bi. Geography ‘The Drainage System of India Drainage System > The flow of water through welkdefined ehani knowin as ‘drainage’ and the network of nich feealled a “drainage nystem. The asain moan areaisthe “ofthe geological timesperiod, nature amy atruclue of nicks, opopeaphy, slope, amount of rater flowing and the perlodicity of the flow, Important Drainage Patterna (0) Thedrainage pattern bling the branches ofa tree jsknown as “dendritic” the examples of which are the rigers ofnorthern plain. (0) When the rivers originate fom a hil ane! flow {mall directions, the drainage pattern isknownas’radial’. The rivers originating from the Amarkantak range present ‘good example of it. (0. When the primary tributaries of rivers flow parallel to pat olher and secondary tfbulares in Ter at rg angles the pattern is known as trellis’ (@) When the rivers discharge their_wate directions ina Take or depression, the pattern own, rene inage system may be divided on various bases, On the Basis of discharge of water (orientations to the sea), it may be grouped into: |: the Arabian Sea drainage; and 2. the Bay of Bengal drainage. > Nearly 77 % of the drainage area consisting of the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, the Mahanadi, the Krishna, ete. is oriented towards the Bay of Bengal while 23 % ‘comprising theIndus, the Narmada, the Tapi, the Mahi dnl the Periyar ystems discharge Tir waters inthe Arabian Sea. ‘The Himalayan Drainage > ‘The Himalayan drainage system mainly includes the Ganga, the Indus and the Brahmaputra river basins. Since these are fed both by melting of snow and Precipitation, rivers of this system are perennial, River Kosi, also known as the ‘sorrow of Bihar’, has been notorious for frequently changing its course. The Kosi brings huge quantity of sediments from its upper teaches and deposits it in the plains. The course gets z blocked, and consequently, the river changes its course. he River Systems of the Himalayan Drainage me Indus System Nisone of the largest river basins of the world, covering, 8M area of 11,65,000 sq. kam (in India it is 321, 289 sq. kn hee total length of 2,880 km (in India 1,114 km). dus also known asthe Sindhu, is the westernmost rivers in India. It originates from a near Bokhar Chu (31°15' N latitude and 81°40" Lonpiadeyin he Tibetan region at an altitude of 4,164 ithe Ka range: In’ibet, tis known ~ 1 h. Chilas in the Dardistan mown as Dardistan, ugh tes receives a number of Himalayan tributaries: ahs the Shyok, thee Gali, the Zaskar, the Hunza, the emer {he Shigar, the Gasting and the Dros. It finally hopes Out of the hills near Attock where it receives, bul river on its right bank. The 17 ‘The other important tributaries joining the right bank ‘the Indus are the Khurean the Too the Goal ti Viteeot the Banna wirram, the Tochi, the Gomal, the ‘They all originate in the flown southward ana re Mithankot, Th tae of Puna the Hieas, The Ravh, he Chonaly and the discharges is Ue Aran Sea, ania Rargg eae ato The Indl flow in India only theough J. and Ke The Jlelum, an important tibutary of the Indus, rises from a spring, at Verinag situated at the foot of the Pir Panjal in thenouth-castern partat the valley of K It flows through Srinagar and the Wular lake before entering Pakistan through a rrow gorge. Itjoins the Chenab near Jhang in Pakistan ae The Chenab is ‘the largest tributary of the Indus. It is formed by two streams, the Chandra and the Bhaga, which jpin at Tandi near Keylongyi® Himachal Pradesh Hence, itis also know ty Chandesbhaga The river floes for 1,180 kam to Pal “The ax is anot tant tgibutaey of the Indus Ts a the Rottong ose ae Ee ese Himachal Pradesh and flows through the Chamba vale TREAT eon entering Paitin and ing the Chienab near ‘Sidhu, it drains the area lyin, between the soutfeastcn part of the Pie Panjal and the ‘The Beag is another important tributary of the Indus, originating, from the Beas Kund near the Rohtang Pass at an clevation of 4,000 m above the mean sea level. The river flows through the Kullu valley and forms gorges at Kati and Largi in the Dhaoladhar range. It enters t Punjab plains where it meets the Satluj near Harike. ‘The Satluj originates in the Rakas lake near Mansarovar at an altitude of 4,555 m in Tibet where it is known as Langchen Khambab. It flows almost parallel to the Indus forabout 400 km before entering India, and com Sut of a gorge at Rupar. It passes through the Shipki La onthe Himalayan ranges and enters the Punjab plain isan antecedent river Iisa very impostant tibutary aviLfeedsthe canalsystem of the Bhabsa Nangal project System Ganga is the most important river of India both, from the point