Chenab
Also: Chenab river, Chandrabhaga, Asikni
Background and evolution
The Chenab carries the largest volume of water among the rivers flowing from Indian territory into Pakistan, which explains why Pakistan watches Indian projects on it so closely. Its flow peaks in summer, when snow and glacier melt combine with monsoon rain, and is lowest in winter, when even small changes in storage timing can matter downstream.
The Chenab begins in the cold desert of Lahaul, where two glacier-fed streams, the Chandra flowing from near the Baralacha La and the Bhaga from the same pass in the other direction, meet at Tandi. The combined river, known locally as the Chandrabhaga, flows north-west through the Pangi valley, a remote, deep gorge between the Pir Panjal and the Zaskar ranges. It enters Jammu and Kashmir near Kishtwar, swings south-west through Doda and Ramban, cuts a spectacular gorge near Reasi and leaves the hills at Akhnoor.
In ancient texts the river was called Asikni, one of the rivers of the Rigveda, and the Greeks knew it as the Acesines. In Pakistan it receives the Jhelum at Trimmu and the Ravi further downstream, before joining the Sutlej at the Panjnad, where the five rivers of the Punjab become one and flow into the Indus. This page focuses on the Chenab as a hydropower river in a sensitive transboundary setting.
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Last reviewed: 23 October 2026 · Original UPSCPrep.in content.