Palar River origins from Nandi Hills of Karnataka State near the Ponnaiyar River. The river flows 33 kms in Andhra Pradesh, 93 kms in Karnataka and 222 kms in Tamil Nadu. Later, the river joins the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur which is located in Chennai (Madras) around 100kms down south. On the banks of river Palar are cities of Arcot, Ambur, Vellore, Vaniyambadi, Gudiyatham, Walajapet, and Kanchipuram. The river basin used to experience drought condition as the average rainfall in the vicinity is very low.

Palar River exhibits variations in the flow every year. Palar River does not usually flood, but have witnessed flood conditions in the past due to which the river was in the flood condition for six months. The river is blocked up for irrigation and farming. In 1892, an agreement was passed in which it was decided that Palar River will be sharing water between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka as Mysore kingdom is now part of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states. Palar River is a prime source of drinking water for its citizens as it is a major water resource. For almost 20 years, Palar River is facing dry conditions. Moreover, Palar River is popular for mud robbery and illegal activities. Chengalpattu, Arcot and Vellore are the largest communities of Palar River. To reduce the risk of droughts, the state of Karnataka has created various mediums and minor irrigation tanks. Approximately, 465 million cubic meters of water surface are present in Palar River. There are seven rivers in the state of Karnataka and with its help we can drain the state. These seven rivers are Krishna, Godavari, Cauvery, North Pennar, South Pennar, Palar and other West flowing rivers.

Palar River experience variations in rainfall received every year. The river does not flood every year, but flood once in a while, also the area has faced drought condition. Palar River has seven main tributaries out of which Cheyyar River is the main tributary. Water of Palar River is very important for farming as irrigation of the district depend on its water. Expert says that they have seen the river dry for over 20 years. The river basin is house for illegal activities and mud robbery.

Commerce

Education opportunities and medical fineness are the other benefits of Palar River. Near the river are at a distance of 2-3 kms are sampling stations where samples of physical-chemical factors are collected. These samples include chloride, dissolved solids, PH, hardness and salinity, electrical conductivity. To know the groundwater quality the checks are done as per ICMR and BIS standards on the river water.

Tributaries

One of the tributaries of Palar River is Cheyyar River, which is also a seasonal river like Palar River. The prehistoric name Cheyyar is “Sei Aaru” which means Child River. As per the ancient experts, one ancient saint visited this temple and converted a male palm tree to a female palm tree. This female tree can give in palm fruit after singing songs in Tamil language. It runs through Tamil Nadu state and Thiruvannamalai District. Monsoon rainfall in the northeast and southeast region helps the river collect the water. The water received is a major source of farming for some villages like Vandavasi and town of Cheyyar. Also an ancient temple known as Vedhanadeshwarar is situated on the banks of Cheyyar River.

Vellore is another district in Tamil Nadu where Palar River flows. Vellore is famous for its educational institutions and booming medical tourism. The responsibility of the Vellore Corporation is to give safe drinking water to the citizens. Vellore is surrounded by small scale dye industries and leather manufacturing units, resulting in the wastage getting discharged into the river basin. Hence, it is important to maintain quality of underground water. Sampling stations are located nearby like 2-3 meters in the vicinity of Palar River as it becomes easy to collect samples.