Narmada River

The Narmada River (), also known as the Narbada or anglicised as Nerbudda, is the fifth longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest river in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This river flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and is known as their lifeline due to its contribution to the two states in many ways. The Narmada River originates from the Amarkantak Plateau in the Anuppur district. It forms a traditional boundary between North and South India and flows westwards for approximately before draining through the Gulf of Khambhat into the Arabian Sea, west of Bharuch city of Gujarat.

It is one of only two major rivers in peninsular India that runs from east to west (longest west flowing river), along with the Tapti River. It is one of the rivers in India that flows in a rift valley, bordered by the Satpura and Vindhya ranges. As a rift valley river, the Narmada does not form a delta; Rift valley rivers form estuaries. Other rivers which flow through the rift valley include the Damodar River in Chota Nagpur Plateau and Tapti. The Tapti River and Mahi River also flow through rift valleys, but between different ranges. It flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh (), and Maharashtra, (), () (actually along the border between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra () and then the border between Maharashtra and Gujarat () and in Gujarat ().

The Periplus Maris Erythraei (c. 80 AD) called the river the Namnadius (Ναμνάδιος), Ptolemy called it Namadus (Νάμαδος) and Namades (Ναμάδης) and the British Raj called it the Nerbudda or Narbada. Narmada is a Sanskrit word meaning "The Giver of Pleasure".

Course

thumb|right|Narmada Kund, Narmada's origin at [[Amarkantak]]

thumb|Narmada River at Tilwara Ghat, [[Jabalpur]]

thumb|Narmada River in [[Omkareshwar]]

thumb|Narmada River flowing through a [[gorge of Marble Rocks in Bhedaghat]]

thumb|Side view of the [[Dhuandhar Falls seen during the monsoon season]]

The source of the Narmada is a small reservoir, known as the Narmada Kund. It is located at Amarkantak on the Amarkantak Plateau The river descends from Sonmuda, then falls over a cliff as the Kapildhara waterfall, and meanders, in the hills, flowing through a tortuous course crossing the rocks and islands, up to the ruined palace of Ramnagar. Between Ramnagar and Mandla, further southeast, the course is comparatively straight, with deep water devoid of rocky obstacles. The Banger joins from the left. The river then runs north–west in a narrow loop towards Jabalpur. Close to this city, after a fall of some , called the Dhuandhara (the fall of mist), it flows for , in a deep, narrow channel through the magnesium limestone and basalt rocks, called the Marble Rocks; from a width of about , above, it is compressed in this channel of (), only. Beyond this point up to its meeting with the Arabian Sea, the Narmada enters three narrow valleys between the Vindhya scarps in the north and the Satpura range in the south. The southern extension of the valley is wider at most places. These three valley sections are separated by the closely approaching line of the scarps and the Satpura hills.

thumb|right|[[Marble Rocks alongside Narmada River]]

Emerging from the Marble Rocks the river enters its first fertile basin, which extends about , with an average width of , in the south. In the north, the valley is limited to the Barna–Bareli plain terminating at Barkhara Hills opposite Narmadapuram. However, the hills again recede in the Kannod plains. The banks are about () high. It is in the first valley of the Narmada that many of its important tributaries from the south join it and bring the waters of the northern slopes of the Satpura Hills. In the entire course of the river of , there are 41 tributaries, out of which 22 are from the Satpura range and the rest on the right bank are from the Vindhya range.

The basin has five well defined physiographic regions. They are:(1) The upper hilly areas covering parts of Anuppur, Mandla, Dindori, Balaghat and Seoni, (2) The upper plains covering parts of Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Chhindwara, Narmadapuram, Betul, Harda, Raisen and Sehore districts, (3) The middle plains covering parts of Khandwa, Khargone, Dewas, Indore and Dhar, (4) The lower hilly areas covering parts of Barwani, Alirajpur, Nandurbar, Chhota Udepur and Narmada, and (5) the lower plains covering mainly the districts of Narmada, Bharuch, and parts of Vadodara district. The hill regions are well forested. The upper, middle and lower plains are broad and fertile areas, well suited for cultivation. The Narmada basin mainly consists of black soils. The coastal plains in Gujarat are composed of alluvial clays with a layer of black soils on the surface.

The valley experiences extremes of hydrometeorological and climatic conditions with the upper catchment having an annual precipitation in the range of to and with half or even less than half in its lower regions (–); the diversity of vegetation from lush green in the upper region to dry deciduous teak forest vegetation in the lower region is testimony to this feature. Between the two continents, a large sea, Tethys existed. Presently the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau have taken the position of the ancient Tethys Ocean. The Gondwana was intruded by few large marine transgressions. A deep gulf or sea existed along the Sindh-Baluchistan and Kutch. At one time, a marine ravine penetrated the very centre of Peninsular India through a narrow inlet along the present valley of Narmada. During this time India was divided into two halves by narrow strips of marine transgressions and there was no land communication between the Peninsular and northern India. Along the Narmada Valley, several patches of sediments have been deposited which contains ancient remains of animals. These fossils are similar to those found along the tracts of Tapi river. Such similarity probably suggests that even about 3 million years ago, Narmada and Tapi were confluent and the separate fate of these two rivers was decided by recent earth movements. The Bhedaghat falls of Narmada, near Jabalpur, was probably created during one such movement. The Narmada Valley is a graben, a layered block of the Earth's crust that dropped down relative to the blocks on either side due to ancient spreading of the Earth's crust. Two normal faults, known as the Narmada North fault and Narmada South fault, parallel to the river's course, and mark the boundary between the Narmada block and the Vindhya and Satpura blocks or Horsts which rose relative to the Narmada Graben. The Narmada's watershed includes the northern slopes of the Satpuras, and the steep southern slope of the Vindhyas, but not the Vindhyan tableland, the streams from which flow into the Ganges and Yamuna. Ptolemy called the Narmada River 'Nammadus' and the author of the Periplus called it 'Nammadios.'

