Which one of the following rivers originates at Amarkantak?
- Damodar
- Mahanadi
- Narmada
- Tapti
Explanation
Option (c) is correct
- Narmada originates from the Amarkantak plateau of MP. It flows westwards in a rift valley between the Satpura in the south and the Vindhyan range in the north.
Option (a) is incorrect
- Damodar River, also called Deonadi in its initial reaches, is an important tributary of Ganga. It rises in the hills of the Chottanagpur Plateau of the Palamau district of Bihar. Barakar is its main tributary, and it joins the Hugli River south of Kolkata. Once known as the Sorrow of Bengal, the Damodar has been now tamed by the Damodar Valley Corporation, a multipurpose project.
Option (b) is incorrect
- Mahanadi basin extends over Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and comparatively smaller portions of Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, nearly 4.3% of the country’s total geographical area.
- The basin is bounded by the Central India hills on the north, the Eastern Ghats on the south and east, and the Maikala range on the west.
- Six small streams between the Mahanadi and the Rushikulya draining directly into the Chilka Lake are also part of the basin.
- In water potential and flood-producing capacity, the Mahanadi River ranks second to the Godavari.
- It originates from the Raipur district of Chhattisgarh.
- Left bank tributaries: Seonath, Hasdeo, Mand, and Ib.
- Right bank tributaries: Ong, Tel, and Jonk.
- Important cities: Raipur, Durg, Cuttack, etc.
Option (d) is incorrect
- Situated in the Deccan plateau, the Tapti basin extends over MP, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
- The basin is bounded by the Satpura Range on the north, by the Mahadev Hills on the east, by the Ajanta Range and the Satmala Hills on the south and by the Arabian Sea on the west.
- Tapti River originates near the Multai reserve forest in the Betul district of MP.
- It is the second-largest west-flowing river in peninsular India.
- It is known as ‘the twin’ or ‘the handmaid’ of the Narmada.
- Right bank tributaries: Suki, Gomai, Arunavati, and Aner.
- Left bank tributaries: Vaghur, Amravati, Buray, Panjhra, Bori, Girna, Purna, Mona, and Sipna
