Barak
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Overview
The Barak rises in Manipur, flows through the Barak valley around Silchar in Assam and enters Bangladesh, where it becomes the Surma and the Kushiyara. It forms a basin of its own in the north-east.
It rises in the Senapati district of Manipur and flows west across Manipur and Mizoram border areas before entering the Cachar plains.
The proposed Tipaimukh dam on the Barak has been opposed in Manipur and Bangladesh.
The river is navigable in its lower Indian course and is part of National Waterway-16.
The Barak valley has tea gardens.
The river is fed by rain.
It is used for navigation.
It floods often.
Geography and key facts
- Rises in Manipur
- Barak valley (Silchar), Assam
- Becomes the Surma–Kushiyara in Bangladesh
- Rises in Senapati, Manipur
- Tipaimukh dam proposal
- National Waterway-16
Why it matters for UPSC
Asked on rivers flowing through Arunachal and the north-east (2014).
Note for UPSC
Rises in Manipur, flows through the Barak valley (Silchar) and into Bangladesh as the Surma–Kushiyara.
Prelims asks about tributaries, the states a river flows through, its basin and the projects on it, so trace the course on the map.
Asked in PYQs
- UPSC Prelims 2014 · Q45Consider the following rivers : Which of the above flows/flow through Arunachal Pradesh?…
Questions from our Prelims bank whose text names Barak.
Key facts
- Type
- River
- States / UTs on its course
- Manipur, Assam, Nagaland
- River system
- Himalayan
- Basin
- Barak
- Extent on map
- 24.2°–25.5°N, 92.5°–94.1°E
- Asked in Prelims
- 1 question · 2014
From the Map Explorer data; positions are for orientation.
In the lessons
- India and West Asia: Gulf, Iran and Israel
- Physical Features and Drainage of India (map lesson)
- Drainage Systems of India: Himalayan and Peninsular Rivers (map lesson)
- The Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilisation (map lesson)
- Harappan Civilisation: Sites, Town Planning and Phases (map lesson)
- Mahajanapadas and the Rise of Magadha (map lesson)