RIVER (DRAINAGE) SYSTEM OF INDIA

              Phani Siddha

@ Super Sixty IAS Academy

                   Hyd

Major rivers of India

 The rivers of India play an important role in the lives of the Indian people. The river systems provide irrigation, potable water, cheap transportation, electricity, and the livelihoods for a large number of people all over the country. This easily explains why nearly all the major cities of India are located by the banks of rivers. The rivers also have an important role in Hindu mythology and are considered holy by all Hindus in the country.

Seven major rivers along with their numerous tributaries make up the river system of India. Most of the rivers pour their waters into the Bay of Bengal; however, some of the rivers whose courses take them through the western part of the country empty into the Arabian Sea. Parts of Ladakh, northern parts of the Aravalli range and the arid parts of the Thar Desert have inland drainage. Dr.Francis Buchanan surveyed the courses of the rivers of India along with their tributaries and branches in 1810-11 AD and presented a minute account of it. The shifting of the courses and bed over the centuries is very remarkable. Many of the channels mentioned in that survey have now become dead , dried or even extinct.
All major rivers of India originate from one of the three main watersheds:

1. The Himalayan and the Karakoram ranges
2. Vindhya and Satpura ranges and Chotanagpur plateau in central India
3. Sahyadri or Western Ghats in western India

The Himalayan River System

The major Himalayan Rivers are the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. These rivers are long,and are joined by many large and important tributaries. Himalayan rivers have long courses from their source to sea.

Ganges River System

The major river Ganges,and its tributaries like Yamuna, Son, and Gandak, which have been left out of the list, actually formulates the biggest cultivable plains of north and eastern India, known as the Gangetic plains. The main river, the holy Ganges forms by the joining of the Alaknanda River and Bhagirathi River at Devprayag. The Bhagirathi, which is considered the Ganges' true source, starts from Gomukh.
It is known as the Padma River in Bangladesh, it joins the Jamuna River, the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra River. The Padma then joins the Meghna River before emptying into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh, with a length of about 2,525 kilometres (1,569 mi), the Ganges the second longest river of India. The Brahmaputra is longer, but most of its course is not in India.at last it make GANGA Delta at the shore of Bay of Bengal.
SUNDARBANS is the southern most part of Ganga Delta which is full of Mangroves (Halophytes).
Ganga Treaty signed with Bangladesh mandates that even in dry period 35,000 Cusecs of water should be allowed to Bangladesh and the remaining for India for 10 days and vice versa for 10 alternate days…

Indus River System

The Indus River originates in the northern slopes of the Kailash range near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet. Although most of the river's course runs through neighbouring Pakistan, a portion of it does run through India, as do parts of the courses of its five major tributaries, listed below. These tributaries are the source of the name of the Punjab region of South Asia; the name is derived from the Persian words Punj ("five") and aab ("water"), hence the combination of the words (Punjab) means "five waters" or "land of five waters".
India and Pakistan have signed Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 which has 20:80 ratio of water sharing for India and Pak respectively with World Bank as the Arbiter if no conclusion is reached in case of any dispute.. 
Pakistan has rights on the rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab whereas India has rights on Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

Beas

Main article: Beas River

The Beas originates in Bias Kund,lying near the Rohtang pass. It runs past Manali and Kulu, where its valley is known as the Kulu valley. It joins the Sutlej river near Harika, after being joined by a few tributaries. The total length of the river is 615 km.

Chenab

Main article: Chenab River

The Chenab originates from the confluence of two rivers, the Chandra and the Bhaga, It is also known as the Chandrabhaga in Himachal . It runs parallel to the Pir Panjal Range It enters the plains of Punjab near Akhnur and is later joined by the Jhelum. It is further joined by the river Ravi and the Sutlej in Pakistan.

Jhelum

The Jhelum originates in the south-eastern part of Jammu and Kashmir, in a spring known as Verinag. One of its important tributaries is Krishna-Ganga.

Ravi

The Ravi originates near the Rothang pass in the Himalayas and follows a north-westerly course. It turns to the south-west, near Dalhousie, and then cuts a gorge in the Dhaola Dhar range entering the Punjab plain near Madhopur. It flows as a part of the Indo-Pakistan border for some distance before entering Pakistan and joining the Chenab.

