Chenab River

Did you know that Askini is the ancient and Hindu mythological name for the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, and not as Chandra Bagha River as mentioned in some sources?

Chenab River is formed by the union of two headwaters, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh, India. The Chenab flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan, before ultimately flowing into the Indus River. It is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region (both in India and Pakistan) which gives the name Punjab. The waters of the Chenab were allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty. India is allowed non-consumptive uses such as power generation. The Chenab River is extensively used in Pakistan for irrigation. Its waters are also transferred to the channel of the Ravi River via numerous link canals.

In the olden days, the river was known in Sanskirt as Askini (असिक्नी) and not Chenab as reported in some references.The name meant that it was seen to have dark-coloured waters. The term Krishana is also found in the Atharvaveda. A later form of Askikni was Iskamati (Sanskrit: इस्कामति)[citation needed] and the Greek form was Ancient Greek: Ἀκεσίνης - Akesínes; Latinized to Acesines.

The river was known to Indians in the Vedic period. In 325 BCE, Alexander the Great allegedly founded the town of Alexandria on the Indus (present day Uch Sharif or Mithankot or Chacharan in Pakistan) at the confluence of the Indus and the combined stream of Punjab rivers (currently known as the Panjnad River).

The river is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi, 8 km (5.0 mi) southwest of Keylong, in the Lahaul and Spiti district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

The Bhaga river originates from Surya taal lake, which is situated a few kilometers west of the Bara-lacha la pass in Himachal Pradesh. The Chandra river originates from glaciers east of the same pass (near Chandra Taal). This pass also acts as a water-divide between these two rivers. The Chandra river transverses 115 km (71 mi) while the Bhaga river transverses 60 km (37 mi) through narrow gorges before their confluence at Tandi.

The Chandra-Bhaga then flows through the Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh before entering the Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir, where it flows through the Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Reasi and Jammu districts. It enters Pakistan and flows through the Punjab province before emptying into the Sutlej River, forming the Panjnad river.

The Chenab river has rich power generation potential in India. There are 12 hydropower projects dams built, under construction or proposed to be built on the Chenab for the purpose of hydroelectric power generation in the country, including:

a) Baglihar Hydroelectric power project (900 MW) near Ramban; b)

Salal Dam - 690 MW hydroelectric power project near Reasi; c)

Dul Hasti Hydroelectric Plant - 390 MW type power project in Kishtwar District; d) Ratle Hydroelectric Plant - an under-construction power station near Drabshalla in Kishtwar District; e)

Pakal Dul Dam - a proposed dam on a tributary Marusadar River in Kishtwar District; f) Kiru Hydroelectric Power Project (624 MW proposed) located in Kishtwar district; and g) Kishtwar Hydroelectric Power Project also called Kwar Hydroelectric Project (540 MW proposed) located in Kishtwar district. There are many more smaller HE projects existing or planned on the Chenab River in India,.

The Indus Water Treaty allocates the waters of Chenab to Pakistan with the proviso that India can use its water for domestic and agricultural uses or for "non-consumptive" uses such as hydro power generation. India is entitled to store up to 1.2 million acre-feet (1.5 billion cubic metres) of water to meet only diurnal flucation of load in its projects. The three projects completed so far, Salal, Baglihar and Dul Hasti, have a combined storage capacity of 260 thousand acre-feet (320 million cubic metres). Another proejct redcently approved for construction is the 540 MW Kwar Hydroelectric Project on the Chenab river in Kishtwar district at a cost of Rs 4,526.12 crore

Pakistan has four headworks on the Chenab providing large sacle irrigation. These are: Marala Headworks - located near Sialkot;

Khanki Headworks - located in Gujranwala District;

Qadirabad Headworks - located in Mandi Bahauddin District; and

Trimmu Barrage - located in Jhang District.

Another important structure on the Chenab River is the Chenab Bridge, the world's highest railway bridge, which is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project (USBRL).This bridge is 1,315-metre long and is the highest railway bridge in the world being 359 metres above the river bed level

Source: Extracts from article in Wikipedia.

Narasipur Char