Betwa River
River in northern India
Location of the mouth in India
• location
• coordinates
The Betwa (Sanskrit: वेत्रावती) is a river in Central and Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. It rises in the Vindhya Range (Raisen) just north of Hoshangabad (Narmadapuram) in Madhya Pradesh and flows northeast through Madhya Pradesh and Orchha to Uttar Pradesh.[1] Nearly half of its course, which is not navigable, runs over the Malwa Plateau. The confluence of the Betwa and the Yamuna rivers is in Hamirpur district in Uttar Pradesh.[1]
The Indian navy named one of its frigates INS Betwa in honour of the river.[2]
History
In Sanskrit "Betwa" is Vetravati. This river is mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with the Charmanwati river[citation needed]. Both are tributaries of Yamuna. Vetravati was also known as Shuktimati. The capital of Chedi Kingdom was on the banks of this river. The length of the river from its origin to its confluence with Yamuna is 590 kilometres (370 mi), out of which 232 kilometres (144 mi) lies in Madhya Pradesh and the balance of 358 kilometres (222 mi) in Uttar Pradesh. In accordance with an inter-state agreement between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in 1973, Betwa River Board (BRB) was constituted under the Betwa River Board Act, 1976. The Union Minister of Ministry of Water Resources, the Chairman of the Board, the Union Minister of Power, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, and the chief ministers and ministers in charge of finance, irrigation and power in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are its members.[3]
Future
The Betwa River is being linked with the Ken River as a part of the river linking project in Madhya Pradesh. Latterly the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has given its clearance for the Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers (ILR) project. Another noteworthy project on the Betwa River is the construction of the Matatila Dam, an undertaking between the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The region is important for migratory waterbirds.[4] The project to link Ken and Betwa rivers has has raised environmental concerns: "Proponents of the project, led by the Union Water Ministry, say that the proposed Daudhan dam and the 2.5 km [1.6 mi] canal — the key structures of the project — that will transfer surplus water from the Uttar Pradesh section of the Ken to the Betwa in Madhya Pradesh are critical to irrigate nearly 700,000 hectares [1,700,000 acres] in drought-ravaged Bundelkhand. However, environmentalists say that such a dam will submerge at least 4,000 hectares of Madhya Pradesh's Panna tiger reserve, whose tigers were almost lost to poaching in 2009 and have only recently been partially replenished. They allege that most districts in Madhya Pradesh will not actually get the promised water. There are vultures in the region, whose nests will be threatened by the height of the dam."[5]
Dams
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Betwa River". www.india9.com. 7 June 2005. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Indian Navy Frigate Tips Over in Graving Dock". The Maritime Executive. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ Betwa River Board Ministry of Water Resources website.[dead link]
- ^ Shukla, D.C. (1994). "Habitat characteristics of wetlands of the Betwa Basin, India, and wintering populations of endangered waterfowl species". Global wetlands, pp. 863–68
- ^ Koshy, Jacob (10 June 2016). "Ken-Betwa project, a threat to wildlife? Environmentalists say that such a dam will submerge at least 4,000 hectares of Madhya Pradesh's Panna tiger reserve". the Hindu.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Betwa River.
- Betwa River
- Ken-Betwa river link project to cost Rs 4,500 cr Business Line
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Betwa" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- "Betwa River Board", Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
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