of view ofits basin and cultural signifi- cance, It rises in the Gangotri_glacier ME2t Gaumukh (3,904) 1) in_the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. ' pas the hi cuts through the nthe Uttarkashi Here, it is kno Céntraland the Lesser Himalayas in narrow gorges. At Devprayay, the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda; herdafier, 111s known as the Ganga: ‘The Alaknanda has its source in the Satopanth Bee above Badrinath. The Alaknanda consists of the vauli and the Vishnu Ganga which meet at Joshimath or_ Vishnu Prayag, ot aries o as the Pindar “The other tributaries of Alaknanda such 25. joins tat Rarna Prayas while Mandakin! or KaliGanga_ meets itat Madea ane “The Ganga enters the plains at faridveot From here it lois first to the south ane tether south, then tothe south-east an istributaries, namel cast before splitting into two distributaries, namely ‘thethe Bhagirathi and the Hugli. The river has a length of 2.525km.Itisshared by Uttarakhand (110km)and Uttar Pradesh (1,450km),Bihar (445km)and West Bengal (S20 km), > The Ganga basin covers about 8.6 Tokay aren in India alone. The Ganga river system is the Targest in ‘India having a number of perennial and non-perennial rivers originating in the Himalayas in the north and the Peninsula in the south, respectively. > TheSonisits major right bank tributary. The important left Gank tributaries sre The Ramganga, the Gomati the Ghaghara, the Gandak, the Kosi and the Mahananda. ‘The river finally discharges itself into the Bay of Bengal near the Sagar Island. > The Yamuna, the western mostand the longest tributary ‘ofthe Ganga, has its source in the Yamunotri glacier on the western slopes of Banderpunch range (6,316 km). It jgins the Ganga at Prayag (Allahabad). It is joined by the Chambal, the Sind, he Belwa and the Ken on its rightbank which originates from the Peninsular plateau while the Hindan, the Rind, the Sengar, the Varuna, ete. join it on its left bank. > The Chambal rises near Mhow in the Malwa plateau of Madhya Pradesh and flows northwards through “3 gorge upwards of Kota in Rajasthan, where the Gandhisagar dam has been constructed. From Kota, it traverses down to Bundi, Sawai Madhopur and Dholpur, and finally joins the Yamuna. > The Chambal is famous for its badland topography called the Chambal ravines. > TheGandakcomprisestwostreams,namely Kaligandak and Trishulganga. It rises in the Nepal Himalayas between the Dhaulagiri and Mount Everest and drains the central part of Nepal. It enters the Ganga plain in Champaran district of Bihar and joins the Ganga at Sonpur near Patna. > The Ghaghara originates in the glaciers _of Mapchachungo. After collecting the waters of its tributaries — Tila, Seti and Beri, it comes out of the mountain, cutting a deep gorge at Shishapani. > The river Sarda (Kali or Kali Ganga) joins it in the plain before it finally meets the Ganga at Chhapra > The Kosi is an antecedent river with its source fo the north of Mount Everest in Tibet, where its main stream Arun _tises. After crossing the Central Himalayas in Nepal, it is joined by the Son Kosi from the West and the Tamur Kosi from the east. It forms Sapt Kosi after ‘paiting with the river Arun. > The amganga is comparatively a small river rising in the southwest direction afte ter crossing the Shiwalik and enters tothe plains of ah ssh near Najibabad Finally, it joins the mau > The Damodar occupies the eastern margins of the Chotanagpur Plateau where it flows through a rift Valley and finally joins the Hugli. The Barakar is its main whan: > Gnceknownas the sorrow of Bengal’, the Damodarhas been now tamed by the Damodar Valley corporation, a multipurpose project. Lucent's General Knowledge > TheSarda orSaryuriverrisesin the Milam glacier, Nepal Himalayas her itis known te ee Be Along, the Indo-Nepal border itiscalledKalior hy ivhere it joins the Ghaghara Nk > The Mahananda is another important tributa Ganga rising in the Darjiling hills. Itoins the its last left bank tributary in West Bengal > The Son isa large south bank tributary of the Gang, ‘originating inthe Amarkantak plateau. After forming Series of waterfalls at the edge of the plateau, it teaches Arrah, west of Patna, to join the Ganga. ‘The Brahmaputra System > The Brahimaputra, one of the largest rivers of the world Kailash range near the Mansarovar lake. From hen it traverses eastward longitudinally for a distance of nearly 1,200 km in a dry and flat region of southern Tibet, where it is known as the Tsangpo, which means “the purifier’, ~~~ ~~ “4 > The Rango Tsangpo is the major right bank tribu of this river in Tibet. It emerges as a turbulent dynamic river