Yamuna River
The Yamuna River is a major tributary of the Ganga River and forms a significant part of the Ganga drainage system. It originates from the Yamnotri Glacier in the Garhwal hills of Uttarakhand and enters Himachal Pradesh at Khadar Majri in Sirmaur district. The river then leaves the state near Tajewala and enters Haryana. It is the easternmost river of the state.
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Considered as a sacred river in India, the Yamuna is believed to be the daughter of the Sun God, Surya, and the sister of Yama, the God of Death, according to Hindu mythology.
The Yamuna valley is characterized by interlocking spurs, gorges, steep rock benches, and terraces that have formed over thousands of years. The Yamuna system drains the area from the Giri-Satluj water divide in Himachal Pradesh to the Yamuna Bhilagana water divide in Gharwal, including the South-Eastern slopes at the Shimla ridge. The river is used for transportation of timber logs, irrigation, and hydel power generation. After flowing through Himachal Pradesh, the river passes through the states of Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh before merging with the Ganga river at Allahabad.
Main features of Yamuna river
|
Parameter |
Information |
|
Vedic Name |
Kalindi |
|
Sanskrit Name |
Yamuna |
|
Length |
1525 km |
|
Distance in HP |
22 km |
|
Source |
Saptarishi Kund, Yamunotri Glacier (Uttarakhand) |
|
Districts |
Shimla, Sirmaur |
|
Hydro Electric Projects |
95 projects |
|
Total Capacity (Commissioned +
Planned) |
672.75 MW |
|
Potential Capacity |
840 MW |
Important tributaries of Yamuna river are as follows:
Giri River:
The Giri River originates from Kuper peak in Jubbal hills and flows through Shimla hills towards the South-East direction. It enters the Sirmaur district and divides it into two parts known as Cis-Giri and Trans-Giri. The river eventually joins Yamuna upstream of Paonta below Mokkampur. As it flows, it joins river Asni near Sadhupul (Chail) and Jalal at Dadahu from the right side. Locally, it is known as Giri Ganga in Jubbal and Rohru. The water from the Giri river is led through a tunnel to the power house of Girinagar and then into the Bata river.
Asni river:
Asni is a tributary of the Giri river and flows along a deep V-shaped valley. It forms a steep gorge across the off-shoots of the Nag Tibba ridge. Jalal river originates from Dharti ranges in the lower Himalayas, joins the river Giri Ganga and finally Yamuna at Dadahu.
Tons River:
The Tons River, the longest tributary of the Yamuna in Himachal, rises at an elevation of 3,900 m and joins the Yamuna below Kalsi. It passes through Shimla and Sirmour districts and Jaunsar Bawar region in district Dehradun. Except in some parts, where it flows through the small town of Tiuni and a little beyond, the river forms the boundary of the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. It enters Sirmour district of Himachal near village Kot and forms the eastern boundary of the district before it joins Yamuna near Khodar Majri. At this site, the Tons is larger in size than the Yamuna, but this was when the rivers were in their natural state.
The Tons river is made up of two streams.
The Supin river rises from the Northern part of the Tons catchment near the border of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while the Rupin river rises from a glacier lying in Har Ki Doon valley in the North-Eastern part of the Tons catchment. Both the streams meet near Naitwar, a mountain hamlet, and form the Tons river in the downstream of Naitwar.
Pabbar River:
This river originates from the Dhauladhar range, on the south-facing slopes near the border of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, as well as in the extreme north-eastern part of Shimla district. It is fed by the Chandra Nahan glacier and underground springs. The Pabbar River eventually joins the Tons river at the base of the Chakrata hills, near the border of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, before finally merging with the Yamuna river.
Patsari River:
A small tributary of the Pabbar river, the Patsari River begins in the lower Himalayan hills near Kharapathar in Shimla district and meets the Pabbar river near Patsari, a mountain hamlet.
Andhra River:
This river originates from a small glacier in the lower hills of the main Himalayas in Shimla district, specifically to the north-west of Chirgaon.
Bata River:
The Bata River has its origin in the boulders (large rocks) below the Nahan ridge in the south-western corner of the state. It is also known as the Jalmusa-ka-Khala. This river is formed by two small tributaries, namely Khara-ka-Khala (in the Paonta valley) and Kanser-Khala (Southern slopes of the Nahan). A considerable part of this river flows underground before emerging on the surface.
Markanda River:
The Markanda River originates from the southern slopes of the lower Himalayas in the westernmost part of the Kiarda Dun valley (Paonta). The right side of the Markanda valley is lined by the lower Himalayan hills, while the left side is bordered by the low rolling Shivalik hills. This is a small, rainfed river in the Sirmaur district.
Swan River:
This river rises from the Shivalik hills and flows in a west-east direction. It is very useful for agricultural practices in Una district. The main tributaries of this river are Malahta Khad, Takewali Khad, Hum Khad, Barera Khad, Garni Khad, and Gubri Khad. The Swan River is also known as the "Sorrow of Una" due to annual floods.
Important Dam on Yamuna river
Sawra-Kuddu dam
This is situated on the Pabbar river, which is a tributary of the Yamuna, Himachal Pradesh. The dam is part of a 111 MW hydroelectric power plant, located in Sawra Rohru. The project is funded by the Asian Development Bank under the "Himachal Pradesh Clean Energy Development Investment Program".
The Renuka Dam Project on Giri
This project is situated on the Giri river in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. It has a total installed capacity of 40 MW. The project will provide live water storage of 49800 ha m in its reservoir and a firm water supply of 23 cumec to Delhi. The project has been declared as a project of national importance, and as such, the cost (excluding power component) will be shared between the Government of India (GoI) and other beneficiary states in a ratio of 90:10.
The Kishau Dam
It is a proposed gravity dam on the Tons River which will straddle the border between the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.It is a multipurpose project, with 660 MW power generation capacity. The project promises to provide irrigation water covering 97,076 hectares of land in nearly five states, which include Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
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