The Chenab River[a] is a major river in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, the Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh, India. The Chenab flows then through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan, where it joins the Sutlej River to form the Panjnad, which ultimately flows into the Indus River at Mithankot.
Chenab | |
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![]() The Chenab river at Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir, India | |
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Location | |
Country | India, Pakistan |
Flows through (areas in India) | Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir |
Flows through (areas in Pakistan) | Punjab |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Baralacha La pass |
• location | Lahul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, India |
• coordinates | 32°38′09″N 77°28′51″E / 32.63583°N 77.48083°E |
Mouth | Confluence with Sutlej to form the Panjnad River |
• location | Bahawalpur district, Punjab, Pakistan |
• coordinates | 29°20′57″N 71°1′41″E / 29.34917°N 71.02806°E |
Length | 974 km (605 mi) |
Discharge | |
• location | Marala Headworks, Gujrat district, Punjab, Pakistan[1] |
• average | 977.3 m3/s (34,510 cu ft/s) |
• minimum | 310.53 m3/s (10,966 cu ft/s) |
• maximum | 31,148.53 m3/s (1,100,000 cu ft/s) |
Basin features | |
River system | Indus River |
Tributaries | |
• left | Tawi River, Ravi River |
• right | Marusudar River,[2] Jhelum River, Neeru river and Kalnai River |
The waters of the Chenab were allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty. India is allowed non-consumptive uses such as power generation. The Chenab River is extensively used in Pakistan for irrigation. Its waters are also transferred to the channel of the Ravi River via numerous link canals.[3][4][5]
Name
editThe Chenab river was called Asikni (Sanskrit: असिक्नी) in the Rigveda (VIII.20.25, X.75.5). The name meant that it was seen to have dark-coloured waters.[6][7] The term Krishana is also found in the Atharvaveda.[8] A later form of Askikni was Iskamati (Sanskrit: इस्कामति)[citation needed] and the Greek form was Ancient Greek: Ἀκεσίνης – Akesínes; Latinized to Acesines.[6][7][9]
In the Mahabharata, the common name of the river was Chandrabhaga (Sanskrit: चन्द्रभागा) because the river is formed from the confluence of the Chandra and the Bhaga rivers.[8][10] This name was also known to the Ancient Greeks, who Hellenised it in various forms such as Sandrophagos, Sandabaga and Cantabra.[7]
The simplification of Chandrabhaga to 'Chenab', with evident Persianate influence, probably occurred in early medieval times and is witnessed in Alberuni.[11]
Course
editThe river is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi, 8 km (5.0 mi) southwest of Keylong, in the Lahaul and Spiti district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.[3]
The Bhaga river originates from Surya taal lake, which is situated a few kilometers west of the Bara-lacha la pass in Himachal Pradesh. The Chandra river originates from glaciers east of the same pass (near Chandra Taal).[3][12] This pass also acts as a water-divide between these two rivers.[13] The Chandra river transverses 115 km (71 mi) while the Bhaga river transverses 60 km (37 mi) through narrow gorges before their confluence at Tandi.[14]
The Chandra-Bhaga then flows through the pangi valley of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh before entering the Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir, where it flows through the Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Reasi and Jammu districts. It enters Pakistan and flows through the Punjab province before emptying into the Sutlej, forming the Panjnad river.
History
editThe river was known to Indians in the Vedic period.[15][16][17] In 325 BCE, Alexander the Great allegedly founded the town of Alexandria on the Indus (present-day Uch Sharif or Mithankot or Chacharan in Pakistan) at the confluence of the Indus and the combined streams of Punjab rivers (currently known as the Panjnad River).[18] Arrian, in the Anabasis of Alexander, quotes the eyewitness Ptolemy Lagides as writing that the river was 2 miles wide where Alexander crossed it.[19]
The Battle of Chenab was fought between Sikhs and Afghans on the bank of the river.[20]
Dams
editListed from source of river to the downstream direction.