after carving out a deep gorge in the Central Himalayas near Namcha Barwa (7,735 m) The riveremerges from the foothills under the name of Siang ‘or Dikang. > It enters India west of Sadiya town in Arunachal Pradesh, Flowing southwest, it receives its main it bank tributaries, viz., Dibang or Sikang and Loh thereafter, it is known as the Brahmaputra. > The Subansisi which has ils osigin in Tibet, is an > The Brahmaputra enters into Bangladesh peas) and ffows southward. In Bangladesh, the Tista jos nits right ba wherg the river is known. Yamuta. It finally mergesavith the river Padm Talls in the Bay of Bengal. Major Water Channels of India Name Situation Channel Middle of Maldives and Minicoy Channel Middle of Kavaratti and Minicoy 40'Channel_—_-Midaeof mini Andaman and Car Nis Grand Channel Middle of Samat (Indonesia) anal Nicol PatkStrait Middle of Tamil Nadu and Sei Lanko Duncan Pass Middle of South Andaman and Mini Ama Coco Strait Middle of Coco Island (Myanmar)and Nowthe™| Andaman Gulf of Mannar Middle of South Eastern Tamil Nadu and 4 Lanka Teeside! “ ‘Middle of Lakshadweep and Malabar Cost Note: Sethusamudam Project Connects Gulf of Mannar an Pa The Peninsular Drainage System > The Peninsular drainage system is older th? Himalayan one. This is evident from the broad, 108" sBraded shallovy valleys, and the maturity of the The Western Ghats running, close to the wester ng close to the act as the water divide betsveen the major Pes rivers, discharging their water in the Bay of Bens as small rivulets joining the Arabian Seathe major Peninsular rivers ex a _-_ Nastol from west toast The Chambal, the Sind, an the Ken, the Son, originating in the northern the Pe the Peninsula belong to the Ganga river system, Pe per iveraytemsothePeninulardainage ry Tete Mahanad the Godavari, the Krishna and the ilar rivers are characterised by fixed course, + Reet neanders and nn peential flw water abet de and he Jap which fw through the it _\Zecatems of the Peninsular Drainage me ie a large number of river systems in the peninsular drainage. qe Mahonadi rises near Sihawa in Raipur district of * hbase aiagarh and runs through Odisha to discharge its. ‘GFrinto the Bay of Bengal. It is 851 km long and its Uicment area spreads over 1.42 lakh sg. km, Some savigationis carried on in the lower course ofthis river. ‘Bio the drainage basin of this river lies in Madhya Padesh and Chhattisgarh, while 47% lies in Odisha, > the Godavari is the largest Peninsular river system. It isasecalled the Dakshin Ganga. It Tees ihe Nk aametor Maharashtra and discharges its water into fe Bay of Bengal. Its tributaries run through the sites of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. It is 1,465 km long with a catchment area spreading over 3.13 lakh sq. km 49% of this lies in Maharashtra, 20% in Madhya Pradesh and CChhatsgarh, and the rest in Andhra Pradesh. > The Penganga, the Indravati, the Pranhita, and the Manjra are its principal tributaries. > The Krishna is the second_largest cast. flowi fr river whicl rises near ae as abalsshwer in 3dr: Its total length is 1,401 km. The Koyna, tie Tingbhadra and tig Biin are Te maor tbutaes. Ofthe total catchment area of the Krishna, 27% lies in Maharashtra, 44% in Karnataka and 29% in Andhra Padesh and Telangana. » The Kaveri rises in Brahmagiri hills (1,341m) of Kogadu. 4stictin Kamataka. Its length is 800 km and it drains *aree of 81,155 sq, km. About 3% of the Kaveri basin falls in Kerala, 41% in ti taka and 56 % in Tamil Nadu. Its important Teiasarethe Kabin,theBhavaniand the Amravati dgtmada originates on the western flank of the Pa Bae eee eight of about 1,057 m. "ng ina rift valley between the Satpura in the tye the Vindhyan range in the north, it forms vengsaue gorge in marble rocks and Dhuandhar facil nea Jabalpur. tegen @ distance of about 1,312 km, it meets Jy jgaeeat S22 south of Bharuch, forming a broad Pe kn, Sestuary. Its catchment area is about 98,796 sq. i on big eee Sarovar Project has been constructed iver, Tai ai the other important ingxiver. Pradesh fom Maltaiin the Betul district of Madhya Shen Neg 24 km long and drains an area of 65,145 ndtagy Ay 79 % of its basin lies in Maharashtra, 15% ’@ Pradesh and the remaining 6% in Gujarat. Geography 19 > Luni uals the largest tiver system of Rojasthan, west of re Saran nates near Pushkar in wo) of Arava eed eee f™ here, the river comes out is known as Luni It flows towards the ‘west till Telvara and then takes a south tojoin the Rann of Kuchchh, The ene see Sutera tofpin ha . The entre river system is Smaller Rivers Flowing Towards th ‘ ards the West >The rivers flowing towards the Arabi aes 1 Arabian sea