Famous Indian Pass at Sikkim

Nathu La: About this sound listen is a mountain pass in the Himalayas. It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The pass, at 4,310 m (14,140 ft) above mean sea level, forms a part of an offshoot of the ancient Silk Road. Nathu means "listening ears" and La means "pass" in Tibetan. On the Indian side, the pass is 54 km (34 mi) east of Gangtok, the capital of Indian state of Sikkim on JN Marg and only citizens of India can visit the pass, that too after obtaining a permit in Gangtok.

Nathu La is one of the three open trading border posts between China and India; the other two are Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh (or Lipulech) in Uttarakhand.Sealed by India after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Nathu La was re-opened in 2006 following numerous bilateral trade agreements. The opening of the pass was expected to bolster the economy of the region and play a key role in the growing Sino-Indian trade but that has not happened. Currently, agreements between the two nations limit trade across the pass to 29 types of goods from India and 15 from the Chinese side. The opening also shortens the travel distance to important Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the region.

Dongkha la : or Donkia Pass (el. 18,000 ft or 5,500 m) is a high mountain pass in the Himalaya connecting Sikkim in India with Tibet in China.The pass offers a view of the Tibetan Plateau. The pass is located in North Sikkim. The Tso Lhamo Lake is located near the pass, 6.5 km (4.0 mi) long and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide.The Teesta River is attributed to originate from Tso Lhamo lake. The Gurudongmar Lake some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to west-northwest also feeds Teesta.

• Goecha La :(el. 4940 m.) is a high mountain pass in Sikkim, India in the Himalaya range.The southeast face of Kanchenjunga, the World's third highest mountain, is viewable from the pass, which is also a base camp for those aspiring to scale the mountain(Kangchenjunga is considered to be holy and the mountaineers halted a few meters before the peak).

15 biggest dams in India

1.Tehri Dam

The Tehri Dam is a multi-purpose rock and earth-fill embankment dam on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India. It is the primary dam of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd. and the Tehri hydroelectric complex. The dam is a 260 metres  high rock and earth-fill embankment dam.

 

2. Mulla-Periyar Dam

Kerala Government has long been demanding construction of a new dam in Mullaperiyar on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Many believe that the existing 116-year-old dam could pose safety hazard.

While the matter rests with the apex court, we look at some of India’s biggest and most famous dams, hailed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as ‘The Temples of a Resurgent India’.

 

3.Bhakra Dam

Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam across the Sutlej River, and is near the border between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam, located at a gorge near the (now submerged) upstream Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, is Asia's second highest at 225.55 m  high next to the 261m Tehri Dam. 

 Its reservoir, known as the "Gobind Sagar", stores up to 9.34 billion cubic meters of water, enough to drain the whole of Chandigarh, parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi.The 90 km long reservoir created by the Bhakra Dam is spread over an area of 168.35 km2. In terms of storage of water, it withholds the second largest reservoir in India, the first being Indira Sagar dam in Madhya Pradesh with capacity of 12.22 billion cu m.Nangal dam is another dam downstream of Bhakra dam. 

 

4.Hirakud Dam

Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur in the state of Orissa in India. Built in 1957, the dam is one of the world's longest earthen dam. Hirakud Dam is the longest man-made dam in the world, about  (26 km) in length. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley project started after India's independence. 

 

5.Nagarjuna Sagar

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is the world's largest masonry dam built across Krishna River in Nagarjuna Sagar, Nalgonda District of Andhra Pradesh. The dam contains the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir with a capacity of up to 11,472 million cubic metres. The dam is 150 m tall and 1.6 km long with 26 gates.

 Nagarjuna Sagar was the earliest in the series of large infrastructure projects initiated for the Green Revolution in India; it also is one of the earliest multi-purpose irrigation and hydro-electric projects in India.