Sutlej (Satluj)

The Sutlej originates from the Rakas Lake (Rakshas Tal), which is connected to the Manasarovar lake by a stream, in Tibet. It enters Pakistan near Sulemanki, and is later joined by the Chenab. It has a total length of almost 1500 km. The first village where it enters in India is Namgi

The Brahmaputra River System

The Brahmaputra originates in Tibet, near the sources of the Indus and the Sutlej. It is about 2,900 kilometres (1,800 mi) long. In Tibet, where it is known as the Yarlung Zangbo Jiangin River, or Tsangpo (The Purifier), it flows east, parallel to the Himalayas. Reaching Namcha barwa, it turns south (Great Bend of Brahmaputra) and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh, where is it known as Dihang. In Assam it is called the Brahmaputra. Just before entering Bangladesh it splits into two distributaries, the larger of which is called the Jamuna River.

The Peninsular River System

The main water divide in peninsular rivers is formed by the Western Ghats, which run from north to south close to the western coast. Most of the major rivers of the peninsula such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri flow eastwards and drain into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers make delta at their mouth. The Narmada and Tapi are the only long rivers, which flow west and make esturies.

The Narmada River System

The Narmada or Nerbudda is a river in central India. Like the Mahi, it runs from east to west. The Narmada originates in Amarkantak  in Madhya Pradesh and pursues a direct westerly course to the Gulf of Cambay.
In Gujarat Narmada has the largest Dam, Sardar Sarovar Multipurpose project.

•  length is 1,057 km.
• Forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India.
• Empties into the Arabian Sea in the Bharuch district of Gujarat.
• Main tributaries: Hiran, Burhner, Banjar, Shar, Shakkar, Tawa.

The Tapi/Tapti River System

The Tapi is the ancient name of the river now called "Tapti" of central India.
It is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with the length of around 724 km,
It rises in the eastern Satpura Range in Betul District of southern Madhya Pradesh state, before emptying into the Gulf of Cambay of the Arabian Sea, in the State of Gujarat.

• Known as twin of Narmada
• Main tributaries: Arunavati, Ganjal, Purna, Girna, Panzara, Waghur, Bori and Aner.

Luni

• Also known as Salt River, length is 450 km.
• Originates in Sambhar Lake Aravalli hills, never reaches the sea.

Sabarmati

• Rises from Aravalli hills, Rajasthan, length is 416 km.

Mahi

• Originates in the Vindhyas in Madhya Pradesh.
• Total length is 560 km.

Sharavati

• Originates in the Sahyadris or Western Ghats.
• Forms India's highest waterfall Jog or Gersoppa (289 m) which is also known as Mahatama Gandhi Falls.

River Godavari

Having the second longest course within India, Godavari is often referred to as the Vriddh (Old) Ganga or Dakshin (South) Ganga. The river is about 1,465 km (910 mi) long. It rises at Tryambakeshwar, near Nasik and Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in Maharashtra around 380 km distance from the Arabian Sea, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. At Rajahmundry, 80 km from the coast, the river splits into two streams (Vasista which flows to Narsapur & Gautami which flows to other side pasarlapudi) thus forming a very fertile river delta.Also the Rjohi plays a very important role in the water system most of India's rivers empty into the Rjohi including the Godavari River.
Navigable upto 300 km from the Mouth of the river

The Krishna River System

The Krishna is one of the longest rivers of India (about 1300 km in length). It originates at Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra and meets the sea in the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh. The Krishna River flows through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Navigable upto 300 km from the Mouth of the river

The Kaveri River System

The Kaveri (also spelled Cauvery or Kavery) is one of the great rivers of India and is considered sacred by the Hindus. This is the holy river of south Indians . Birth place of river kaveri called as Dakshin Kashi god shiva temple called Bhagandeshwar at Bhagamandala and caveri temple at Talakaveri. The headwaters are in the Western Ghats range of Karnataka state, and from Karnataka through Tamil Nadu. It empties into the Bay of Bengal.  Navigable upto 300 km from the Mouth of the river.

The Mahanadi River System

Mahanadi River Delta

The Mahanadi River Delta in India is a basin of deposit that drains the large land mass of the Indian subcontinent into the Bay of Bengal. The alluvial valley is wide and relatively flat with a meandering river channel that changes its course.
The Mahanadi River flows slowly for 560 miles (900 km) and has an estimated drainage area of 51,000 square miles (132,100 square km). It deposits more silt than almost any other river in the Indian subcontinent.

The Vaigai River System

The Vaigai river originates in the Cardamom hills, flows from Theni district of Tamil Nadu and passes through various districts like Dindugul, Madurai, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram and finally reaches the Bay of Bengal. The Vaigai river is used for irrigation of around two lakh acres by farmers. Nearly 90 lakh people use the Vaigai river for their day to day life.

