Rivers Of India: A Presentation

Ganga River System

Introduction The Ganges; is one of the major

rivers of the world. It rises at an elevation of about 12,769 feet in Gangotri on the southern slope of the Himalayan range. About one third of the total population of Bangladesh and about 50% of the Indian population live in the Ganges basin; 43% of the total irrigated area in the country is also in the Ganges basin and there are about 100 urban settlements with a total population of about 120 million on its banks.

Location: Himalayan River

GANGA

OriginThe headwaters of the Ganga, called the ‘Bhagirithi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devpryag in Uttarakhand. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains.

Gangotri Glacier

Drainage AreaThe headwaters of the Ganga, called the ‘Bhaigirathi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devapryag in Uttarakhand. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges from the mountains on to plains. Enlarged with the waters from its right and left bank tributaries, the Ganga flows eastwards till Farakka in West Bengal. This is the northernmost poin of the Ganga delta. The river bifurcates here; the Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a distributary) flows southwards through the delatic plains to Bay of Bengal. The mainstream, flows southwards into Bangladesh and is joined by the Brahmputra. Further down stream, it is known as the Meghna. This mighty river, with waters from the Ganga, and the Brahmputra, flows into Bay of Bengal.

Landform FeaturesLandform features include:MeandersGorgesDelta

◦Tributaries

 

The majortributaries of the Ganga are as follows:

Left tributaries - Karnali, Mahakhali, Gandak, Koshi (Kosi), Ghaghara, and Damodar

Right tributaries – Yamuna, Son, Mahananda, Chambal 

◦Distributariesthe main distributaries are:1. gorai2. gorai madhumati3.hooghly4.meghna5.padma

Tributaries

Main Stream

Important Cities Located at Banks

AllahabadDevaprayagFarakkaHaridwarUttarkashiBadarinathPatnaKanpurVaranasiRishikeshKolkataMirazapur

Multipurpose River Valley Projects

Multipurpose river valley projects generally refer to large dams that serve several purposes in addition to impounding the water of a river.

Intended purposes can include providing water for irrigation to town or a city water supply, improving navigation, creating a reservoir of water to supply industrial uses, generating hydroelectric power, creating recreation areas or habitat for fish and wildlife, retaining wet season flow to minimise downstream flood risk and containing effluent from industrial sites such as mines or factories. The main river valley projects on the river Ganga are-1. Tehrai Dam2. Bansagar Dam3. Farakka Dam

Tehrai DamThe most controversial Tehri dam is the main dam of the Tehri Hydro Project on the rivers Bhagirathi (one of the major tributary of the river Ganga) located near Tehri in Uttarakhand. It is a multi purpose river valley project, towering 855 feet (261 m). The main dam at Tehri is the 8th tallest dam in the world. The dams projected capabilities include a power generation capacity of 2400 MW, irrigation stabilization to an area of 6,000 km², an additional area of 2,700 km² of irrigation stabilization and a supply of 270 million gallons (1.23 million cubic metres) of drinking water  to industrialized cities in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Bansagar Dam The Bansagar dam is constructed on Son river located in Ganga Basin in Madhya Pradesh. The objective to build this dam was to enhance both irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. The primary benefit of the Bansagar Dam is related to the irrigational purposes. The water sharing from Bansagar Dam is under Madhya Pradesh, Uttarpradesh and Bihar

Farakka DamFarakka Barrage is a barrage across the Ganges the Indian state of West Bengal. The Farakka Barrage Project was completed in 1975, with the primary objective of preservation & maintenance of the Calcutta Port and for increasing the navigation depth of the Bhagirathi - Hooghly waterway. The Project comprises of a 2225 m long barrage across river Ganga at Farakka in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Navigation works such as Locks, Lock channels, Shelter basins, Control tower building, navigational lights and other infrastructure, is one of the principal component.The Farakka Barrage also acts as road-cum-rail bridge across the river Ganga at Farakka and connects North-East region with rest of the country.

Social IssuesSince the 1950s, population and industry along the Ganges and Hugli rivers have grown dramatically and both municipal and industrial wastewater and sewage have been discharged in large quantities into the rivers. In addition, because of the religious significance of the Ganges, Hindus often cremate their dead on the rivers banks and throw the remains and burnt charcoal into the river. All of these factors have so polluted the river that drinking and bathing in its water have become dangerous.

Efforts By:

Sanjam Kanwar

IX-E