MAJOR RIVERS AND RIVER SYSTEMS OF INDIA

PRERNA FOR IAS

         Mehnat Aapki, Guidance Humari

         Roz ki Prelims Practice — Experts ke Saath

MAJOR RIVERS AND RIVER SYSTEMS OF INDIA

1. Importance of Rivers in India

• Rivers form the backbone of India’s physical geography, agriculture, settlement, transport, ecology and cultural life.
• They provide water for drinking, irrigation, industries, hydropower and navigation, and also recharge groundwater and sustain wetlands.
• India’s river systems are broadly divided into Himalayan rivers and Peninsular rivers, with some important inland-drainage streams as well.

2. Himalayan River Systems

• The major Himalayan river systems are the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra.
• These rivers are generally perennial, receiving water from rainfall as well as snow and glacier melt.
• Their upper courses are characterised by deep valleys and gorges, while in the plains they form wide floodplains, meanders and extensive depositional features.
• The Himalayan systems carry large quantities of water and sediment and support some of the most densely populated regions of South Asia.

3. Ganga River System

• The Ganga originates in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand; its headstream, the Bhagirathi, emerges from the Gangotri glacier region and joins the Alaknanda at Devprayag.
• It flows across the northern plains and ultimately enters the Bay of Bengal through a vast deltaic system.
• Its major tributaries include the Yamuna, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi and Son.
• The Central Water Commission records the Ganga’s length at about 2,525 km and its basin as India’s largest individual river basin.

4. Yamuna River

• The Yamuna rises from the Yamunotri glacier region in Uttarakhand and flows southward before joining the Ganga at Prayagraj.
• Important tributaries include the Chambal, Betwa, Ken and Sind.
• The Yamuna basin is agriculturally and economically important, but many stretches face serious pollution and urban wastewater pressures.

5. Brahmaputra River System

• The Brahmaputra rises in the Tibetan region, where it is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo, and enters India through Arunachal Pradesh.
• It flows through Assam and subsequently into Bangladesh, where it joins the larger Ganga-Meghna drainage system.
• The river carries enormous sediment loads and frequently causes floods and channel changes in the Assam valley.
• The Brahmaputra basin is one of India’s most water-rich and ecologically significant regions.