INTER LINKING OF RIVERS

Supreme Court of India before giving any instructions to Union Government on the INTER LINKING OF RIVERS wanted to know the cost factor of the entire project and the financial burden on Govt...

The river interlinking project was the brainchild of the NDA government and in October 2002, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had formed a task force to get the project going against the backdrop of the acute drought that year.

The task force had submitted a report recommending division of the project into two —— the Peninsular component and the Himalayan component.

The Peninsular component —— involving the rivers in southern India —— envisaged developing a ‘Southern Water Grid’ with 16 linkages. This component included diversion of the surplus waters of the Mahanadi and Godavari to the Pennar, Krishna, Vaigai and Cauvery.

The task force had also mooted the diversion of the west-flowing rivers of Kerala and Karnataka to the east, the interlinking of small rivers that flow along the west coast, south of Tapi and north of Mumbai and interlinking of the southern tributaries of the river Yamuna.

The Himalayan component envisaged building storage reservoirs on the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their main tributaries both in India and Nepal in order to conserve the waters during the monsoon for irrigation and generation of hydro-power, besides checking flood


DRAINAGE SYSTEM: National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA): Three NGRBA members quit

Three non-governmental members of NGRBA have submitted their resignations to the Prime Minister, who chairs the body on the NATIONAL RIVER.

In three years of the NGRBA’s existence, we had two meetings, we do not have any details about how the NGRBA is spending the 6000 crores…There is no accountability,” ” said Rajendra Singh, the Magsaysay Award winner, known as the Waterman for his efforts in water harvesting and management in the arid villages of Rajasthan

two other members of the NGRBA’s policy-making Apex Council, Ravi Chopra of the People’s Science Institute in Dehradun and former Aligarh Muslim University professor Rashid Hyatt Siddiqui have resigned

The Authority was created in February 2009 after widespread protests that the earlier Ganga Action Plan (Phase I) launched by then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986 had failed to clean up the river. 

Now activists are complaining that the government is repeating its mistakes, breaking its own promises and continuing its neglect of the river.

“They promised that the 135 km stretch from Gomukh to Uttarkashi would be a protected ecological zone. But [the government] has given permission for 50 new dams along that stretch. What kind of protection is this?” asked Mr. Singh. “They have declared the Ganga as the national river on paper, but they are not treating it with any respect.”

The three NGRBA members are also quitting in solidarity with Swami Gyan Swarup Anand – formerly known as retired IIT professor G.D. Agarwal – who is on a fast-unto-death to persuade the government to scrap all hydel projects under construction on the Ganga or its tributaries which disrupt the natural flow of their waters.

 After one month of no food, the swami has also stopped drinking water from March 9 to up the pressure on the government. In 2010, his 36-day fast had resulted in three major hydel projects being abandoned

THE DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR PRANAHITA-CHEVELLA SUJALA SRAVANTHI PROJECT ON GODAVARI

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan (left), Union Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and A.P. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy in New Delhi

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and his Maharashtra counterpart, Prithviraj Chavan, signed an agreement in the presence of Union Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Rs.40,300-crore Pranahita-Chevella irrigation project that will serve both States.

The Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella Sujala Sravanthi project, which Andhra Pradesh wants to be declared as a national project, envisages diversion of 160 tmc of water by constructing a barrage across the Pranahita river, which is a major tributary of the Godavari.

It further utilises 20 tmc of water from the Godavari at the Sripada Yellampally project.

A joint inter-State committee will be formed to ensure efficient, speedy and economical investigation and execution of the project. To prevent any differences between A.P. and Maharashtra over the project, the joint committee will decide on the location of the barrage and the share of the expenditure involved for the two States.

Mr. Pawan Kumar Bansal Water resources minister termed the agreement a “trendsetter” and hoped other States would follow suit in the inter-State water disputes. Mr. Reddy described the agreement as “historic,” as the project would  lift water upto 1256 metres and be a “lifeline” for both States, particularly by the districts of the backward Telangana region where Water from the basin will be utilised for drinking, irrigation and industrial requirements including the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad (30 tmc).

As per the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) report, dated October 6, 1975, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have agreed to take up the Lendi Project, the Lower Penganga and the Pranahita-Chevella at an appropriate time with agreed water utilisation. The Lower Penganga and Lendi Projects are already under execution.