India
editTo tap the rich power generation potential, India has the following dams-cum-hydroelectric power generation projects in Chenab basin, all of which are run-of-the-river projects as per the provisions of Indus Water Treaty[21] which was suspended by India in April 2025.[22]
Project | State (District) | Hydroelectricity Capacity (MW) | Live Storage Capacity (MCM) | Status | Completion | Comment /Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barinium Hydroelectric Power Project | J&K (Kishtwar) | 240 | 17 | Proposed | 2028 | In May 2025, being expedited with expected completion in 2028.[23] Projects in Kishtwar district are collectively called the Kishtwar Hydroelectric Power Project. |
Kirthai Hydroelectric Power Project | J&K (Kishtwar) | 1320 | 30 | Proposed | 2032 | Kirthai-I 390 MW 13 MCM and downstream Kirthai-II 930 MW 17 MCM, construction of Kirthai-I expected to begin in 2029 with completion by 2032.[24] |
Kiru Hydroelectric Power Project | J&K (Kishtwar) | 624 | 10.5 | Under-construction | 2026 | In May 2025, 55% complete[22] with expected completion date of Sept 2026.[25] |
Kwar Hydroelectric Power Project | J&K (Kishtwar) | 540 | 9.2 | Under-construction | 2027 | In May 2025, 19% complete[22] with expected completion date of Dec 2027.[25] |
Pakal Dul Dam Hydroelectric Power Project | J&K (Kishtwar) | 1000 | 109 | Under-construction | 2026 | In May 2025, 66% complete[22] with expected completion date of Sept 2026 on a tributary Marusadar River.[25] It's on Marusudar River tributary of Chenab. |
Bursar Hydroelectric Power Project | J&K (Kishtwar) | 800 | 618 | Under-construction | 2027 | In May 2025, proposed stalled project was expedited in April 2025 after the termination of IWT.[26] It's on Marusudar River tributary of Chenab. |
Dul Hasti Hydroelectric Plant | J&K (Kishtwar) | 390 | 8.6 | Completed | 2007 | [21][27] |
Ratle Hydroelectric Plant | J&K (Kishtwar) | 850 | 24 | Under-construction | 2032 | In May 2025, 21% complete[22] with expected completion date of Nov 2028.[25] |
Baglihar Dam Hydroelectric Power Project | J&K (Doda) | 900 | 31.1 | Completed | 2017 | Total 900MW with completion of stage-II in 2017.[21][28][29] |
Sawalkot Hydroelectric Power Project | J&K (Reasi) | 1856 | 550 | Proposed | 2032 | Tendering phase in May 2025,[30] with expected completion date of June 2032.[31] |
Salal Hydroelectric Power Station | J&K (Reasi) | 690 | 271.3 | Completed | 1987 | [21][32][33] |
Total | Chenab (India) | 9210 | 1678.7 | Ongoing | Ongoing | Ongoing updgardes. |
Pakistan
editPakistan has four headworks on the Chenab, all within the Punjab province, some with micro hydro electricity generation capacity:
Project | State (District) | Hydroelectricity Capacity (MW) | Live Storage Capacity (MCM) | Status | Completion | Comment /Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Marala Headworks | Punjab (Sialkot) | 7.64 | 2040 | Existing | 1968 | Combined Marala Headworks (1912) and Marala Barrage (1968).[34][35] |
Qadirabad Headworks | Punjab (Mandi Bahauddin) | 0 | 8.2 | Existing | 1968 | Does not generate electricity.[36] |
Khanki Headworks | Punjab (Gujranwala) | 0 | 197.4 | Existing | 2017 | Completed in 1892 and upgraded in 2017, does not generate electricity.[37] |
Trimmu Barrage | Punjab (Jhang) | 1263 | 16874 | Existing | 1939 | [37] |
Total | Chenab (Pakistan) | 1270.6 | 19120 | Existing | [37]
|
Other major infrastructure
edit
- Chenab Rail Bridge in India is the highest rail bridge and arch bridge in the world.[38][39][40]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ /tʃɪˈnæb/; Urdu pronunciation: [ˈt͡ʃə.nɑːb]; Punjabi pronunciation: [ˈt͡ʃə˨.nä̃ː˦]); Saraiki pronunciation: [ˈt͡ʃə.nʱɑ̃ː]
References
edit- ^ ftp://daac.ornl.gov/data/rivdis/STATIONS.HTM[permanent dead link], ORNL, Retrieved 8 Dec 2016
- ^ "Construction of power projects over Chenab". Business Recorder. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Naqvi, Saiyid Ali (2012), Indus Waters and Social Change: The Evolution and Transition of Agrarian Society in Pakistan, Oxford University Press Pakistan, p. 13, ISBN 978-0-19-906396-3
- ^ "River Chenab" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007.
- ^ "Indus Waters Treaty". The World Bank. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ a b Kapoor, Subodh (2002), Encyclopaedia of Ancient Indian Geography, Cosmo Publications, p. 80, ISBN 978-81-7755-298-0
- ^ a b c Kaul, Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu 2001, p. 1.
