Rivers of India

In India, the rivers can be divided into two major groups – one is the Himalayan Rivers and another one is the Peninsular Rivers. Indus, Ganga, Bramhaputra are the main three major river systems under Himalayan Rivers. Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery are the east-flowing peninsula rivers, and Narmada, Tapti, Sabarmati, Mahi, Luni, Sharavati are the west-flowing peninsula rivers. Below we will discuss each one in detail:

Indus (Himalayan River)

The Indus originates in Tibet (China) from the northern slopes of the Kailash range near Lake Mansarovar. It is called Singi Khamban in Tibet. After originating it flows in the northwest direction and enters India near Demchok in Ladakh, then flows through Gilgit in Pakistan, after that it enters near Dardistan and flows east of Karachi, and joins the Arabian Sea. Leh city is situated on the right bank of the Indus River.

It also has very important tributaries which join Indus in various places are:

• Jhelum: Source – A deep spring at Verinag (South East Kashmir), Mouth – Chenab River at Trimmu in District Jhang in Pakistan, Length – 725 km. It flows 170 km in the India and Pakisthan border.
• Chenab: Source – Bara Lacha Pass (Lahaul-Spiti, Himachal Pradesh), Mouths – Indus River, Sutlej River, Panjnad, Length – 960 km. It is also known as Chandrabhaga as it is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh.
• Ravi: Source – Kullu Hills near Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh, Mouth – Chenab River in District Jhang in Pakisthan, Length – 720 km
• Beas: Source – A place near Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh, Mouth – Sutlej River at Harike in Punjab, Length – 470 km. In this Harike area the Indira Gandhi Canal, the country’s longest canal, originates and this passes through Punjab and Rajasthan. This canal’s maximum length (470 km) lies in Rajasthan.
• Sutlej: Source – Mansarovar-Rakas lakes in Western Tibet, Mouth – Chenab River in Pakisthan, Length – 1050 km. In the Nari Khorsan province of Tibet, Sutlej has created an extraordinary canyon, comparable to the Grand Canyon of Colorado (US).

In 1960 there was a treaty signed between India and Pakistan regarding the usage of Water of Indis and its tributaries. This treaty is called the Indus Water Treaty. According to this India can utilize only 20% of the total discharge of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. Many times, Pakistan has objected to the following Indian hydroelectric power projects mentioning that those projects violate the Indus Water Treaty:

• Kishanganga Project: It is designed to divert water from the Kishanganga or Neelum River to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin.
• Tulbul Project: It is situated at the mouth of Wular Lake.
• Baglihar Project: It is a run-of-the-river power project on Chenab.

Ganga (Himalayan River)

Ganga River originates as the Bhagirathi from Gomukh which is the bottom of the eastern Himalayas named as Gangotri glacier in the state of Uttarakhand which is known for its beauty and natural resources. The river Ganga, the headstream is constituted of two main rivers – Bhagirathi and Alaknanda, which combine at Devprayag to form Ganga. It is 2525 km long and of which flows through the various Indian States like Uttarakhand (110 km), Uttar Pradesh (1450 km), Bihar (445 km), and West Bengal (520 km). It is the biggest river system (basin) in India. When the river Ganga enters Bangladesh, it changes its name to the Padma. In Bangladesh Padma confluence with Jamuna (Bramhaputra) and make river Padma. Then again it mixes with the Meghna River and changed its name to Meghna and finally falls into the Bay of Bengal (river mouth) and forms a delta.

Panch Prayag

Before Alaknanda turns into Ganga there are five prayags (meeting points) where various other rivers meet with river Alaknanda.

• Vishnuprayag: Vishnuprayag is the first and one of the Panch Prayag of Alaknanda River where Alaknanda River and Dhauliganga River meet in Chamoli District in Uttarakhand. Alaknanda rises from Satopath (Badrinath).
• Nandaprayag: Nandaprayag is the meeting point of Alaknanda and Nandakini rivers. It is a town and a Nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand.
• Karnaprayag: Karnaprayag is the third Prayag where Alaknanda and Pindar rivers meet. It is a city and municipal board in Chamoli District in Uttarakhand. Pindar River rises from East Trishul.
• Rudraprayag: Confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers is called Rudraprayag. It is a town and a municipality in Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand. Mandakini rises from Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
• Devprayag: Devprayag is the fifth Prayag where Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers meet and Bhagirathi turns into the Ganga. Devprayag is a town and a municipality in Tehri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand. Bhagirathi rises from Gaumuk.

