Indus River System

• There are three major Himalayan River Systems, i.e. the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. 
• Many Himalayan rivers existed even before the Himalayan ranges were uplifted, corroborated by the gorges of the Indus, the Satluj, the Kosi, the Brahmaputra, the Gandak, the Alkananda etc. It is believed that they continued to flow all through the building phase of the Himalayas; their banks rose steeply while the beds went lower and lower, thus cutting deep gorges through the rising Himalayan ranges. Therefore, many of the Himalayan rivers are typical examples of antecedent drainage.

• Indus, along with its tributaries, forms one of the largest drainage systems in the world. It is from this river that India got her name.
• River Indus originates at Bokhar-Chu Glacier of Tibet.
• In Tibet, Indus is known as ‘Singhi Khamban’ or Mouth of Lion.

Indus in India

• It enters India and continues to flow in the northwest direction between the Ladakh and the Zaskar Ranges. Here it encircles the town of Leh and is joined by the Zaskar River. Later, Suru (an obsequent tributary on which Kargil lies) joins the Indus. Subsequently, it is joined by the Shyok (origin: Siachin Glacier). Gilgit is the last tributary of the Indus in India.

Indus in Pakistan

• Near Attock, it takes a sharp southerly bend and ends its mountainous journey after passing through a deep gorge. Here it is joined by the Kabul River from Afghanistan. 
• After that, it flows through the Potwar Plain and crosses Salt Ranges. Some important tributaries like Kurram, Tochi, Sohan and the Zhob-Gomal join the Indus River here. 
• Indus joins Panjnad (in Punjabi) or Punchnad (in Hindi), i.e. accumulated waters of the five eastern tributaries- Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj near Mithankot, about 805 km from the sea.
• After forming a big delta, Indus finally empties itself into the Arabian Sea, south of Karachi. 

Origin

• Near Bara Lacha Pass 

Length

• 1,180 Km

Other names

• Askini (Vedic name)
• Chandrabhaga (in Himachal Pradesh)

Important points

• It is the Indus River System’s largest tributary.

Flow

• Two small streams on opposite sides of the pass, namely Chandra and Bhaga, combine to form Chandrabhaga. Chandrabhaga flows in the northwest direction and enters Jammu and Kashmir as Chenab after cutting a deep gorge.
• After passing through Kashmir, the river enters Pakistani Punjab.
• Later, it joins Jhelum and Ravi and finally meets Satluj to form Panchnad.

Projects on the river

• Projects on Chenab include Salal, Baglihara and Dulhasti Projects.

Origin

• Kullu Hills near Rohtang Pass (Himachal Pradesh).

Length

• 725 km

Other Names

• Purushini (Vedic name)

Flow

• Initially, it flows in a northwest direction. 
• After crossing Chamba, it takes a south-westerly turn and leaves the Dhaula Dhar range making a deep gorge.
• It enters Punjab at Madhopur, and after passing through Punjab, it enters Pakistan 26 km south of Amritsar.
• In Pakistan, Lahore is situated on its banks. Harappa is also situated on the banks of Ravi. 
• It meets Chenab near Rangpur in Pakistani Punjab.

Projects on the river

• Ranjit Sagar, Chamera and Baira Siul.

Origin

• Rakas Lake near Mansarovar; enters India through Shipki la pass.

Other Names

• Satudri (Vedic name)
• Langchen Khambab (Tibetan name)

Length

• 1050 km (in India)

Important Point

• It is an antecedent river

Flow

• After originating near Mansarovar, it flows through Tibet and enters India at Shipki La Pass, forming a deep gorge.
• In Himachal, it joins a number of small tributaries. The most important among these is Spiti.
• It enters the Punjab plains after forming a gorge at Naina Devi, where the famous Bhakra Dam has been constructed.
• At Ropar, it turns westwards and meets Beas at Harike. Further, it keeps on flowing westward and forms a boundary between India and Pakistan at Ferozepur.
• In Pakistan, it meets Chenab. The combined waters of the five rivers of Punjab thus formed is known as Panchnad.
• Panchnad meets Indus at Mithankot.

Projects on the river

• Bhakra Project and Naphtha Jhakhri

• After partition, Indus Water Sharing  Treaty was signed in 1960 between India & Pakistan (under the aegis of the World Bank).
  1. Pakistan was given: Indus, Jhelum & Chenab.
  2. India was given: Ravi, Beas & Sutlej.
  3. India is permitted limited use on rivers granted to Pakistan, such as drinking water, existing agriculture use, limited expansion, storage of no more than 3.6 MAF (million-acre feet), and hydroelectricity generation through run-of-the-river projects.
  4. But the condition is India can’t divert the water of these rivers.
• This treaty is hailed as one of the most significant diplomatic achievements of both nations because water sharing is a very sensitive issue, and no other Asian Nation has been able to sign such a treaty.

(For more details – CLICK HERE)

• Ghaggar rises from Talus fans of Shivalik in Sirmaur near Ambala. 
• After entering the plains, it disappears & again reappears at Karnal. Further on stream is called Hakra, which gets lost in the Hanumangarh district.
• The considerably large size of this river bed, i.e. 5 to 8 km wide with loamy soil in the river bed led to the belief that in old times Satluj might have flowed south to join Ghaggar- Hakra & this was a much bigger river known as Saraswati in Vedic literature.