Drainage Systems in India

Uttarkashi is a town in Uttarakhand situated on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, which is one of the two main headstreams of the Ganga (the other being Alaknanda). The Bhagirathi originates at Gaumukh from the Gangotri Glacier and flows through Uttarkashi.

Majuli Island, the largest river island in India, is in the river Brahmaputra.

Chachai Falls is in Rewa district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the 23rd highest waterfall in India.

The Amarkantak Hill is the source of two rivers flowing in two different directions (east and west). They are Narmada and Mahanadi.

Antecedent drainage refers to a river that has maintained its course and direction despite the rise of mountain ranges around it. The Brahmaputra flows northward through the Himalayas (which rose later), meaning it predates the main Himalayan orogeny and has an antecedent drainage pattern with its watershed north of the main range.

The Farakka Barrage is a dam built on the Hugli River (also spelled Hooghly), which is a distributary of the Ganga. It is located near the Bangladesh border and was built to divert water from the Ganga to the Hugli River to maintain its flow and prevent siltation.

The Ganga is characterized by being a braided river with multiple channels and intertwined sand-bars, and it deposits enormous sediment into the Bay of Bengal. However, gully erosion is not a characteristic feature of the Ganga. Gully erosion typically occurs in smaller streams in upper reaches, not in major mature rivers like the Ganga in its middle and lower courses.

The Ganga has a larger delta than the Indus because the Indus flows mostly through arid and semi-arid regions (Thar Desert area) where it receives little water from tributaries along its path. In contrast, the Ganga flows through humid, monsoon-dominated regions and receives numerous tributaries, collecting significantly more water and sediment to form a massive delta.

Krishna has Bhima as its tributary, Brahmaputra has Testa (Teesta) as a major tributary, Godavari has Indravati as its tributary, and Yamuna has Chambal as its major tributary. This makes the combination (A)-4, (B)-3, (C)-2, (D)-1 correct.

Peninsular rivers are characterized by seasonal flow, flowing through shallow graded valleys with low gradients and little erosion, and most have reached a mature stage of development. However, meandering tendencies and frequent bed-shifting are NOT characteristics of peninsular rivers. These rivers have relatively stable courses compared to Himalayan rivers which are young and actively shifting.

Mettur Dam is built across the Kaveri.

Option (3) is not correctly matched.

The Cauvery water dispute is a long-standing inter-state conflict involving all four regions: Karnataka (where the river originates), Tamil Nadu (the downstream state with major water rights), Kerala (where a tributary originates), and Puducherry (which is located in the Cauvery delta region). The dispute primarily centers on water-sharing arrangements between these states, particularly between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The Trans-Himalayan region refers to the area north of the Himalayan ranges, including the Tibetan Plateau. Rivers like Sutlej, Indus (Sindh), and Brahmaputra originate in this region (near Mansarovar/Kailash). The Ganga, however, originates from the Gangotri glacier in the Greater Himalayas (Garhwal region), not in the Trans-Himalayan zone.