States and Cities Covered

• Uttarakhand: Rishikesh, Haridwar
• Uttar Pradesh: Fatehgarh, Bijnor, Kannauj, Bithoor, Kasganj, Kanpur, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Farrukhabad, Narora
• Bihar: Bhagalpur, Patna, Hajipur, Katihar, Munger
• West Bengal: Murshidabad, Plassey, Nabadwip, Shantipur, Kolkata, Baranagar, Diamond Harbour, Haldia, Budge Budge, Howrah, Uluberia, Barrackpore

Left Bank Tributaries

• Ramganga
• Gomti, Gumti or Gomati River (805 km): Lucknow is situated on the bank of this river.
• Ghaghara (1080 km): Biggest tributary by Volume of water
• Gandak (425 km)
• Kosi (730 km): Originated by 7 rivers make Saptakoshi in china, 3 rivers (one is Saptakoshi and two others) make Triveni in Nepal. Kosi is infamous as ‘Sorrow of Bihar’.

Right Bank Tributaries

Yamuna

Yamuna (not Jamuna in Bangladesh) is the longest (1375 km) Tributary River in India. After rising at the Yamunotri glacier in Uttarakhand it runs parallel to Ganga for 800 km and joins it at Prayagraj (Allahabad). Left Bank Tributaries of Yamuna River are – Hindan, Rind, Sengar, Varuna. Right Bank Tributaries are – Tons, Chambal (1050 km), Sindh, Betwa (480 km), Ken.

• Chambal River: This tributary of Yamuna originates at Janapav, on the south slope of the Vindhya Range in Madhya Pradesh and it is also one of the cleanest perennial rivers of India and while flows through Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan it makes a boundary between these two states and finally joins the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh. Various Chambal Valley projects are on this river e.g. Gandhi Sagar Dam (on Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh border), Rana Pratap Sagar Dam, Jawahar Sagar Dam, and Kota Barrage (all in Rajasthan).
• Hindon (400 km): It is another tributary of Yamuna and originates in the Saharanpur District, from the Upper Shiwaliks. This river also has tributary Kali river that originates in the Doon Valley, travels about 150 km, and then merges with Hindon before it merges with the Yamuna.

Son

Son River is the second-largest southern tributary of the Ganges’ after Yamuna River and also a perennial river that originates near Amarkantak Hill in Annupur district of Madhya Pradesh and near Patna in Bihar, it finally merges with the Ganges River. Right Bank Tributaries of Son River are – Rihand, Koel (originated on Ranchi plateau in Jharkhand – Chota Nagpur Plateau). Rihand River’s old name was Renu or Renuka.

Distributaries

When Ganga reaches West Bengal, it gets divided into two distributaries Bhagirathi and Hooghly, Bhagirathi flows into Bangladesh, where it gets the name the Padma. Hooghly is joined by Damodar before it flows through Kolkata and falls into the Bay of Bengal.

Hoogly / Hugly

Following are the tributaries of the Bhagirathi-Hoogly River.

• Coming from Chota Nagpur Plateau: Mayurakshi, Ajay, Damodar (541 km), Rupnarayan. Damodar gets the name ‘Sorrow of Bengal’ as these cause floods in these regions.
• Coming from Bangladesh: Bhairab, Jalangi, Mathabhanga, Churni.

Brahmaputra (Himalayan River)

The Brahmaputra originates in Tibet (from Chemayungdung glacier), where it is called the Yarlung Tsangpo, and then enters the Indian territory (in Arunachal Pradesh) under the name Siang/Dihang and Assam under name Luit, Dilao in Assam. This river flows through Indian territory including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland which lies approx 916 km out of its total length of 2900 km.

This transboundary river flows through China, India, and finally through Bangladesh. After originating it flows parallel to the Himalayas in the eastward direction and takes a U-turn when it reaches Namcha Barwa and then enters India in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. This river has a braided channel throughout most of its length while flowing through Indian State Assam.

It is the third-largest river in the world and has several tributaries i.e. Subansiri, Kameng, Dhansiri, Manas, Dibang, Lohit, Teesta. While flowing through Bangladesh Brahmaputra is known by the name of Jamuna it combined with Padma (name of Ganga in Bangladesh) gets the name Padma only. It has an important distributary Meghna falls into the Bay of Bengal.

The combined stream of Ganga and Brahmaputra (Meghna) forms the biggest delta region in the world, the Sundarbans which covers an area around 58752 sq km of which the major portion is in Bangladesh. The Brahmaputra or the red river is also known for its excellent inland water transport system as it serves a distance of 1384 km up to Dibrugarh.

