Bhagirathi
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Overview
The Bhagirathi is the source stream of the Ganga. It begins at Gaumukh on the Gangotri glacier in Uttarakhand and meets the Alaknanda at Devprayag, where the river takes the name Ganga. The Tehri dam is built on it.
Lower down, below Farakka, the Bhagirathi–Hooghly distributary flows past Kolkata while the main stream enters Bangladesh as the Padma. The Battle of Plassey (1757) was fought at Palashi on the Bhagirathi, and National Waterway 1 (Haldia–Prayagraj) runs along the Ganga–Bhagirathi–Hooghly.
Geography and key facts
- Source: Gaumukh, Gangotri glacier
- Meets the Alaknanda at Devprayag to form the Ganga
- Tehri dam is on it
- Plassey (Palashi) lies on the lower Bhagirathi
Why it matters for UPSC
Asked on the river of the Tehri hydropower complex (2008).
Note for UPSC
Source stream of the Ganga from Gaumukh (Gangotri glacier); Tehri dam is on it.
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 2008 · Q49On which one of the following rivers is the Tehri Hydropower Complex located?…
Questions from our Prelims bank whose text names Bhagirathi.
Key facts
- Type
- River
- State / UT
- Uttarakhand
- River system
- Himalayan
- Basin
- Ganga
- Extent on map
- 30.1°–31.0°N, 78.3°–79.1°E
- Asked in Prelims
- 1 question · 2008
From the Map Explorer data; positions are for orientation.
In the lessons
- Physical Features and Drainage of India
- Conquest of Bengal: Plassey, Buxar and the Dual Government
- Drainage Systems of India: Himalayan and Peninsular Rivers
- Transport Infrastructure: Roads, Railways, Ports and Aviation
- The Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilisation (map lesson)
- Harappan Civilisation: Sites, Town Planning and Phases (map lesson)