RIVERS OF INDIA - 3 - ANSWERS

1. C. Goa

The Zuari River is the largest river (92 km) in the state of Goa. It is a tidal river which originates at Hemad-Barshem in the Western Ghats. Zuari is connected to other rivers and canals such as Mandovi river and Cumbarjua Canal. The Zuari and Mandovi Rivers form an estuarine system and are the backbone of Goa's agricultural industry. The Cumbarjua Canal linking the two rivers has enabled ships navigate to the interior regions to the iron ore mines of Goa. The waters of the Mandovi and Zuari both flush out into the Arabian Sea at Cabo Aguada, a common point forming the Mormugao Harbour. The port city of Vasco da Gama, Goa lies on the mouth of the Zuari River.

2. B. Krishna

"Amaravati" is a proposed and planned Capital city of the State of Andhra Pradesh after Telangana was split off as a separate state out of the undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2014. The former capital city of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, is now located inside Telangana. The city has been allotted space to be built on the southern banks of the Krishna river in Guntur district, within the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region. It is being built on a 217 sq km riverfront designed to have 51% of green spaces and 10% of water bodies. The word "Amaravati" derives from the historical Amaravathi village, the ancient capital of the Satavahana dynasty. The foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandrababu Naidu on 22 October 2015. The metropolitan area of Guntur and Vijayawada and the area of City Tenali are the major conurbations of Amaravati.

3. C. Leh

"Sindhu Darshan Festival" is a festival which is held every year for three days from 12th  to 14th June on the bank of Indus (Sindhu) river at Leh in Ladakh District of Ladakh Union Territory. It was first started in the October, 1997 and continues to be held every year since then, attracting large number of foreign and domestic tourists.

The Festival is a celebration of River Sindhu as an icon of the communal harmony and unity of India. Every year, a large number of participants from different parts of the country participate in the Festival. They bring water from the river of their own state in earthen pots and immerse these pots in the Sindhu River. The Bollywood film "Dil Se" was shot during the first Sindhu Darshan Festival.

The Postal Department of Government of India issued a postage stamp depicting "Sindhu Darshan Festival" in 1999.

4. A. Shipra

The Kumbh Mela at Ujjain or "Ujjain Simhastha" is a Hindu religious mela (fair) held every 12 years in the Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh on the bank of river "Shipra". The fair attracts millions of pilgrims from all around India and abroad. In Hindi, the fair is also called "Simhastha". The name derives from the fact that it is held when the Jupiter is in Leo ("Simha" in Hindu astrology).

It is one of the four fairs traditionally recognized as "Kumbha Mela". According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu in "Mohini" avatar dropped drops of "amrita" (the drink of immortality) which emerged from "Samudra Manthan" (Churning of the Ocean) between Gods and Demons at four places, while transporting it in a "kumbha" (pot). These four places, Triveni Sangam (Allahabad), Haridwar, Nashik and  Ujjain are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela.

(Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga)

The Mela in its current form began in the 18th century when the Maratha ruler Ranoji Shinde invited ascetics from Nashik to Ujjain's local festival. Both Ujjain and Nashik fairs adopted the Kumbha myth from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela. The Simhastha at Ujjayini pays special reverence to the temple of "Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga" (on the bank of river Shipra), one of the twelve Jyotirlingas dedicated to Lord Shiva in India.

5. C. Gorakhpur

(The course of the River Ganges )

The 2525 km long River Ganges (Ganga) after emerging from the mountains at Rishikesh, traverses through many cities in the North Indian plains (known as "Gangetic Plain"). The River Yamuna joins Ganges at Prayagraj (Allahabad). Along the way between Allahabad and Malda, West Bengal, the Ganges river passes the towns of Chunar, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Patna, Hajipur, Chapra, Bhagalpur, Ballia, Buxar, Simaria, Sultanganj, and Saidpur. At Bhagalpur, the river begins to flow south-southeast and at Pakur, it begins its attrition with the branching away of its first distributary, the Bhagirathi-Hooghly, which goes on to become the Hooghly River. Just before the border with Bangladesh the Farakka Barrage controls the flow of Ganges, diverting some of the water into a feeder canal linked to the Hooghly for the purpose of keeping it relatively silt-free. The Hooghly River is formed by the confluence of the Bhagirathi River and Jalangi River at Nabadwip, and Hooghly has a number of tributaries of its own, the largest of them is the Damodar River. The Hooghly River empties into the Bay of Bengal near Sagar Island. Between Malda and the Bay of Bengal, the Hooghly river passes the towns and cities of Murshidabad, Nabadwip, Kolkata and Howrah.

(The ghats of Varanasi on the River Ganga)

After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges river is known as the Padma. The Padma is joined by the Jamuna River, the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra. Further downstream, the Padma joins the Meghna River, the second largest distributary of the Brahmaputra, and takes on the name "Meghna" which empties into the Bay of Bengal.

(Mahatma Gandhi Setu over River Ganges connecting Patna to Hajipur)

The Ganges Delta, formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is the world's largest delta, at about 59,000 sq km which stretches about 322 km along the Bay of Bengal.

(The Bengal Tiger in the Mangrove Forest of Sundarban)

The city of Gorakhpur located in the north-eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, lies on the river Rapti, a river which originates in Nepal and joins the Ghaghara River — a major left bank tributary of the Ganges.