RIVERS OF INDIA
BY: ROSHAN POULOSE ROLL NO: 19 CLASS: IX
DIV: F
The Ganges an anglicized word for Ganga ,is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is the longest river of India and is the second greatest river in the world by water discharge . The Ganges basin is the most heavily populated river basin in the world, with over 400 million people and a population density of about 1,000 inhabitants per square mile (390 /km2).
The srcin of river Ganges lies at the height of 13,800 feet in the mountain ranges of Himalayas, in Tehri Garhwal, near Gangotri.It begins high in the Himalayas as a pair of head streams. It begins in an ice cave in the mountains about 10,300 feet above Ganges sea level. Gangotri is known as the place of srcin of the revered river, known as Ganga in India it is also considered one of the holy place in chota char dham . The holiest of the Indian rivers, is the longest river in India and the greatest waterway in India. The river has been declared as India's National River. Ganges is the source of sustainment of life in the great Indian plains and it is at Gangotri that the journey of Ganga begins. River Ganges gets water from the melting snow of Nanda devi, Gurla, Mandhata, Dhaulagiri, Gesaisthan, Kanchenjunga and Mount Everest. Many small and big rivers merge with the Ganges in but the the Himalayan Ganges river flows through Bangladesh, greaterregion. part of The it flows through India. The river flows across the northern corner of India.
In India, it passes through five states- Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Its major tributaries are- Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandaki, Burhi Gandak, Koshi, Mahananda from left(north) and Yamuna, Tamsa, Son, Punpun from right (south). A number of large cities and towns are situated on the banks of the Ganges. Some of them are -Haridwar, Kanpur, Jajmau, Allahabad, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Ghazipur, Patna, Rishikesh, Munger, Bhagalpur, Kolkata etc.
The upper Ganges supplies water to extensive irrigation works. The Ganga has a lot of fertile soil and is an important source of the agricultural activities in India and Bangladesh. The chief crops cultivated in the area include rice, sugarcane, lentils, oil seeds, potatoes, and wheat. Along the banks of the river, the presence of swamps and lakes provide a rich growing area for crops such as legumes, chillies, mustard, sesame, sugarcane, and jute. Fishing also provides opportunities to many along the river, though the river remains highly polluted. According to Hindu mythology, the Ganga River came down to Earth from the heavens. Today, the river symbolizes purification to millions of Hindus who believe that drinking or bathing in its waters will lead to moksha, or salvation. Many Hindus keep water from the Ganga in glass bottles as a sacred relic, or for use in religious ceremonies. The river becomes the final resting place for thousands of Hindus, whose cremated ashes or partially burnt corpses are placed in the river for spiritual rebirth.
Ganga finds its name in the list of the five most polluted rivers of the world. In certain areas in Ganga river the bacteria levels are more than 100 times higher than the limits set by the government. From washing clothes to dumping bodies, the river's purity is maligned every day and in spite of the alarming levels of pollution, people continue to use the water to drink and take a bath. The industrial pollutants also a major source of contamination in the Ganga.Industry is not the only source of pollution. Sheer volume of waste - estimated at nearly 1 billion litres per day - of mostly untreated raw sewage - is a significant factor. A sizable proportion of the effluents in Ganges are caused by the population through domestic usage like bathing, laundry and public defecation. Countless tanneries, chemical plants, textile mills, distilleries, slaughterhouses, and hospitals contribute to the pollution of the Ganges by dumping untreated toxic and non-biodegradable waste into it. It is this sheer volume of pollutants released into the river every day that are causing irreparable damage to the ecosystem and contributing to significant sanitation issue
The Brahmaputra also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. With its srcin in the Angsi Glacier, located on the northern side of the Himalayas in Burang County of China's Tibet Autonomous Region as the Yarlung Tsangpo River, it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges (including the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon) and into Arunachal Pradesh where it is known as Dihang or Siang . It flows southwest through the Assam Valley as Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna .In the vast Ganges Delta it merges with the Padma, the main distributary of the Ganges, then the Meghna, before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. About 1,800 miles (2,900 km) long, the Brahmaputra is an important river for irrigation and transportation. The average depth of the river is 124 feet (38 m) and maximum depth is 380 feet (120 m).
During the monsoon season (June-October), floods are a common occurrence. Deforestation in the Brahmaputra watershed has resulted in increased siltation levels, flash floods, and soil erosion in critical downstream habitat, such as the Kaziranga National Park in middle Assam. Occasionally, massive flooding causes huge losses to crops, life and property. Periodic flooding is a natural phenomenon which is ecologically important because it helps maintain the lowland grasslands and associated wildlife. Periodic floods also deposit fresh alluvium replenishing the fertile soil and of the Brahmaputra River are Valley. Thus flooding, agriculture, agricultural practices closely connected
The main tributaries of Brahmaputra River are Dibang River, Lohit River , Dhansiri River, Kameng River , Raidak River, Jaldhaka River, Teesta River
The
plains watered by the stream of Brahmaputra yield abundant crops of rice, jute, and mustard. The Brahmaputra is an important source of irrigation and navigation. In comparison with the other major rivers in India, the Brahmaputra river is less polluted but it has its own problems: petroleum refining units contribute most of the industrial pollution load into the basin along with other medium and small industries. The main problem facing the river basin is that of constant flooding. Floods have been occurring more often in recent years with deforestation, and other human activities being the major causes.
