4.3.3. The Ganga System
The Ganga is the most important river of India both from the point of view of its basin and cultural significance. The river has a length of 2,525 km. It is the largest river basin in India with about one-fourth area of the country under it. It rises in the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh (3,900 m) in the Uttarakhand where it is known as the Bhagirathi. At Devprayag, the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda and both makes Ganga. The Alaknanda consists of the Dhauli and the
Vishnu Ganga which meet at Vishnuprayag. Pindar joins Alaknanda at Karnaprayag while Mandakini meets it at Rudraprayag. At Haridwar, Ganga enters into plains. Further on, it moves in west-east direction and split into two distributaries, namely the Bhagirathi and the Hugli in Bengal. Along with Brahmaputra, it makes largest delta of the world. The Ganga river is having a number of perennial and non-perennial rivers originating in the Himalayas in the north and the Peninsula in the south, respectively. It flows through major cities of India – Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna, and Kolkata.
The Yamuna river, the western most and the longest tributary of the Ganga, has its source in the Yamunotri glacier on the western slopes of Banderpunch range (6,316 km). It flows parallel to Ganga and finally meets the same at Allahabad (Prayag). The right bank tributaries involves the Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa and the Ken which originates in the Peninsular plateau while the Hindan, the Rind, the Sengar, the Varuna, etc. join it on its left bank. It is a major source to feed the canals of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. It flows through cities such as Karnal, Delhi, and Agra.
The Gandak river comprises two streams, namely Kaligandak and Trishulganga. It rises in the Nepal Himalayas between Dhaluagiri and Mt. Everest. It enters the Ganga Plains of India in Champaran, Bihar and joins Ganga at Sonpur near Patna. This river changes its course frequently.
The Ghaghara originates in the glaciers of Mapchachungo. It comes out of the mountain, cutting a deep gorge at Shishapani. The river Sarda joins it in the plain before it finally meets the Ganga at Chhapra. It flows through famous Ayodhya town.
The Ramganga is the first major tributary to join the Ganga from its left near Kannauj. It rises in the Garhwal hills near Gairsain. A large dam has been built on this river near Kalagarh.
The Damodar drains the eastern parts of the Chotanagpur Plateau where it flows through a rift valley and finally joins the Hugli at Falta. The Barakar is its main tributary. Once known as the ‘sorrow of Bengal’, the Damodar has been now tamed by the Damodar Valley Corporation, a multipurpose project.
The Chambal rises near Mhow in the Malwa plateau from Vindhyan range and flows northwards through a gorge up wards of Kota in Rajasthan. From Kota, it traverses down to Bundi, Sawai Madhopur and Dholpur, and finally joins the Yamuna at Etawah. The Chambal is famous for its badland topography called the Chambal ravines. Ravines are being reclaimed for agricultural and pastoral activities. Banas river is its main tributary. The main dams across the river are Gandhi Sagar (Kota), Rana Pratap Sagar and Jawahar Sagar.
The Son originates from the Amarkantak plateau. It has length of 780km and drains areas of around 54,000 sqkm. After forming a series of waterfall at the edge of plateau, it reaches Arrah, west of Patna to join the Ganga.
The Sarda or Saryu river rises in the Milan glacier in the Nepal Himalayas where it is known as the Goriganga. Along the Indo-Nepal border, it is called Kali or Chauk, where it joins the Ghaghara. The Mahananda is another important tributary of the Ganga rising in the Darjiling hills. It joins the Ganga as its last left bank tributary in West Bengal.