 

6. The Sardar Sarovar Dam

The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a gravity dam on the Narmada River near Navagam, Gujarat. It is the largest dam and part of the Narmada Valley Project, a large hydraulic engineering project involving the construction of a series of large irrigation and hydroelectric multi-purpose dams on the Narmada River. The project took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity. It has a proposed final height of 163 m from foundation. 

The dam is one of India's most controversial dam projects and its environmental impact and net costs and benefits are widely debated.. The Narmada Dam has been the centre of controversy and protest since the late 1980s.

 

7.The Indirasagar Dam

The Indirasagar Dam is a multipurpose key project of Madhya Pradesh on the Narmada River at Narmada nagar in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh in India. The Project envisages construction of a 92 m high and 653 m long concrete gravity dam. It provides Irrigation in 1,230 square kilometres of land with annual production of 2700 million units in the districts of Khandwa and Khargone in Madhya Pradesh and power generation of 1000 MW installed capacity (8x125). The reservoir of 12,200,000,000 m3 was created.

 

8.Tungabadra dam, 

 Tungabadra River Hospet, Karnataka.

 

9.The Koyna Hydroelectric Project

The Koyna Hydroelectric Project is the largest completed hydroelectric power plant of India It is a complex project consisting of total four dams with the largest Dam built on Koyna River known as Koyna Dam hence the name Koyna Hydroelectric project. The total Installed capacity of the project is 1,920 MW. The project consists of 4 stages of power generation. Due to the project's electricity generating potential the Koyna River is considered as the life line of Maharashtra.

 

11.The Idukki Dam

The Idukki Dam, located in Kerala, India, is a 168.91 m  tall arch dam. The dam stands between the two mountains - Kuravanmala (839) m and Kurathimala (925)m. It was constructed and is owned by the Kerala State Electricity Board. It supports a 780 MW hydroelectric power station.

It is built on the Periyar River, in the ravine between the Kuravan and Kurathi Hills in Kerala, India. At 167.68 metres, it is one of the highest arch dams in Asia and third tallest dam in India.

 

12.Krishna Raja Sagar

Krishna Raja Sagar, also popularly known as KRS, is the name of both a lake and the dam that causes it.Sir. Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya served as the chief engineer during the construction of this dam. The dam is named for the then ruler of the Mysore Kingdom, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV.

 

13.The Mettur Dam

The Mettur Dam is a large dam in India built in 1934. It was constructed in a gorge, where the Kaveri River enters the plains. The dam is one of the oldest in India. The total length of the dam is 1,700 m .

 

14.The Srisailam Dam

The Srisailam Dam is a dam constructed across the Krishna River at Srisailam in the Kurnool district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India and is the second largest capacity hydroelectric project in the country. The dam was constructed in a deep gorge in the Nallamala Hills, 300 m (980 ft) above sea level. It is 512 m  long, 145 m high and has 12 radial crest gates. It has a reservoir of 800 km2 .

 

15.The Banasura Sagar Dam

The Banasura Sagar Dam is located 21 km from Kalpetta, in Wayanad District of Kerala in the Western Ghats. It is the largest earthen dam in India and the second largest in Asia. 

 

Holy River Ganges

• The Ganga Rivers comprise important tributaries of the Ganga or Ganges, which include the Yamuna, Chambal, Kosi, and Damodar Rivers. These rivers are famous all over India for different reasons.

• The Ganges (also known as Ganga or Gonga), is the biggest river in the Indian subcontinent in terms of water flow. The length of the Ganga is 2,510 km or 1,560 miles. The river has its origin in the Western Himalayan Ranges in the state of Uttarakhand.

• The Ganges River Catchment Basin covers an area of 390,000 sq miles (1,000,000 sq km) and supplies to one of the maximum populated areas in the world. 

• The river has been proclaimed as the National river of India. The first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, cited a number of emblematic interpretations regarding the Ganges on the Indian subcontinent in his famous book, the Discovery of India (published in 1946).

