The Ganga River System

Introduction

The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) River Basin is one of the world’s major river systems. The holy river is fed by melting water from the Himalayas, as well as water from tributaries and rains. The Ganges River travels south and east from the Himalayas, carving a canyon as it exits the mountain range.

The Ganga River System

• The Ganga River System is the allocation of two rivers – Bhagirathi and Alaknanda
• The Ganga is by far the most significant river in India, both in terms of its importance as a drainage system and in terms of its cultural significance
• Located in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, it takes its name from the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh (3,900 m). The river is referred to as the Bhagirathi in this area
• It flows through the Central and Lesser Himalayas in steep gorges, and it is the longest river in the world
• After merging with the Alaknanda at Devprayag, the river is referred to as the Ganga after this point
• The Alaknanda River receives its water from the Satopanth glacier, which is located above Badrinath
• The following are some of the most important Prayags where other rivers meet the Alaknanda
• Vishnu Prayag or Joshimath: The Alaknanda comprises the Dhauli and the Vishnu Ganga, both of which meet here
• KarnaPrayag: Pindar meets Alaknanda
• RudraPrayag: is the meeting point of Mandakini or Kali Ganga and Alaknanda
• At Haridwar, the Ganga makes its way into the plains. Following that, it flows first to the south, then to the south-east and east of the country
• It has a total length of 2,525 kilometres
• There are four states that share this border: Uttarakhand (110 kilometres) and Uttar Pradesh (1,450 kilometres), Bihar (445 kilometres), and West Bengal (520 km)
• The Ganga basin encompasses an area of about 8.6 lakh square kilometres in India
• Several rivers, including the Ganga, enter the Ganga river system from both the peninsula and the Himalayas
• The river Ganga has two sets of tributaries:  left bank and right bank tributaries
• Gomati, Gandak,Ramganga, Kosi, Ghaghara and Mahananda are left bank tributaries
• Son, Punpun, Yamuna and Damodar are three tributaries on the right bank

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Right Bank Tributaries of Ganga River

Yamuna

• There are other tributaries of the Ganga, but this is the westernmost and longest tributary of the Ganga river system
• Its source is the Yamunotri glacier, which is located on the western slopes of the Banderpunch range (6,316 km)
• At Prayagraj, Yamuna meets the Ganga
• The Yamuna also has two sets of tributaries: right bank and left bank tributaries
• Sind, Betwa, Chambal, and Ken rivers are tributaries of the right bank
• Hindan, Rind, Sengar, and the Varuna are all left bank tributaries

Damodar

• This river runs through a rift valley and eventually enters the Hugli River on the eastern edges of the Chotanagpur Plateau
• The Barakar River is the river’s most important tributary
• The Damodar, once known as the ‘sorrow of Bengal,’ has been controlled by the Damodar Valley Corporation, a multifunctional project that was established in 1992

Son

• In the Amarkantak plateau, it receives its water from this big south bank tributary of the Ganga
• After generating a chain of waterfalls at the top of the plateau, the river flows westward to Arrah west of the Patna, where it joins the Ganga river system

Punpun

• The Punpun River is a Ganges tributary
• It rises in the Jharkhand district of Palamu and runs through the districts of Chatra, Aurangabad, Gaya, and Patna in the Indian states of Jharkhand and Bihar
• Punpun is a neighbourhood in Patna called the Punpun River, and it is located on the river’s bank

Chambal

• In Madhya Pradesh, Chambal springs near Mhow and runs through a canyon up to the Rajasthani city of Kota, where the Gandhisagar dam is being built
• It travels from Kota all the way down to Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, and Dholpur before joining the Yamuna, tributaries of Ganga at its mouth
• The Chambal river is well-known for its badland terrain, which is referred to as the Chambal ravines

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Left Bank Tributaries of Ganga River

Gandak

• Gandak is comprised of two rivers, namely Kaligandak and Trishulganga, which flow together
• Located in the Nepal Himalayas between Mount Dhaulagiri and Mount Everest, the Bhote Koshi River drains the middle region of the country
• It joins the Ganga plain in Bihar’s Champaran district and meets the Ganga river system at Sonpur, near Patna, where it flows into the sea

Ghaghara

• Ghaghara is a river that originates in the Mapchachungo glaciers
• After gathering the streams of its tributaries – the Tila, Seti, and Beri – the river emerges from the mountain, forming a steep valley near Shishapani, where it empties into the sea
• The river Sarda (Kali or Kali Ganga) meets it on the plains before joining the Ganga river system near Chhapra, where it flows into the sea

Kosi

• Known as the Kosi, it is an ancient river that originates north of Mount Everest in Tibet, where it receives its primary tributary, the Arun
• It is joined by the Son, Kosi, which comes from the west, and the Tamur Kosi, which arrives from the east after crossing over Nepal’s Central Himalayas
• The river Arun joins the river Sapta Kosi

Ramganga

• Ramganga is a tiny tributary of the Ganga that originates in the Garhwal mountains near Gairsain and flows into the Indus
• After passing the Shiwalik, the river reverses direction and reaches the plains of Uttar Pradesh around Najibabad, where it continues on a southwesterly route
• After that, it flows into the Ganga river system at Kannauj

Sarda or Saryu river

• The Sarda or Saryu river has its source in the Milam glacier in the Nepal Himalayas, where it is known as the Goriganga
• It flows into the Indian Ocean
• It is referred to as Kali or Chauk around the Indo-Nepal border, where it enters the Ghaghara river

Mahananda

• The Mahananda is another prominent tributary of the Ganga, beginning in the Darjeeling highlands and flowing into the Arabian Sea

It is the final left bank tributary of the Ganga in West Bengal

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Conclusion

The Ganga is India’s most important river, both geographically and culturally. It originates from Gaumukh (3900 m) in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. In India, it is called Bhagirathi. It carves tiny valleys in the Himalayas. At Devprayag, it meets the Alaknanda and becomes the Ganga. From the Satopanth glacier above Badrinath comes the Alaknanda. The Alaknanda is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the Dhauli and the Vishnu Ganga. The Pindar and the Mandakini or Kali Ganga join the Alaknanda near KarnaPrayag and RudraPrayag, respectively. It enters the plains at Haridwar.