- ^ a b Kaul, Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu 2001, p. 2.
- ^ Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Acesines". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
- ^ Handa, O. C.; Omacanda Hāṇḍā (1994), Buddhist Art & Antiquities of Himachal Pradesh, Upto 8th Century A.D., Indus Publishing, pp. 126–, ISBN 978-81-85182-99-5
- ^ Kazmi, Hasan Askari (1995), The makers of medieval Muslim geography: Alberuni, Renaissance, p. 124, ISBN 9788185199610
- ^ Gosal, G.S. (2004). "Physical Geography of the Punjab" (PDF). Journal of Punjab Studies. 11 (1). Center for Sikh and Punjab Studies, University of California: 31. ISSN 0971-5223. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
- ^ R. K. Pant; N. R. Phadtare; L. S. Chamyal & Navin Juyal (June 2005). "Quaternary deposits in Ladakh and Karakoram Himalaya: A treasure trove of the palaeoclimate records" (PDF). Current Science. 88 (11): 1789–1798. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
- ^ "Lahaul & Spiti". Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ Yule, Henry; Burnell, Arthur Coke; Crooke, William (1903). Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of Anglo-Indian colloquial words & phrases and of kindred terms. Murray. p. 741.
chenab ancient name.
- ^ "River, Chenab River on Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica article on the Chenab
- ^ "Alexandria (Uch)". Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ Arrian (2010). Romm, James (ed.). The Landmark Arrian : the Campaigns of Alexander; Anabasis Alexandrous : a new translation. Translated by Mensch, Pamela. New York: Pantheon Books. p. 222. ISBN 9780375423468. OCLC 515405268. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ ^ Jump up to:a b VSM, D. S. Saggu (2018-06-07). Battle Tactics And War Manoeuvres of the Sikhs. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-64249-006-0.
- ^ a b c d Bakshi, Gitanjali; Trivedi, Sahiba (2011), The Indus Equation (PDF), Strategic Foresight Group, p. 29, retrieved 28 October 2014
- ^ a b c d e Four hydel projects over Chenab in J&K likely to be commissioned by 2028, Hindustan Times, 3 May 2025.
- ^ Power lant profile Barinium, Rsearchgate, accessed 18 May 2025.
- ^ Power lant profile Kirthai, power-technology.com, accessed 18 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d Centre to fast-track 4 hydro projects in Kishtwar, including dam at Pakal Dul, Indian Express, 7 May 2025.
- ^ Indus Waters Treaty Suspended: Modi Government Fast-Tracks Five Major Hydropower Projects in Jammu & Kashmir - Details Here, timesnownews.com, 28 Apr 2025.
- ^ "Dul Hasti dam and Hydroelectric Power Project". Tractebel. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ^ Baglihar Briefing, Kashmir Life, 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Pakistan-India Relations" (PDF). Pakistani Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
- ^ Power lant profile Sawalkot, power-technology.com, accessed 18 May 2025.
- ^ Sawalkot Project profile, indiainvestmentgrid.gov.in, accessed 18 May 2025.
- ^ Siltation renders Salal hydro-power project's future uncertain, Outlook, 31 July 2002.
- ^ Ramaswamy R. Iyer, Arbitration & Kishenganga project, The Hindu 25 June 2010.
- ^ CM Punjab inaugurates Head Marala Hydropower project, Radio Pakistan, November 05, 2018.
- ^ CITEREFSingh,_Irrigation_and_Soil_Salinity_in_the_Indian_Subcontinent2005}}, p=115.
- ^ Singh, N. T. (2005), Irrigation and Soil Salinity in the Indian Subcontinent: Past and Present, Lehigh University Press, ISBN 978-0-934223-78-2
- ^ a b c Timmu barrage, smec.com, accessed 18 May 2025.
- ^ "India joins the superlative club, we now have the world's highest rail bridge". 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Chenab Rail bridge will be highest in the world". The Hindu. 17 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
- ^ Nag, Devanjana (16 January 2020). "Chenab bridge: World's highest rail bridge taller than Eiffel Tower, can withstand blasts!". The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
Bibliography
edit- Kaul, P. K. (2001), Antiquities of the Chenāb Valley in Jammu: Inscriptions-copper Plates, Sanads, Grants, Firmāns & Letters in Brāhmi-Shārdā-Tākri-Persian & Devnāgri Scripts, Eastern Book Linkers, ISBN 9788178540061