• The Ganges passes through the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

Tributaries of the Ganga
Left tributaries - Karnali, Mahakhali, Gandak, Koshi (Kosi), Ghaghra, and Damodar

Right tributaries - Yamuna, Son, Mahananda, Chambal 

Economy of the Ganges

• The Ganges drainage area with its productive land is helpful for the agrarian economies of Bangladesh and India. The Ganga and its tributaries function as a perpetual source of water supply to a huge agricultural region in India. Major crops grown in the region include sugarcane, rice, oilseeds, lentils, wheat, and potatoes. 

• Tourism is a moneymaking activity on this river. Three sacred places to Hindus -Allahabad, Haridwar, and Varanasi draw countless devotees to its waters. They come to visit these three towns to bathe in the holy Ganga, which is assumed to wash oneself of wrongdoings and help achieve deliverance. 

River Projects on the Ganges

• There are some run-of-the-river hydroelectric power projects under construction on the Ganges tributaries. Two are being constructed by the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (UJVNL) and three by NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation).

• Tapovan Vishnugad Hydroelectric Power Project (NTPC): In Joshimath city.

• Lata Tapovan Hydroelectric Power Project (NTPC): Also in Joshimath.

• Maneri Bhali Hydro Power Project (UJVNL)

• Maneri Tiloth Hydro Power Project (UJVNL): In Uttarkashi from 1984 (of 90 MW).

Tributaries overview

1. Yamuna

• The Yamuna is the biggest tributary of the River Ganges in North India. The river originates from the Yamunotri Glacier on the southwestern sides of the Banderpooch crests of the Lower Himalayan Mountain Range. During its itinerary, the river passes through states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana. The famous river meets the Ganges at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, a popular pilgrimage spot for the Hindus.

•  The biggest and longest tributary of the Yamuna is the Son River. Other tributaries of the Yamuna include the Betwa, Chambal, Sindh, Ken, Sarda, Hindon, Giri, Kunta, Hanuman Ganga, Rishiganga, and Kunta Rivers. The catchment area of Yamuna comprises the most of the Ganges Basin. The river traverses cities like Mathura, Delhi, Agra, Etawah, and Kalpi. 

2. Chambal

• The Chambal River is one of the most important tributaries of the Ganges. It is also a tributary of the Yamuna River in Central India. The Chambal River forms a significant portion of the Greater Gangetic drainage arrangement. The river runs through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Major tributaries of the Chambal River include Mej, Banas, Kali Sindh, Parbati, and Shipra. It is a perennial river, which originates from a place near Manspura in Janapao Hills in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. The length of the river is 960 km or 596 miles.

Given below are the names of the important dams on the Chambal River:

• Ranapratap Sagar Dam

• Gandhi Sagar Dam

• Jawahar Sagar Dam

• Kota Barrage

3. Kosi

• The Kosi River is another major tributary of the Ganges. The river is a trans-boundary river, which runs through both India and Nepal. The river is famous for its seven tributaries in the Himalayan mountain ranges. A number of rivers of the Kosi River System like the Arun, the Bhote Kosi and the Sun Kosi have their sources in the autonomous region of Tibet in China. The Kosi River is one of the biggest tributaries of the Ganga. The river traverses important cities like Purnia, Biratnagar, Katihar in Bihar and Nepal. The length of the Kosi River is 729 km or 453 miles. 

• National parks on the banks of the Kosi River

        

• The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve

• The Sagarmatha National Park

4. Damodar

• The Damodar River is a key tributary of the Ganges River. The river has its source in the vicinity of Chandwa Village in Palamau Disrtict in Jharkhand. The river flows through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The source of the Damodar River is based in the Chota Nagpur Plataeu in Jharkhand, India. The length of the river is 592 km or 368 miles. Previously, the river was named as the River of Sorrows since it inundated a number of regions in Hooghly, Bardhaman, Medinipur, and Howrah districts of West Bengal. The river is famous for the DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation).

@Rakesh