Damodar
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Overview
The Damodar flows through Jharkhand and West Bengal. Its floods once earned it the name "Sorrow of Bengal", and the Damodar Valley Corporation (1948) was India's first multipurpose river project, part of the First Plan's focus on irrigation and power.
Its valley holds Gondwana coal fields such as Jharia, Raniganj and Bokaro, which made the Chota Nagpur area a centre of mining and heavy industry.
Geography and key facts
- States: Jharkhand, West Bengal
- Once the "Sorrow of Bengal"
- Damodar Valley Corporation (1948): first multipurpose project
- Coal fields: Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro
Why it matters for UPSC
Asked on rivers rising at Amarkantak (2007), east-flowing rivers in rift valleys (1998) and a 2004 statements question.
Note for UPSC
Once called the "Sorrow of Bengal"; the Damodar Valley Corporation (1948) was India's first multipurpose river project.
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 2007 · Q82Which one among the following rivers originates at Amarkantak?…
- UPSC Prelims 2004 · Q42Consider the following statements: Which of these statements given above is/are correct?…
- UPSC Prelims 1998 · Q67Which one of the following east-flowing rivers of India has a rift valley due to down-warping?…
Questions from our Prelims bank whose text names Damodar.
Key facts
- Type
- River
- States / UTs on its course
- West Bengal, Jharkhand
- River system
- Peninsular
- Basin
- Ganga
- Extent on map
- 22.4°–23.8°N, 84.7°–88.1°E
- Asked in Prelims
- 3 questions · 2007, 2004, 1998
From the Map Explorer data; positions are for orientation.
In the lessons
- Revolutionary Nationalism: From Anushilan Samiti to Bhagat Singh and the INA
- Land Reforms, Planning and Economic Nation-Building
- Mineral and Energy Resources and the Location of Industries in India
- Planning in India: Five-Year Plans to NITI Aayog
- Physical Features and Drainage of India (map lesson)
- Drainage Systems of India: Himalayan and Peninsular Rivers (map lesson)