Rivers in India
Rivers in India
Rivers in India
The rivers of India play an important role in the lives of the people. They provide potable water,
cheap transportation, electricity, and the livelihood for many people nationwide. This easily explains
why nearly all the major cities of India are located by the banks of rivers. The rivers also have an
important role in Hindu Religion and are considered holy by all Hindus in the country.[1]
Seven major rivers along with their numerous tributaries make up the river system of India. The
largest basin system of the rivers pour their waters into the Bay of Bengal; however, some of the
rivers whose courses take them through the western part of the country and towards the east of the
state of Himachal Pradesh empty into the Arabian Sea. Parts of Ladakh, northern parts of
the Aravalli range and the arid parts of the Thar Desert have inland drainage.
All major rivers of India originate from one of the following main watersheds:
1. Aravalli range
2. Himalaya and Karakoram ranges
3. Sahyadri or Western Ghats in western India
4. Vindhya and Satpura ranges and Chotanagpur plateau in central India
Himalayan glaciers in the Indian subcontinent are broadly divided into the three river basins, namely
the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra. The Indus basin has the largest number of glaciers (3500),
whereas the Ganga and Brahmaputra basins contain about 1000 and 660 glaciers,
respectively.[2] Ganga is the largest river system in India.However these rivers are just three among
many. Other examples are Narmada, Tapi, and Godavari.
Contents
North-to-south flowing rivers, originate from the western slopes of Aravalli range in Rajasthan,
pass through the southeastern portion of the Thar Desert, and end into Gujarat.
o Luni River, originates in the Pushkar valley near Ajmer, ends in the marshy lands of Rann of
Kutch.
o Sakhi river, ends in the marshy lands of Rann of Kutch.
o Sabarmati River, originates on the western slopes of Aravalli range of the Udaipur District,
end into the Gulf of Cambay of Arabian Sea.
West to north-west flowing rivers, originate from the western slopes of Aravalli range in
Rajasthan, flow through semi-arid historical Shekhawati region, drain into southern Haryana.
Several Ochre Coloured Pottery culture sites, also identified as late Harappan phase of Indus
Valley Civilisation culture,[3] has been found along the banks of these rivers.
o Sahibi River, originates near Manoharpur in Sikar district flows through Haryana, along with
its following tributaries:[4][5][6][7]
Dohan river, tributary of Sahibi river, originates near Neem Ka Thana in Alwar district).
Sota River, tributary of Sahibi river, merges with Sahibi river at Behror in Alwar district.
Krishnavati river, former tributary of Sahibi river, originates near Dariba copper mines
in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan, flows through Patan in Dausa district and Mothooka
in Alwar district, then disappears in Mahendragarh district in Haryana much before
reaching Sahibi river.
West to north-east flowing rivers, originating from the eastern slopes of Aravalli range in
Rajasthan, flow northwards to Yamuna.
o Chambal River, a southern-side tributary of Yamuna river.
Banas River, a northern-side tributary of Chambal river.
Berach River, a southern-side tributary of Banas River, originates in the hills
of Udaipur District.
Ahar River, a right-side (or eastern side) tributary of the Berach river, originates
in the hills of Udaipur District, flows through Udaipur city forming the
famous Lake Pichola.
Wagli Wagon River, a right-side tributary of the Berach River.
Gambhiri River, a right-side tributary of the Berach river.
Orai River, a right-side tributary of the Berach River.
Yarlung Tsangpo River - originates and forms the upper stream of Brahmaputra in Tibet
Siang - main river after it enters India in the state of Arunachal Pradesh
Dibang - major tributary flowing through Arunachal Pradesh before merging into the
Brahmaputra River in Assam.
Lohit - one of the three major tributaries of Brahmaputra flowing through Arunachal Pradesh
from the easternmost India.
Brahmaputra - runs across the state of Assam from East to West,
entering Bangladesh afterwards.
Teesta - one of the largest tributaries of Brahmaputra; originating in the borders
of Sikkim and Tibet, flowing South it joins Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.
Jamuna River (Bangladesh) - the Brahmaputra is known as Jamuna in Bangladesh.
Padma River - the Jamuna river merges with Padma in Bangladesh before finally falling into
the Bay of Bengal.
Catchment Additional
area Average available
hideBasin River basin
Region Draining into (% of river runoff surface
number unit
irrigated (km3) water
India) (km3)
Brahmaputra
1.2 Northeast Bangladesh 6 537.24 24
(GBM)
Meghna/Barak
1.3 East Bangladesh 1.5 48.36
(GBM)
Other
Myanmar,
2 Northeast Northeast 1.1 31
Bangladesh
rivers
East-
3 Subernarekha Bay of Bengal 0.9 12.37
southeast
Brahmani- East-
4 Bay of Bengal 1.6 28.48 6.8
Baitarani southeast
Central-
5 Mahanadi Bay of Bengal 4.4 66.88 18.3
east
East flowing
rivers between Central-
11 Bay of Bengal 2.7 22.52 19
Mahanadi and east
Pennar
East flowing
rivers between
12 Southeast Bay of Bengal 3.1 16.46 13.1
Kanyakumari
and Pennar
West flowing
rivers between
13 Southwest Arabian Sea 1.7 113.53 16.7
Tadri and
Kanyakumari
West flowing
14 rivers between Southwest Arabian Sea 1.7 87.41 24.3
Tapi and Tadri
Central-
15 Tapi Arabian Sea 2 14.88 11.9
west
Catchment Additional
area Average available
hideBasin River basin
Region Draining into (% of river runoff surface
number unit
irrigated (km3) water
India) (km3)
Central-
16 Narmada Arabian Sea 3.1 45.64 14.5
west
West flowing
rivers between
19 Northwest Arabian Sea 10 15.1 1.9
Kutch and
Saurashtra
Rajasthan
20 Northwest India 0 Negligible 15
inland basin
Indus
21 Northwest Pakistan 10 73.31 46
tributaries
Total
(per
100 1869.37
International
Treaty)
See also[edit]
Indian Rivers Inter-link
Amazon river basin
Nile river basin
Ganga
Indus
Nethravati
References[edit]
1. ^ Sunil Vaidyanathan, Rivers of India veronica, ISBN 8368135142 Parameter error in {{ISBN}}:
Invalid ISBN., 2012
2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2015-09-03. page
no 361
3. ^ Gupta, S.P. (ed.) (1995), The lost Sarasvati and the Indus Civilization, Jodhpur: Kusumanjali
Prakashan
4. ^ Cultural Contours of India: Dr. Satya Prakash Felicitation Volume, Vijai Shankar Śrivastava,
1981. ISBN 0391023586
5. ^ Sahibi river
6. ^ Books: Page 41, 42, 43, 44, 47 (b) Sahibi Nadi (River), River Pollution, By A.k.jain
7. ^ Minerals and Metals in Ancient India: Archaeological evidence, Arun Kumar Biswas, Sulekha
Biswas, University of Michigan. 1996. ISBN 812460049X.
8. ^ Jump up to:a b c FAO, India - Rivers Catchment, Aquastat, United Nations (2011)
9. ^ K.L. Rao, India's Water Wealth, ISBN 978-8125007043, 1979