For the inter-State board, the Chief Ministers of the two States will be chairman/co-chairman on rotation and its members include the Ministers and the Secretaries of Irrigation, Power, Finance, Revenue, Forest departments (both States).

BHABHLI DAM ON GODAVARI

Bhabhli dam constructed b y Maharashtra is a concern for AP as it falls in the catchment area of SRIRAMSAGAR PROJECT thus has the potential to reduce the water flows into it..

Supreme court’s judgement allows further construction of the Bhabhli dam if Maharashtra does not claim any damages after the final judgement of SC. Further the sluice gates must not be constructed...

POLAVARAM DAM

Polavaram dam as decided in the 1975 Bachawat Tribunal award has been started but faces many challenges..

Interstate conflict: Orissa and Chattisgarh’s land submergence is a concern

Interregional: Two regions Telangana and Coastal Andhra Pradesh in AP are contending that the dam is beneficial for the later while the former will face submergence.

Ecological conflict: Large tracts of land in Khammam district of AP is covered with pristine forests, part of Dandakaranya Forest, which will get submerged hence ecologists/environmentalists oppose this dam tooth and nail.

Rehab/Resettlement will be another area of concern due to the large tribal population which usually is dependent on the forest produce.

KRISHNA RIVER WATERS DISPUTE TRIBUNAL  KWDT II

The Chairman of Krishna River Water Dispute Tribunal Mr.Brijesh Kumar who pronounced today his judgement in New Delhi passed an order distributing 1001 TMC s Krishna River water to Andhra Pradesh state, 666 TMCs Krishna river water for Maharastra State and 911 TMCs river water for Karanataka state in South India.

The Chairman of the Tribunal also ordered that all the three states must give 7 TMCs water equally for Tamilnadu state in first three months of every year. And rights on usage of rest of the entire suprplus water of Krishna River is given to Andhra Pradesh. And Karnataka state is favoured by permitting it to raise the Almatti Dam to the extent of 524.24 meters, which the Andhra Pradesh State is considering as disastrous for the on going seven Irrigation projects in the Andhra Pradesh and also a set back for water flow to Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam Dams in the state. In general the political parties in the Andhra Pradesh are not happy over the Tribunal Judgement, as the Judgement of the Tribunal can be Reviewed only after May 2050

TELUGU GANGA PROJECT

The Telugu Ganga project is a water supply scheme implemented in South India, to provide drinking water to Chennai city in Tamil Nadu. It is also known as the Krishna Water Supply Project, since the source of the water is the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh. Water is drawn from the Srisailam reservoir and diverted towards Chennai through a series of inter-linked canals, over a distance of about 406 km, before it reaches the destination at the Poondi reservoir near Chennai.

The project was approved in 1977 after an agreement was reached between Tamil Nadu and the riparian states of Krishna river: Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. According to the agreement, each of the three riparian states were to contribute 5 thousand million cubic ft (tmc)or 5,000,000,000 cubic feet (140,000,000 m³) of water annually, for a total supply of 15 tmc.  This number was revised down to 12 tmc in 1983.

The water initially supplied by the canal was disappointing, delivering less than 0.5  tmc.

In 2002 religious leader Sathya Sai Baba announced a great scheme of restoration and lining of the canal; a private undertaking. With an extensive rebuilding of the canal and several reservoirs, the project was completed in 2004, when Poondi reservoir received Krishna water for the first time. The supply of water to Chennai city in 2006 was 3.7  tmc. After the re-lining and reconstruction, the Kandaleru-Poondi part of the canal was renamed Sai Ganga

KAVERI RIVER WATER DISPUTE

Judgement

The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal announced its final verdict on 5 February 2007. According to its verdict. 

Tamil Nadu gets 419 billion ft³ (12 km³) of Cauvery water while

Karnataka gets 270 billion ft³ (7.6 km³).

The actual release of water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu is to  be 192 billion ft³ (5.4 km³) annually.

Further, Kerala will get 30 billion ft³ and

 Pondicherry 7 billion ft³. Tamil Nadu appears to have been accepting the verdict while the government of Karnataka, unhappy with the decision, filed a revision petition before the tribunal seeking a review

The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Kerala state of India. It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above mean sea level on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, South India. It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by the British Government to divert water eastwards to Madras Presidency area (the present-day Tamil Nadu). It has a height of 53.6 m (176 ft) from the foundation and length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft). The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam's reservoir. The dam is located in Kerala on the river Periyar, but the dam is controlled and operated under a period lease by neighbouring Tamil Nadu state. The control and safety of the dam and the validity and fairness of the lease agreement have been points of dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu states.  Supreme court judgment came in February 27 2006, allowing Tamil Nadu to raise the level of the dam to 152 feet after strengthening it. Responding to it, Mullaperiyar dam was declared an 'endangered' scheduled dam by the Kerala Government under the disputed Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006. Provisions in this act bypasses supreme court judgment and it prescribes the level of water in the 22 dams, Mullaperiyar is in the top of the list.

