Rivers in India

Rivers in India

The country houses 12 rivers that are categorized as important rivers. The overall drainage basin watered by these rivers is more than 976,000 sq miles or 2,528,000 km2.

All the important rivers in the country have their sources in any of the following areas:

1. Vindhya and Satpura mountain range, forming a part of the heart of the country
2. The Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges
3. Sahyadri or Western Ghats mountain range, forming a part of western India

The biggest drainage basin in the country is created by the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghana river network and it covers a total area of approximately 620,000 sq miles or 1,600,000 km2. The drainage basin of the Ganges river singularly covers a total area of around 420,000 sq miles or 1,100,000 km2. 

The source of the Ganges river is the Gangotri Glacier, which lies in the state of Uttarakhand . Subsequently, the river runs in the southeast direction, before pouring into the Bay of Bengal. The headwaters of the Gomti and Yamuna rivers lie in the western part of the Himalayan mountain range. These two rivers meet the Ganga in the flat terrain.

The Brahmaputra River has its headwaters in the territory of Tibet. In the province of Tibet, people call it "Tsangpo" or Yarlung Tsangpo River. The river then penetrates the Indian Territory via the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast. Subsequently, the river moves to the west into Assam. In Bangladesh, the river meets the holy Ganga and the name of the river changes to the Jamuna River.

A major branch of the river Ganga (Yamuna) is the Chambal River. The river has its headwaters in the Satpura and Vindhya mountain ranges. It runs to the east. From the same source, other rivers that have originated include the Tapti and Narmada and both of these rivers pour into the Arabian Sea in the west. The river system that runs from the east to west forms 10% of the overall outpouring of water in India.

All the rivers of the Deccan plateau have their headwaters in the Western Ghats mountain range. These rivers include the Godavari River, the Mahanadi River (passing across the delta formed by itself), Kaveri River, and Krishna River. All these rivers ultimately pour into the Bay of Bengal. Approximately 20% of the overall outpouring of the country is represented by these rivers.

The intense precipitation in the rainy season in the southwest results in the swelling of the banks of the Brahmaputra and other rivers in India. This frequently leads to inundating of the bordering regions. Despite the fact that these rivers work as a fundamentally reliable source of fertilization and natural supply for the paddy cultivators, these inundations have resulted in loss of lives of a large number of people and force the population of the area to move to other places.