Page 2 - LN-Sub Topic-2

➢ These Himalayan tributaries flood parts of the northern plains every
year, causing widespread damage to life and property, whereas, they
enrich the soil for agricultural use.
➢ The main tributaries, which come from the peninsular uplands, are the
Chambal, the Betwa and the Son. These rise from semi-arid areas,
have shorter courses and do not carry much water in them. They are
seasonal.
➢ On the basis of tributaries joining river Ganga at its right or left, they are
again classified as right bank tributaries and left bank tributaries.

➢ The Right bank tributaries are the river Yamuna, the Chambal, the
Betwa, the Son, the Ken and the Damodar.

➢ The left bank tributaries are The Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi

• Enlarged with the waters from its right and left bank tributaries, the Ganga
flows eastwards till Farakka where it bifurcates. The Bhagirathi-Hooghly (a
distributary) flows southwards from here through the deltaic plains to the Bay
of Bengal.
• The mainstream flows southwards into Bangladesh and is joined by the
Brahmaputra. Further downstream, it is known as the Meghna.
• This mighty river, with waters from the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, flows into
the Bay of Bengal.
• The delta formed by these rivers is known as the Sundarban Delta which is
the largest and the fastest growing delta in the world. It is well known for
Sundari trees and Royal Bengal tiger.
• The plains from Ambala to the Sunderban stretch over nearly 1800 km, but
the fall in its slope is hardly 300 metres, so there is a fall of just one metre for
every 6 km. This shows a very gradual slope for which the river develops large
meanders.
• The Namami Gange Programme is an Integrated Conservation Mission by
the Union Government in June 2014 to accomplish the twin objectives of
effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of the national
river, Ganga.