Dhamtari district was officially bifurcated with Mahasamund from Raipur district, the capital of Chhattisgarh, on 6 July 1998. Consequently, the boundaries of Raipur district have changed into three districts, Raipur, Mahasamund and Dhamtari. Dhamtari, Kurud, Magarlod and Nagri are included as Tehsils and Dhamtari, Kurud, Nagri and Magarlod blocks in Dhamtari district. The total area of the district is 2029 square kilometers and is 305 meters above mean sea level. The district is bounded by District Raipur and District Kanker in the north as well as Bastar in the south, part of the state of Orissa in the east and district Durg and Kanker in the west. Mahanadi is the major river of this district and Mahanadi is also known by the name of Kankananadi, Chitrotpala, Neelotpala, Mandavahini, Zarath etc. Mahanadi’s tributaries are Seedhur, Pari, Sondur, Jonn, Kharun, and Shivnath. The presence of these rivers is due to the fertile land of Dhamtari district. The major crop of this region is paddy. Mahanadi, the major river of Central India, originates from the Sihawa mountain and flows towards the east in the Bay of Bengal. Dhamtari district comes under two parliamentary constituencies (Kanker and Mahasamund) and three assembly constituencies (Dhamtari, Kurud and Sihawa). National Highway No. 30 (formerly NH 43) Raipur – Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh) road passes through Dhamtari. The distance of Raipur is 78 km from Dhamtari. To the east of the district lies the Satpura Range, known as Sihawa Pahad. Kanker District to the west, Raipur to the north, which is the capital of Chhattisgarh and to the south is the boundary of the state of Odisha. Ravi Shankar Sagar Dam which irrigates about 57000 hectares of land and serves as the main supply unit of safe drinking water resource for the state capital Raipur as well as supplies Bhilai Steel Plant which is about 11 km from the capital .