Friday, March 4, 2011

Narmada River In Gujarat

Narmada River, also known as Rewa (5th Longest River in India)

Have look at some fact figures about Narmada River:

Length: 1,312 km
Basin area: 98,796 km²
Source elevation: 1,057 m
Source: Amarkantak
Country: India
Mouths: Gulf of Khambhat, Arabian Sea
Cities: Jabalpur, Vadodara

The Narmada river is the only river in India that flows in a rift valley and flows in central India between North India and South India. Narmada river rising in Madhya Pradesh state that runs from east to west along with the Tapti River and the Mahi River. Narmada flows over a length of 1,312 km (815.2 mi) before draining through the Gulf of Cambey (Khambat) into the Arabian Sea, 30 km (18.6 mi) west of Bharuch city of Gujarat. The Narmada River has a huge water resources potential for agriculture and economy of the region. More than 90% of water flow occurs during the monsoon months of June to September.

The Narmada river is considered extremely holy by the Hindus.
The most sacred rivers of India are Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri, a dip in any of these rivers washes ones sins away..

The dams on Narmada river benefits the four Indian states Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan that include provision for drinking water, power generation and irrigation facilities.

Source of Narmada River:

Narmada Kund

The source of the Narmada is a small tank called Narmada Kund located on the Amarkantak hill, in the Anuppur District of eastern Madhya Pradesh. From the Amarkantak hill range the river descends at the Kapildhara falls over a cliff and meanders in the hills flowing through the rocks and islands up to the ruined palace of Ramnagar.
Amarkantak is 71 Kms. from Anupppur, an important railway junction of the South Eastern Central Railway. Amarkantak is at a distance of 320 Kms. from Jabalpur and 265 Kms. from Rewa by road and around 100 Kms. from Shahdol. The nearest railway station from Amarkantak is Pendra, which is 65 Kms. from Amarkantak. Pendra is in Bilaspur of Chhatisgarh

History of Narmada River:

The history of Narmada River is closely associated with the place Amarkantak and Narmada Kund. In Indian Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Shatapatha Brahmana and Vashishtha samhita, Amarkantak and its rivers have been mentioned. However, there is hardly mention of Narmada River in Vedic literature. History of near about 3000 years has remained in dark after the era of Mahabharata. Nearly 6000 years back, Suryavanshi King Mandhata founded a town in Riksh Parvat's valley and named it Mandhata. Queen of Purukutsa, son of Mandhatri, gave the name Narmada to the river.


Tributaries of Narmada River:

Tributaries of Narmada River

At Hoshangabad, Narmada River has some striking ghats constructed on its banks. Its longest tributary is the Tawa River. It joins Narmada River at Bandra Bhan in Hoshangabad District, Madhya Pradesh. This river broadens out in Bharuch District after traversing through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Below Bharuch city it forms a 20 kilometre wide estuary where it enters the Gulf of Cambay. The water of the river is used not only for feeding the drought prone areas of states of Gujarat
and Madhya Pradesh, but also for navigation as well. 


Geography of Narmada River:

Geography of Narmada River includes Narmada Valley. The narrow valley of the Narmada lies below the Vindhyachal scarps. Narmada River flows across this narrow valley and this valley covers the southern region of Dhar District`s Manawar tehsil and the southeastern part of Kukshi tehsil of the district. The width of the valley is 15 to 30 kilometers. The height of the river ranges from 275 metres to 150 metres. The height varies in northern part of Manawar tehsil to that of the southwest low plain of Nisarpur. In the western side of the Narmada Valley, Khalghat and Bakaner lie. It is wider and comparatively fertile. Towards westwards, Narmada valley comprises several hills that are the originating point of a number of streams. These streams join Narmada River resulting in few stretches of alluvium deposit. Valleys of Narmada River are historically as well as economically significant. History states that Chalukya emperor Pulakeshin II defeated emperor Harshavardhan of Kannauj on the banks of Narmada River.

Narmada River in plains:
 
The river rises on the summit of Amarkantak Hill in Madhya Pradesh state. It traverses the first 320 kilometers course around the Mandla Hills, which form the head of the Satpura Range; then moves towards Jabalpur passing through the `Marble Rocks`, it enters the Narmada Valley between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges, and moves westwards towards the Gulf of Cambay. It flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, and finally meets the Arabian Sea in the Bharuch District of Gujarat.

Narmada River flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh 1,077 km (669.2 miles), Maharashtra 74 km (46.0 miles)), 35 km (21.7 miles) border between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and 39 km (24.2 miles) border between Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and in Gujarat 161 km (100.0 miles)).




Dams on Narmada River:

Sardar Sarovar Dam

The valleys of River Narmada are very important for the economically development of the region. There are various handicraft works and other small-scale industries along the Narmada. The dams on Narmada river benefits include provision drinking water, power generation and irrigation facilities. The Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) final order determined the utilizable quantum of Narmada waters to be 27,000,000 acre feet (3.3×1010 m3) at 75% dependability and allocated it to the four states as Party States Allocated share of water % share of power
Madhya Pradesh 18,250,000 acre feet (22.51 km3) 57
Gujarat 9,000,000 acre feet (11 km3) 16
Maharashtra 250,000 acre feet (0.31 km3) 27
Rajasthan 500,000 acre feet (0.62 km3) Nil
Total 28,000,000 acre feet (35 km3) 100

There are many Dams on the river, Mojor Dams are:

  • Sardar Sarovar Dam 
  • Indira Sagar Dam
  • Omkareshwar Dam
  • Maheshwar Dam
  • Bargi Dam
  • Maan Dam
  • Jobat Dam
  • Tawa Dam

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