Ken River and Betwa River Ken River The Ken River is one of | DREAMS CORE IAS STUDY CHANNEL

Ken River and Betwa River
Ken River
The Ken River is one of the major rivers of the Bundelkhand region of central India, and flows through two states, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Its basin lies between north latitudes 23°20' and 25°20' and east longitudes of 78°30' and 80°32'.

The river originates near the Village Ahirgawan in Jabalpur District of M.P. at an altitude of 550m above mean sea level and joins the Yamuna River, near Chilla Village in U.P., at an elevation of about 95 m.

It forms the common boundary between Panna and Chhattarpur Districts of M.P. and state boundary between Chhattarpur District (M.P.) and Banda District (U.P.). The river has a total length of 427 km, out of which 292 km lies in M.P., 84 km in U.P, and 51 km forms the common boundary. The total catchment area of the Ken River basin is 28,058 sq. km, out of which 24,472 sq. km lies in Madhya Pradesh and the balance 3,586 sq. km in Uttar Pradesh.
 
Tributaries of Ken River: The important tributaries of the Ken River are Sonar, Bearma, Kopra, Bewas, Urmil, Mirhasan, Kutni, Kail, Gurne, Patan, Siameri, Chandrawal, Banne, etc., among others. The longest tributary is Sonar which is 227 km in length and lies wholly in M.P. In terms of catchment area also, Sonar is the largest tributary with a catchment area of 12,620 sq. km.
 
The Sonar sub-basin is located fully in Madhya Pradesh between north latitudes of 23°20' and 23°50' and east longitudes of 78°30' and 79°15'. It is a leaf shaped elongated catchment, with an average width of about 40 km. The Sonar basin is bounded by Bearma basin (a sub-basin of the Ken River) on the east side, by Dhasan basin (a sub-basin of Betwa River) on the west side and the Vindhyan ranges on the south. Sagar and Damoh are the major districts falling in this sub-basin and parts of Panna, Chattarpur and Raisen Districts also fall in the basin. The total catchment area of the Sonar basin is 6,550 sq. km. The major tributaries of Sonar are Bewas, Dehar, Kaith and Baink on the left bank and Kopra and Bearma on the right bank.
 
The Raneh Falls on the Ken river and Ken Ghariyal Sanctuary are tourist attractions. The rocks formed here present a spectacular view of different hues made of Granite, Dolomite and Quartz. Gangau Dam has been constructed at the confluence of the Ken and Simri rivers. The Ken River passes through Panna National Park.
 
Betwa or Betravati River
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.

Its basin extends from longitude 77° to 81° E and latitude 23°8' to 26°0' N. The Betwa River originates at an elevation of 470m in the Bhopal District in Madhya Pradesh. After traversing a distance of 590 km, the river joins the Yamuna River near Hamirpur at an elevation of 106.68 m. The total catchment area of the Betwa River is 46,580 sq. km of which 31,971 sq. km (68.64%) lies in Madhya Pradesh and 14,609 sq. km (31.36%) lies in Uttar Pradesh. The basin is saucer shaped with sandstone hills around the perimeter. The river has 14 principal tributaries out of which 11 are completely in Madhya Pradesh and 3 lie partly in Madhya Pradesh and Partly in Uttar Pradesh. The Halali and Dhasan Rivers are the important tributaries of the Betwa River. The Halali is the largest tributary having a length of 180.32 km. In the entire basin the rainfall varies from 100 cm to 140 cm in upper reaches and from 80 cm to 100 cm in lower reaches. The average annual rainfall in the Betwa basin is 110 cm.
 
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 water birds.