The Narmada, is a river in central India and the fifth longest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third longest river that flows entirely within India, after the Godavari and the Krishna. It forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India and flows westwards over a length of 1,312 km before draining through the Gulf of Khambhat into the Arabian Sea, 30 km west of Bharuch city of Gujarat.It is one of only three major rivers in peninsular India that run from east to west, along with the Tapti River and the Mahi River. It is the one of the rivers in India that flows in a rift valley, flowing west between the Satpura and Vindhya ranges. The other rivers&which through riftand valley include River in rift Chota Nagpur Plateau Tapti.flows The Tapti River Mahi River Damodar also flow through valleys, but between different ranges. It flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh (1,077 km ), and Maharashtra, (74 km) – (35 km) then along the border between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and (39 km ) and the border between Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and in Gujarat (161 km ).
The source of the Narmada is a small bowl, known as the Narmada Kund, located atAmarkantak on the Amarkantak hill, in the Anuppur District zone of the Shahdol of eastern Madhya Pradesh. The river descends from Sonmud, then falls over a cliff as Kapildhara waterfall and meanders in the hills, flowing through a tortuous course crossing the rocks and islands up to the ruined palace of Ramnagar. Between Ramnagar and Mandla, further southeast, the course is comparatively straight with deep water devoid of rocky obstacles. The Banger joins from the left. The river then runs north–west in a narrow loop towards Jabalpur. Close to this city, after a fall of some (9 m), called the Dhuandhara, the fall of mist, it flows for (3 km), in a deep narrow channel through the magnesium limestone and basalt rocks called the Marble Rocks; from a width of about 90 m, above, it is compressed in this channel of (18 m), only. Beyond this point up to its meeting the Arabian Sea, the Narmada enters three narrow valleys between the Vindhya scarps in the north and the Satpura range in the South.
In 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity 30 large dams was planned on river Narmada.The major dams on Narmada river are : Sardar Sarovar Dam, Maheshwar Dam, Maan Dam, Indira Sagar Dam, Bargi Dam and Goi Dam . Of the 30 big dams proposed along the Narmada, Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) and Narmada Sagar Project (NSP) are the megadams. Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is the largest multipurpose project involved in the construction, with a proposed height of 136.5 m, In February 1999, the Supreme Court of India gave the go ahead for the dam's height to be raised to 88 metres from the initial 80. In March 2006, despite popular protest, the Supreme Court gave clearance for the height to be increased to 121.92 metres.
Tributaries of River Narmada The tributaries of River Narmada are Hallon, Banjar, Barna and Tawa are the main source of water, irrigation and other resource based activities in the central India Narmada Bachao Andolan Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is a peoples organisation that mobilised tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river,and Gujarat. The Andolan hunger strikes garnering support (campaign) from noted includes film and art personalities together with its leading spokespersons Medha Patkar and Baba Amte.
The Yamuna is the
largest tributary river of the Ganges (Ganga) in northern India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of 6,387 metres on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks in the Lower Himalayas or Siwalik Range in Uttarakhand, it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometers hasof a drainage 366,223 square kilometres ,and 40.2% the entiresystem GangesofBasin, before merging with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, the site for the Kumbha Mela every twelve years.
The
main tributaries joining Yamuna include the Hindon from eastern bank and the Chambal, the Sind, Betwa and the Ken from south-western bank. The catchments of the Yamuna river system covers parts of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the entire state of Delhi. Each one of these major tributaries in turn have its own tributary system.
River Yamuna is the largest tributary of Ganga. It serves as the lifeline to lakhs of people living on its banks. It provides drinking water and is also used for irrigating vast agricultural lands. The cities and townsuse on and the bank extract large quantities of water industrial discharge a variety of pollutants in thefor river making Yamuna as one of the most polluted rivers in the country. Pollution is not the only problem plaguing the Yamuna. Upstream of Wazirabad, on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border— where the sand mining mafia is clandestinely working to change the course of the river. Each day, hundreds of truckloads of sand is being carried out by the miners, who police say are residents of nearby villages. Each truckload is sold for about Rs 800 on the outskirts of Delhi, basically for construction purposes.
The Government of India has been implementing Yamuna action plan (YAP) With assistance from Japan international cooperation agency, Government of Japan in a phased manner since 1993. Yamuna Action Plan (YAP -1): YAP-I, which commenced in April, 1993 was completed in February 2003 at a total cost of Rs. 682 crores covering various pollution abatement works, including creation of Sewage Treatment capacity of 753.25 million litres per day (MLD). Yamuna Action Plan (YAP -II): YAP-II was approved in 2003 at an estimated cost of Rs. 624 crores with a completion period of 5 years. The major items of work in YAP -II such as rehabilitation of sewerage network and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and construction of new STPs. Yamuna Action Plan (YAP- III): the YAP III project for Delhi within estimated cost of RS 1656 CRORES HAS BEEN APPROVED IN 2011. While YAP I and YAP II had been a failure, fingers are crossed for YAP III
