Drainage Systems of India
Drainage Systems of India
Drainage Systems of India
The rivers of India plays an important role in the countrys economy. It provides the irrigation water, Hydroelectric power, and transportation. More over, the vast fertile Indo-Gangetic plain is the product of the riverine action, which remains one of the principal agricultural region of the country. Apart from this, Indian people have some religious sentiments with these rivers and considered them to be sacred. The area drained by the main river along with its tributaries is known as a drainage basin. The largest drainage basin of India is the Ganga drainage basin closely followed by Indus, Brahmaputra & Godavari, securing the second, third & fourth position respectively.
2880 km Initially flows in NW direction, between Ladakh & (709 km in Zanskar Range. Subsequently meets with its tributaries like Zanskar, Suru, Dras, Shyok, Nubra, India) Shigar & Gilgit. By carving out a gorge near Nanga Parbat the river starts to flow in SW direction & eventually drains itself in the Arabian Sea. Before that, in Pakistan it meets with R. Kabul near Attock & R. Panjnad at Mithankot. 774 km Flows through Srinagar, Wular lake then enters Pakistan. Largest tributary is Kishenganaga. Enters Pakistan through a deep gorge in Baramulla district.
Jhelum
Joins Chenab at Trimmu in Pakistan. Chandra & Bhaga river originates in Lahul District (HP) near Bara Lacha Pass. Both rivers meets & Tandi (HP) and flows in between the Pir Panjal & Greater Himalaya range. Initially flows in NE direction, the takes a hairpin bend at Kishtwar (HP) and then enters Pakistan. Later it meets Indus at Mithankot, Pakistan. Starts from Rohtang Pass, meets R. Sutlej at Hari-kePattan, South of Amritsar, Punjab. Starts from Rohtang Pass, drains the western slope of Pir Panjal range & northern slope of Dhauladhar range. Enters Pakistan & meets R Chenab at Ahmedpur Sial. Also known as Red river. It enters India through Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh. Meets with Beas at Hari-ke-Pattan.
Beas
Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh (Rohtang Pass) Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh (Rohtang Pass)
470 km
Ravi
720 km
Sutlej
The important tributaries of R. Brahmaputra are: Left bank tributaries: Dhansiri, Kapili, Barak Right bank tributaries: Subansiri, Jia Bhoraeli, Manas, Sankosh, Tista & Raidak a. b. c. d. Dhansiri: Rises from Naga hills Sankosh: Its the main river of Bhutan, meets Brahmaputra at Dhubri, Assam. Manas: Rises from Tibet and joins Brahmaputra on its right bank. Subansiri: It is flows in between the Mikir hills & Abor hills and later joins Brahmaputra on its right bank. e. Tista: Rises from Kanchanjunga, fed by the tributaries like Rangit & Rangpo, it joins the Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh. f. Barak: Rises from Mt. Japov in Nagaland. It enters Bangladesh as R. Surma which falls into R. Padma at Chandpur.
Yamuna Chambal
1380 km
Malwa Plateau, 960 km Vindhyan Range Gurla Mandhata peak in Nepal Between Dhaulagiri & Mt. Everest -
Southern slope of Mt. 729 km Everest Chandwa Village, Palamau district, Jharkand 592 km
Enters India through the Chhatra & Saharsa district of Bihar and joins R. Ganga near Manihari in Bihar. Also known as Sorrow of Bihar. It meets R. Ganga at Falta (South 24 PGS)
Damodar
Krishna
Mahabaleshwar, Maharastra
1290 km
Cauvery
Kodagu district, Karnataka Dhamtari district, Chattisgarh Formed by the confluence of Sankh & South Koel Satpura MP
765 km
Mahanadi Brahmani
885 km 420 km
Tapi
Range, 700 km
It flows through Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh & Gujrat. Important tributaries are Purna, Girna and Panzara. It flows through a rift valley between Vindhya & Satpura. It travels westward and empties itself into the Gulf of Khambat. It drains the western flank of Aravalli hills, where it is known as Sagarmati. The major tributaries are Sukri, Bandi & Jawai. It get disappeared into the Rann of Kutch after flowing in SW direction for about 500 km. It flows in SW direction through Dungarpur & Banswara district of Rajasthan and finally empties itself in Gulf of Khambat.
Narmada
1300 km
Luni
530 km
Mahi
500 km (approx)
The Plan: IRLP The total river linking project is believed to have two broad sections:
o o The Peninsular Component The Himalayan Component
The Peninsular Component comprises of 16 links. They are: 1. Mahanadi (Manibhadra) Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) Link 2. Godavari (Polavarm) Krishna (Vijayawada) Link 3. Godavari (Inchamaplli) Krishna(Nagarjunasagar) Link
Godavari (Inchampally Low Dam) Krishna (Nagarjunasagar Tail Pond) Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) Pennar (Somasila) Link Krishna (Srisailam) Pennar Link Krishna (Almatti) Pennar Link Pennar (Somasila) Cauvery (Grand Anicut) Link Cauvery (Kattalai) Vaigai (Gundar) Link Parbati Kalishindh Chambal Link Damanganga Pinjal Link Par-Tapi Narmada Link Ken Betwa Link Pamba Achankovil Vaippar Link Netrreavati Hemavati Link Bedti Varda Link
The Himalayan Component on the other hand consists of 14 links. They are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Kosi Mechi Link Kosi Ghaghra Link Gandak Ganga Link Ghaghra Yamuna Link Sarda Yamuna Link Yamuna Rajasthan Link Rajasthan Sabarmati Link Chunar Sone Barrage Link Sone Dam Southern Tributaries of Ganga Link Brahmaputra Ganga Link (Manas-SankoshTista-Ganga) Brahmaputra-Ganga Link (Jogighopa Tista-Farakka) Farakka Sunderbans Link Ganga Damodar Sundernarekha Link Subernarekha Mahanadi Link
Apart from this, the plan also envisages the construction of 30 large dams, reservoirs and canals, which will act as a lift to carry the links against the gravity.
(iv) Doubtful Flood Mitigation. IRLPs flood mitigation effects are doubtful too. Flood mitigation through inter-basin transfer in South Asia is made difficult by the fact that the months of heavy precipitation (from south-westerly monsoon winds) are basically the same for all parts of the region (vi) Irreparable Ecological Damage and Other Non-economic Costs: The benefits of IRLP will certainly fall short of the costs if the damage done to the eco-systems and cultures and other non-economic costs of the project are taken into consideration. (vii) Exacerbation of Conflicts: IRLP will proliferate and aggravate inter-state conflicts that already exist within India over river-sharing. More importantly, IRLP will aggravate conflicts among co-riparian countries of South Asia. Water diversion from the Ganges by India at Farakka is already an important obstacle to improving the relationships between India and Bangladesh. (viii) Unintended Consequences and Possible Redundancy. A major river-intervention project such as IRLP cannot but have many unintended consequences of negative nature. Many of the dams and reservoirs of IRLP are to be built in seismically active regions of South Asia. The Indian Ocean earthquake of December 2004 gives some indication of the terrible consequences that may follow if dams of IRLP crumble under the impact of earthquakes. More importantly, climate changes resulting from global warming and other such processes can soon make IRLPs calculations obsolete.