The Ganga

The Ganges (Ganga) River is the largest and one of the major rivers in the Indian subcontinent. The 2,510 km (1,560 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas Mountain in the Uttarakhand. The river has immense religious significance and it has long been considered the holiest of all rivers by people of Hindu religion and worshiped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism.

The Ganga is flowing about 2,510 km (1,560 mi) generally eastward through a vast plain to the Bay of Bengal. On its 1,560-mi (2,510-km) course, it flows southeast through the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal of India. Entering into Bangladesh it is joined with the one of the largest river in the world the Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers. The Ganga is declared as the national River of India; The Ganges, above all is the river of India, which has held India's heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. The Ganga sustains one of the world’s highest densities of population and drains an area of approximately 1000000 square kilometres.

There are many small tributaries (streams) which comprise the main flow (headwaters) of the Ganges. The six longest tributaries (headstreams) and their five sub-tributaries (confluences) are given both cultural and geographical. The Alaknanda River meets the Dhauliganga River at Vishnuprayag, the Nandakini River at Nandprayag, the Pindar River at Karnaprayag, the Mandakini River at Rudraprayag and finally the Bhagirathi River at Devprayag, to form the largest Ganges River of India. The Bhagirathi is the main tributries of Ganga; it rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at Gaumukh, at an elevation of 3,892 m (12,769 ft). The headwaters of the Alaknanda are formed by snowmelt from such peaks as Nanda Devi, Trisul, and Kamet.

After flowing about 200 KM (120 mi) through its narrow Himalayan valley, the Ganges debouches into the Gangetic Plain at the pilgrimage town of Haridwar. Here some of the Ganga water is diverted to the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh by a River dam. Here from this point the River Ganga begins to flow southeast through the plains of northern India

Further, the river follows an 800 KM (500 mi) curving course passing through the city of Kanpur and after Kanpur the river joined with the Yamuna River at Allahabad. This point very well known to pilgrim and is known as the Sangam at Allahabad. Sangam is a sacred place in Hinduism. According to Hindu religion, a third river, the Sarasvati, met the other two rivers at this point.

River Hydro Electric Power Projects

Constructions of some hydroelectric projects are going on over some tributaries of the Ganga River. Three are being made by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and two by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (UJVNL).

1.      Loharinag Pala Hydro Power Project is being made by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). This Hydro Electric Power Project has a capacity of 600 MW (150 MW x 4 Units). The main package has been awarded. The present executives' strength is 100+.The project is located on the Bhagirathi tributary in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand state. It is first project in downstream from origin of the Ganges at Gangotri.

2.      Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Power Project is being made by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Joshimath city.

3.      Lata Tapovan Hydro Power Project is being made by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Joshimath

4.      Maneri Tiloth Hydro Power Project is being made by the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (UJVNL) in Uttarkashi of 90 MW since 1984.

5.      Maneri Bhali Hydro Power Project is being made by the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (UJVNL).

Economy

The Ganges Basin is one of the largest basin in India sub continent. About 451 million people living in Ganges basin and are directly and indirectly dependent upon the Ganga. The Ganges Basin is very fertile soil, which is instrumental to the agricultural economies of India and Bangladesh. The Ganga watered by the monsoons, this silt-enriched land produces a significant portion of the rice, wheat, millet, sugarcane, lentils, oil seeds, potatoes and barley needed to feed the world's second most populous nation, India. The Ganges and its tributaries provide a perennial source of irrigation to a large area. Along the banks of the river, the presence of swamps and lakes provide a rich growing area for crops such as legumes, chillies, mustard, sesame, sugarcane, and jute. There are also many fishing opportunities to many along the river, though it remains highly polluted.

The Ganges Basin with its fertile soil is instrumental to the agricultural economies of India and Bangladesh. The Ganges and its tributaries provide a perennial source of irrigation to a large area. Chief crops cultivated in the area include rice, sugarcane, lentils, oil seeds, potatoes, and wheat.

Tourism is another related activity in Ganga Basin. Haridwar, Allahabad, and Varanasi are the source of tourism and these three towns are considered as holy town to Hinduism. These three towns attract thousands of pilgrims to its waters. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims arrive at these three towns to take a dip in the Ganges, which is believed to cleanse oneself of sins and help attain salvation.

The Jamuna-Brahmaputra River

The Jamuna River, Brahmaputra-Jamuna is one of the three main rivers of Bangladesh and is the second largest river in Bangladesh and one of the largest in the world, with its basin covering areas in Tibet, China, India and Bangladesh. Actually Jamuna is the downstream course of the Yarlung Tsangpo or Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River. This River is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. This river originates in the Jima Yangzong glacier near Mount Kailash in the northern Himalayas.

From its origin in southwestern Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo River, it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges and into Arunachal Pradesh (India). Here in this place this river is known as Dihang. Afterward it flows southwest through the Assam Valley as the name great Brahmaputra and afterward south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna River.

