Betwa River
The Betwa or Betravati is a river in Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. It rises in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh and flows north-east through Madhya Pradesh and Orchha to Uttar Pradesh. Nearly half of its course, which is not navigable, runs over the Malwa Plateau. The confluence of the Betwa and the Yamuna rivers is Hamirpur town in Uttar Pradesh, in the vicinity of Orchha.[1]
The Indian navy named one of its frigates INS Betwa in honour of the river Betwa.[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 total 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 and the Union Minister of Power, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, Chief Ministers and Ministers in-charge of Finance, Irrigation and Power of 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. 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] An ambitious project to link Ken and Betwarivers has become a stage for a unique man-animal conflict. Proponents of the project, led by the Union Water Ministry, say that the proposed Daudhan dam and the 230km 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 7,00,000 hectares in drought-ravaged Bundelkhand.
Dams
See also
References
- ^ Betwa River Archived 24 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Indian Navy Frigate Tips Over in Graving Dock". The Maritime Executive. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ Betwa River Board[permanent dead link] Ministry of Water Resources website.
- ^ 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
External links
- Betwa River
- Ken-Betwa river link project to cost Rs 4,500 cr Business Line
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.