Physical Geography
Alaknanda River
▪ Landslip hits Vishnugad hydel site in Chamoli, where an Alaknanda River barrage is under construction.
About Alaknanda River
▪ It is a Himalayan river in the state of Uttarakhand.
▪ It is one of the two main headstreams of the Ganges River, the other being the Bhagirathi River.
▪ It originates from the meltwaters of the Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak glaciers in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand.
▪ The river is joined by many tributaries in Uttarakhand.
▪ Five of the tributaries are considered major, and their points of confluence are also worshipped. The five holy confluences in the Garhwal Himalayas are also known as Panch Prayag. They are listed
below:
✓ Vishnuprayag: Alaknanda meets Dhauliganga River
✓ Nandprayag: Alaknanda meets Nandakini River
✓ Karnaprayag: Alaknanda meets Pindar River
✓ Rudraprayag: Alaknanda meets Mandakini River
✓ Devprayag: Alaknanda meets Bhagirathi. This is the most revered confluence, as it is here when
the surging water coming from the mountains is finally called the Ganga.
▪ At the time of the formation of Ganga, Alaknanda’s contribution to the flow is much larger than that
of Bhagirathi.
▪ From its source till its union with Bhagirathi, Alaknanda travels for 190 km (approx.).
▪ Along the banks of the Alaknanda are numerous important pilgrimage sites such as Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib, and Joshimath.
Physical Geography
Mahanadi River (860 km Length)
• Context: Odisha and Chhattisgarh Move towards Amicable Settlement of Mahanadi Water
Dispute.
• Origin: The River originates from the Sihawa range of hills in the Dhamtari district of
Chhattisgarh.
• The river is bounded in the north by Central India hills, in the south and east by the Eastern
Ghats, and in the west by the Maikal hill range.
• The Mahanadi basin extends over the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and comparatively
smaller portions of Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh.
• It is considered to be one of the most active silt-depositing streams in India.
• Tributaries: Its main tributaries are Seonath, Jonk, Hasdeo, Mand, Ib, Ong, and Tel.
• Hirakud Dam: The Hirakud Dam, the world’s longest earthen dam (26 km), is constructed across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur in Odisha.