 

Here in Bangladesh after passing the country India the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River merges with the Ganges to form a vast delta, the Sunderbans. Sunderbans is the world largest river Delta. About 1,800 miles (2,900 km) long, the river is an important source for irrigation and transportation. The average depth of river is 395 feet (120 m) and maximum depth is 1,088 feet (332 m). The Jamuna River is the main channel of the Brahmaputra River when it flows out of India into Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra splits into two branches: the much larger branch continues due south as the Jamuna and flows into the Lower Ganges, locally called Padma while the older branch curves southeast as the lower and flows into the Meghna. Both paths eventually reconverge near Chandpur in Bangladesh and flow out into the Bay of Bengal. The total length of the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra-Jamuna River from its origin up to its confluence with the Ganges at the Sunderbans is about 2,700 km. Within Bangladesh territory, Brahmaputra-Jamuna is 276 km long, of which Jamuna is 205 km.

The Jamuna-Brahmaputra River was a major barrier in establishing a direct road communication between capital Dhaka and Rajshahi Division, the northern part of Bangladesh, until 1996. This was mitigated by the completion of the Jamuna Multi-Purpose Bridge.

The width of the Jamuna-Brahmaputra River varies from 3 km to 18 km but the average width is about 10 km. In the rainy season the river is nowhere less than five kilometres broad.

The River Jamuna is braided in nature. Within the braided portion of the Jamuna, there are no’s of chars of different sizes. A Landsat image taken on the year 1992 dry season shows that the Jamuna contained a total of 56 large islands chars, each longer than 3.5 km. There were an additional number of 226 small island chars, varying in length between 0.35 and 3.5 km. 

The Jamuna River has four major tributaries: the Dudhkumar, the Dharla, the Tista and the Karatoya-Atrai system. The Dudhkumar, Dharla and Tista Rivers are flashy in nature, rising from the steep catchment on the southern side of the Himalayas between Darjeeling in India and Bhutan. Of all the tributaries, the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra is the longest and was actually the course of the present Brahmaputra.

BIG DAMS: YARLUNG TSANGPO-BRAHMAPUTRA

The Yarlung Tsangpo River also known as Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River is one of the major international river. This Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River is shared between Tibet/China, India and Bangladesh. In Indi this river is known as River Brahmaputra and in Bangladesh it is known as River Jamuna. The Yarlung Tsangpo originates at a place 30o31’N latitude and 80o80’E longitude, near the upper waters of the Indus and Sutlej and a little to the east of the Mansarovar Lake in Tibet between the Kailash range and the Himalayan range lying at an altitude of 5150m. On the Tibetan Plateau, the river flows west to east, across Southern Tibet, from its sources near the sacred Mt. Kailash all the way to the Great Bend. Here at the great bend the River Tsangpo-Brahmaputra turns north to take a sharp U-turn to flow south into India and then to Bangladesh. This major international river is connected to the larger Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin.

The Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra.

 Just before few years, this major Yarlung Tsangpo or Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River was considered as an undammed river. People’s Republic of China (PRC) China has officially announced plans to build a number of dams on the middle section of the river i.e., the upper reach of River Brahmaputra of India and River Jamuna of Bangladesh. As we all know that China has a great demand for energy to fulfill their peoples need. So, to fulfill their needs China decided to make Dams on the upper reach of River Brahmaputra of India and River Jamuna of Bangladesh. From all these dams China will generate huge amount of electricity and they will divert almost all the waters from the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River to the middle of China where there is a crisis of water. We don’t have any question mark on our face that after completion of these big Dams of hydroelectric power plant project there will be displacement of local populations, destruction of ecosystems, and an impact for downstream people in India and Bangladesh. It will totally change the ecology of India (particularly Assam) and the Bangladesh within few years.

The construction Big Dam of hydroelectric power plant project by China includes the Zangmu project (currently under construction) and this has caused much concern in India. The absence in these debates of the voices of Tibetans who live in the valley and are traditional users of its waters in these debates is deplorable, especially given their historical, religious and economic connections to the river.

To save the ecological, economical status of India (Specially Assam) and Bangladesh, we all should try to stop China to construct the Big Dam on Yarlung Tsangpo or Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River. Actually it is too late for all of us protest against the Big Dam. But still we can stop the China from their aim to destroy the ecosystem and many more. 

A list of already completed and operational Hydropower projects on the Yarlung Tsangpo upper reaches Brahmaputra are given below:

Name                          Size (MW)

Bayi                             3.1

Jaingzi                          1.0

Manla                           20

Najin                            7.5

Nimaxian                      1.26

Pulan                            N/A

Qiangwang                   3.2

Shequanhe                    6.4

Woka                           20

Xueka                          40

Yanghu                        90

Zanda                           N/A

Zhikong                        100