and requested him to bring Ganga to purify his hermitage. Lord Shiva pleased with the rishi
appeared as Triambaka and brought along river Ganga. Since Ganga was brought down to Triambakeshwar by Sage Gautama, she is known here as Gautami. She is also known as Godavari because the river helped Sage Gautama to releive of his sins.Triambaka and brought along Ganga. Since Ganga was brought down to Triambakeshwar by Sage Gautama, she is known here as Gautami. It is also known as Godavari because the river helped Sage Gautama to releive of his sins.
The Coringa mangrove forests in the Godavari delta are the second largest mangrove formation in the country. Part of this has been declared as the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, renowned for its reptiles.
They also provide an important habitat to a wide variety of fish and crustaceans. These forests also act as barriers against cyclones, tropical stroms and tidal waves thus protecting the nearby villages.The Godavari-Krishna basin is one of the main nesting sites of the endangered Olive Ridley turtle.
The Other Side of it:
Like most other rivers, domestic pollution is the biggest polluter of the river Godavari, accounting for 82 per cent of total pollution, whereas industrial pollution accounts for about 18 per cent.
Over half of the river basin (18.6 million ha), is categorized as cultivable land. Most of the river’s water is drawn for irrigation purposes. Application of fertilizers is very high at 49.34 kg/hectares, almost double the country’s average. Pesticides are also applied at the high rates of 146.47 kgs/sq. km of which 79 per cent are organochlorines. However, the Central Pollution Control Board refuses to acknowledge the pollution created by such high levels of fertilizer and pesticide usage.
But the story of pollution in the Godavari river evolves around the tiny Nakavaggu rivulet, which joins the Manjira, a tributary of the Godavari.
The rivulet is dead and supports no life. Highly productive agricultural land surrounds the rivulet. More than 150 small and medium industries and several large industries near the twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad release
their effluents into the Nakavaggu rivulet.However most of the blame lies with the 72 industries in the Patancheru Industrial area that have been dumping their effluents into the river. Bereft
of treatment facilities, industrial effluents are let out into streams that collect in ponds. This overflow later reaches the Nakavaggu.
Industrial discharge from such industries has severely affected public health, surface and ground water and agriculture in 22 villages in this area.The river water is heavily used for agriculture, as it is the only available water source.
However, the river’s water has turned the fertile soil toxic with heavy metals. The soil contains heavy metals like iron, nickel, zinc, copper, cobalt and cadmium. Even the crop yield has suffered terribly. Before industrialization, the land’s crop yield was 40 bags of paddy per acre and is now a mere 10 bags. Toxic metals in the soil have contaminated the crops, penetrated animal milk and
affected human health. Incidence of cancers has also sharply risen, including leukemia in young boys, lung cancer in non-smokers and liver cancer. Medical experts attribute these increased rates to high water pollution. The polluted water has also seeped underground, contaminating groundwater, and the surrounding soil is contaminated due to acidification