Mahanadi

The Mahanadi is an east-flowing peninsular river that originates from Sihawa (northern foothills of Dandakaranya region) of Satpura Range in the Raipur district of Chhattisgarh and finally falls into the Bay of Bengal. The river has a length of 858 km and flows through the state of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Orissa. Its main left-bank tributaries are Ib, Mand, Hasdo, Seonath, and right-bank tributaries are Jonk, Tel, Ong, etc.

• In South India, it is the second most important river after the Godavari.
• The largest dam, the Hirakud Dam is built on the river.
• Major cities like Sambalpur, Tikarpara, Cuttok etc. are besides on the bank of this river.
• Mahanadi Godavari Link Project envisages the construction of a storage reservoir on Mahanadi River at the Manibhadra and a link canal from this reservoir to the Godavari River.

Godavari

The longest peninsular river of India Godavari has a length of 1465 km and originates from Trimbakeshwar, near Nasik in Maharashtra. This river is also known as the Dakshin Ganga or Vriddh Ganga. It has the second-largest river basin in India after the river Ganga. After Maharashtra, it flows through the states of Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and finally falls into the Bay of Bengal.

It has tributaries like Penganga, Wardha, Wainganga, Pranhita (combined flow of Wainganga, Penganga, Wardha), Taliperu, Indravati, Maner, Sabri, Pravara, Purna, Manjra, etc. The river forms a fertile delta at Rajahmundry and the river bank has many pilgrimage sites like Nasik(MH), Bhadrachalam(TS), and Trimbak. Asia’s largest rail-cum-road bridge which links Kovvur and Rajahmundry is also located on the river Godavari.

Krishna

Krishna river rises in the Western Ghats near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and has a total length of 1327 km and flows through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, and falls into the sea in the Bay of Bengal. Its left-bank tributaries are Bhima, Musi and right-bank tributaries are Tungabhadra, Koyna, Ghataprabha, etc. After originating in the Western Ghats the two rivers Tunga and Bhadra are merged into one and form the Tungabhadra River which is the main tributary of the Krishna river. Dudhganga, Mallaprabha, Dindi, Warna, Yerla, etc are also the tributaries of the Krishna river. Vijayawada City lies beside the bank of this river.

Cauvery

Cauvery river, the largest peninsular river (in terms of volume of water), originates from the Talakaveri of the Brahmagir range of Western Ghats. It has a total length of 805 km and flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and finally drains into the Bay of Bengal. It is less seasonal than other South Indian rivers because its lower catchment area during the winter season by the retreating North-West monsoon and upper catchment area receives rainfall during summer by the South-West monsoon. Thus it is the only peninsular river that flows almost throughout the year and this is why it is called the Ganga of the South.

Due to water availability throughout the year, this river supports irrigation for agriculture to the cities of South India. The river has left-bank tributaries called Harangi, Hemavati, Lokapavani, Arkavathy, and right-bank tributaries called Lakshmanatirtha, Kabini, Subarnavati, Bhavani, Amaravati. Other tributaries are Shimsha, Kapila, Honnuhole, Noyyal, and Tirtha. Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, Erode are the cities are located on the bank of this river.

Narmada

The Narmada (1312 km) is the largest west-flowing and one of the major rivers of peninsular India and is located in central India. It rises in Amarkantak Plateau in Madhya Pradesh state and makes an outline of the traditional frontier between North India and South India. This river flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. It drains into the Gulf of Khambat (Arabian Sea) in the Bharuch district of Gujarat. It forms the famous Dhuan Dhar Falls near Jabalpur. Burhner, Banjar, Shar, Shakkar, Tawa are left bank tributaries, and Hiran, Barna, Kolar are right-bank tributaries are of the Narmada river. Jabalpur, Vadodara, Omkareshwar, Hoshangabad, Bharuch are some famous cities situated on the banks of the Narmada river.

Tapi

Like Narmada, Tapti (724 km) is also a west-flowing peninsular central Indian river. Tapti river rises near Multai in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh and then flows through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. It drains into the Gulf of Khambat (Arabian Sea). This river is also called the twin or handmaid of the Narmada river. Shipra, Kapra, Khursi, Girna, Bori are the left-bank tributaries and Purna, Betul, Patki, Suki, Mor, Gomai, Arunavati are the right-bank tributaries of the Tapti river. It also has major tributaries e.g. Waghur, Panzara, Aner. Surat, Burhanpur, Betul, Songadh, Bhusawal, Dhule, Nashik, are some famous cities situated on the banks of the Tapti river.