Betwa River

Betwa River (बेतवा)
Betwa River near Orchha
Country	India
States	Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh
City	Vidisha
Source	Vindhya Range
- location	Hoshangabad district, Madhya Pradesh
Mouth	Yamuna
- location	Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh
- coordinates	25°55′N 80°12′E / 25.917°N 80.200°ECoordinates: 25°55′N 80°12′E / 25.917°N 80.200°E
Discharge	for Rajghat Dam
- average	658 m^3/s (23,237 cu ft/s) [1]
- max	3,178 m^3/s (112,230 cu ft/s)

The Betwa or Betravati is a river in Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. Also known as the Vetravati, the Betwa 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.^[2]

History

River Betwa close to the 11th century Bhojeshwar temple at Bhojpur, Madhya Pradesh

Chhatris on the bank of Betwa river

In Sanskrit "Betwa" is Vetravati. This river is mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with the Charmanwati river. 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]

Dams

• Rajghat Dam
• Matatila Dam
• Parichha Dam
• Dhurwara Dam

See Also

• Yamuna
• Ganga

References

1. Chaube, U.C.; Suryavanshi, Shakti; Nurzaman, Lukman; Pandey, Ashish (Nov 7, 2011). "Synthesis of flow series of tributaries in Upper Betwa basin" (PDF). International Journal of Environmental Sciences 1 (7). Retrieved 12 February 2014.
2. Betwa River
3. Betwa River Board Ministry of Water Resources website.
4. 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). "Betwa". Encyclopædia Britannica 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.