have short > The Shetruniji is one such river which ts Dalkahwwain Amel district. The Bhadraoriginatesneat Aniali village in Rajkot district, The Dhadhat ries neat Ghantae village in Panchmahal district Sabarmati and Mahi are the two famous rivers of Gujarat > The Voitarna rises from the Trimbak hills in Nasik districtatan elevation of 70m. The Kalinad ies from Belgaum district and falls in the KarwarBay. The source of Bedti river lies in Hubli Dharwar and traverses a course of 161 km. The Sharavati is another important river in Karnataka flowing towards the west. The Sharavati originates in Shimoga district of Kamataka and drains a catchment area of 2209 sq, km. > Goa has two important rivers one is Mandovi and the other is Juari > Kerala has a nari6iw coastline. The longest river of Kerala, Bharathapuzha rises near Annamalai hills. [tis “glsoknownas Ponnani.Itdrains an areaof5,397q. km. > The Periyar is the second largest river of Kerala Is catchment area is 5243 sq, km. > Another river of Kerala worth mentioning isthe Pamba river which fallsin the Vemobanad lake after traversing a course of 177 km. ‘Small Rivers Flowing Towards the East >There are a large numberof rivers flowing towards the cast along with their tributaries. There are small rivers which join the Bay of Bengal, though small, these are imporiant in their own right. The Subarnrekha, the Baitarni, the Brahmani, the Vamsadhara, the Penner, the Palar and the Vaigai are important rive Source: dia: Physical Environment (NCER Water Resources and Their Utilization in India v > India has 4% of water resources ofthe world, while it has to support 16% of the world population and 15% of livestock. > The annual precipitation including snowfall, which is the main source of water inthe country, is estimated to be of the order of 400 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM). > Theestimated precipitation during themonsoon season (june to September) is ofthe order of 3,000 BCM. > The resources potential of the country, which occurs as natural run off in the rivers is about 1869 BCM, Considering both surface water (690 BCM) and ground water (433 DCM) as one system (INDIA-2018). > Water resources of India ean be divided into two parts: 1, Surface Water Resources and 2. Underground Water Resources. Sources of Irrigation in india “There are various sources of i rrigation which are:uo Lucent's General Knowledge (a) Wells & Tubewells 55.9% of total irrigation nuclear or atomic power, solar energy, Wind energy (b) Canals 31.4% of total irrigation energy, blo-gas etc, (6) Tanks 6.1% of total irrigation Multipurpose Projects of India (d) Other Sources 6.6% of total irrigation Multipurpose river valley projects, once referred (Dongs, Kuhls, Springs etc) Jawahar Lal Nehru as “Temples of Modern Incl’, p Power Resources of India India uses a large amount of fossil fuels as a source of energy along with a number of renewable sources of energy, viz., hydroelectric power, thermal power, petroleum, an integrating system of controlling floods, generation, hydroclectricity ion, developmentof fishery and tian spots, boating, navigation and draining away extra vine ‘These projects aim at all round development of iver vals Multipurpose River Valley Projects —~ i ProjectiRiver 3 ‘Bhakhre-Nangal Project Onriver Sutlof518 mong, 226 m high Damodar Valley Project conservation aa oaRe 1. Irrigation, 2. Hydroelecticty generation, 3. Soll 1. Bhakhra, 2. Ganguwal, 5. Nanay "Name of Power Houses 4.Kotla 1. Irrigation, 2, Generation of Hydro and Thermal 1.Maithon, 2.Tilaia, 3 Panchet fil OnriverDamodar locatedin WestBengaland power, 3.Navigation, 4.Flood control (Damodar has 4.Bokaro, 5 Durgapur, & Chandran Jharkhand Hirakud Projet turned from a Valley of Sorrow’ ‘Valley of Plenty’) 1. Irrigation, 2, Production of Hydel power, l-Hirakud, 2.Chiplima (Qn Mahanadi river in Odisha; 4800 m long. _3. Navigation for over 480 km. Tungabhadea Project 1 Intigation, 2.Generation of Hydro electricity iRlaappuram onthe river Tungabhadrs, it is 2441 m long and 49.3 m high; in Telangana and Kerataka, Rihand Project On iver Rihand > The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) is the largest multi stage Lift irrigation protect in the world, This"Wwas inaugurated by Telangana CM Ch shekhar Rao. 8 June, 2019 at Bhoopaipally, Kale-shwaram, Telangana. : Hydroclectricity production: L.AtMalappuram, 2.At Hampi, 3.On left side of Malappuram Pimpri > In order to give boost to the economic developmet of the country, the government has embarked upct a massive National Highways Development Pxist (NHDP) in the country. > The NHDPis the largest highway projecteverundert