NETRAVATI RIVER CONTROVERSY

Netravati river flows south of Mangalore but was proposed to be shifted northwards for agri and commercial purposes but environmentalists content that the shifting of  the waters of the river will damage the present Ecosystem consisting of flora and fauna which will have short supply of waters.

INLAND WATERWAYS OF INDIA

National Waterway 1

 Allahabad–Haldia stretch of the Ganges–Bhagirathi–Hooghly river system.

 Estd = October 1986.  Length = 1620 km§ 

National Waterway 2     Sadiya — Dhubri stretch of Brahmaputra river.

  Estd = September 1982.   Length = 891 km

National Waterway 3

Kottapuram-Kollam stretch of the West Coast Canal, Champakara Canal and Udyogmandal Canal.  Estd = February 1993   Length = 205 km

National Waterway 4

  Kakinada–Pondicherry stretch of Canals and the Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam – Rajahmundry stretch of River Godavari and Wazirabad – Vijayawada stretch of River Krishna.    Estd = November 2008    Length = 1095 km

National Waterway 5

Talcher–Dhamra stretch of the Brahmani River, the Geonkhali - Charbatia stretch of the East Coast Canal, the Charbatia–Dhamra stretch of Matai river and the Mangalgadi - Paradip stretch of theMahanadi River Delta.

 Established = November 2008   Length = 623 km

National Waterway 6  *Lakhipur to Bhanga of river Barak. Proposed   Length = 121 km

India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 km, out of which about 5200 km of river and 4000 km of canals can be used by mechanised crafts. Freight transportation by waterways is highly underutilised in India compared to other large countries and geographic areas like the United States, China and the European Union. The total cargo moved (in tonne kilometers) by the inland waterway was just 0.1% of the total inland traffic in India, compared to the 21% figure for United States. Cargo transportation in an organised manner is confined to a few waterways in Goa, West  Bengal, Assam and Kerala. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. Its headquarters is located in NOIDA (UP). It does the function of building the necessary infrastructure in these waterways, surveying the economic feasibility of new projects and also administration and regulation.

Inland Waterways Authority of India (Hindi: भारतीया अंतर्देशीयजलमार्ग प्राधिकरण) (IWAI) was created by Indian Government on 27 October 1986 for development and regulation of Inland Waterways forshipping and navigation. The Authority primarily undertakes projects for development and maintenance of Inland Waterway Terminal infrastructure on National Waterways through grant received fromMinistry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways. The head office is at Noida. The Authority also has its regional offices at Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati and Kochi and sub-offices at Allahabad,Varanasi, Bhagalpur, Farrakka and Kollam.

INTER LINKING OF RIVERS

Supreme Court of India, before giving any instructions to Union Government on the INTER LINKING OF RIVERS, wanted to know the cost factor of the entire project and the financial burden on Govt...

The river interlinking project was the brainchild of the NDA government and in October 2002, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had formed a task force to get the project going against the backdrop of the acute drought that year.

The task force had submitted a report recommending division of the project into two —— the Peninsular component and the Himalayan component.

The Peninsular component —— involving the rivers in southern India —— envisaged developing a ‘Southern Water Grid’ with 16 linkages. This component included diversion of the surplus waters of the Mahanadi and Godavari to the Pennar, Krishna, Vaigai and Cauvery.

The task force had also mooted:

 the diversion of the west-flowing rivers of Kerala and Karnataka to the east,

 the interlinking of small rivers that flow along the west coast, south of Tapi and north of Mumbai and

 interlinking of the southern tributaries of the river Yamuna.

The Himalayan component envisaged building storage reservoirs on the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their main tributaries both in India and Nepal in order to conserve the waters during the monsoon for irrigation and generation of hydro-power, besides checking flood

The total project cost was estimated at 5.6 Lakh Crores and UPA – II has shelved the project and Mr Jairam Ramesh then Minister of Envi and Forests had dubbed it a Social, Ecological and Financial Disaster.