The Narmada River is also worshipped as mother goddess Muktidayani, or liberating mother.

Adi Shankara met his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada in Omkareshwar, a town on the banks of the Narmada.

Pilgrimage

Uttarvahini Panchkoshi Narmada Parikrama (literally "Northward-flowing 5- Narmada Circumbulation"), is a yearly month-long a significant religious pilgrimage dedicated to the Narmada River, spans a 14-kilometer path beside the Narmada River in Gujarat's Narmada region on a stretch of the river is notable for its unusual northward flow, a direction considered exceptionally sacred in Hindu beliefs. Pilgrims traditionally traverse this route on foot, visiting important riverbanks known as ghats, including Shaherav Ghat, Rengan Ghat, Rampura Ghat, and Tilakwada Ghat. More than just a physical act of walking around the river, this parikrama offers an immersion into the cultural heritage of central India, providing insights into the local ways of life, customs, and religious observances. The Puranas state, "Ganga Snane, Yamuna Paane, Narmada darshane, Tatha Taapi Smarane" meaning "liberation is attained by bathing in the Ganges, drinking the water of the Yamuna, having darshan of the Narmada, and remembering the Tapi", i.e. "while bathing in the Ganges and drinking Yamuna’s water are sacred, merely having darshan of the Narmada is believed to bestow liberation". Of the 150,000 rivers in the world, 400 are in India, Narmada is the only river in the world venerated through a sacredparikrama or the river.

The importance of the Narmada River as sacred is testified by the fact that the pilgrims perform a holy pilgrimage of a parikrama or circumambulation of the river. The Narmada Parikrama, as it is called, is considered to be a meritorious act that a pilgrim can undertake. The spiritual journey is usually taken for 3 years, 3 months and 13 days and the pilgrims are stipulated not to cross the river at any point of time. Important towns of interest in the valley are Jabalpur, Barwaha, Narmadapuram, Harda, Narmada Nagar, Omkareshwar, Dewas (Nemavar, Kity, Pipri), Mandla and Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh, and Rajpipla and Bharuch in Gujarat. Some places of historical interest are Chausath Yogini Temple, Joga Ka Quilla, Chhatri of Baji Rao Peshwa and Bhimbetka, and among the falls are the Dhuandhar Falls, Dugdhdhara, Dhardi falls, Kapiladhara and Sahastradhara.

The pilgrimage, which is held in Hindu month of Chaitra (Late March to April), at least 100,000 daily pilgrims for a month, or at least 3 million pilgrims over the duration of the event making it one of the largest peaceful gatherings in the world.

Ecology

thumb|Forests of [[Amarkantak]]

thumb|Bark of Lagerstroemia parviflora

thumb|Tigress with her two cubs in [[Kanha National Park]]

The lower Narmada River Valley and the surrounding uplands, covering approximately 170,260 km² (65,738 sq mi), consist of dry deciduous forests. The ecoregion lies between moister forests to the northeast, southeast, and southwest, which receive greater rainfall from the southeast monsoon, and the drier forests and scrublands of the Deccan to the south and Malwa and Gujarat to the west and northwest. The natural vegetation of the region is a three-tiered forest.

Tectona grandis is the dominant canopy tree, in association with Diospyros melanoxylon, Dhaora (Anogeissus latifolia), Lagerstroemia parviflora, Terminalia tomentosa, Lannea coromandelica, Hardwickia binata and Boswellia serrata. Riparian areas along the regions' rivers and streams, which receive yearg– round water, are home to moist evergreen forests, whose dominant tree species are Terminalia arjuna, Syzygium cumini (Jambul), Syzygium Heyneanum, Salix tetrasperma, Homonoia riparia, and Vitex negundo.

The ecoregion is home to 76 species of mammals and to 276 bird species, none of which are endemic.

Satpura National Park, set up in 1981, is located in Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh. Its name is derived from Satpura hill ranges (Mahadeo hills) and covers an area of and along with the adjoining Bori and Panchmarhi Sanctuaries, provides of unique central Indian Highland ecosystem. Satpura National Park, being part of a unique ecosystem, is very rich in biodiversity. The fauna comprises tiger, leopard, sambar, chital, bhedki, nilgai, four-horned antelope, chinkara, gaur, wild boar, wild dog, sloth bear, black buck, fox, porcupine, flying squirrel, mouse deer, Indian giant squirrel. There are a variety of birds. Hornbill and peafowl are the common birds. The flora of the national park consists of mainly sal, teak, tendu, aonla, mahua, bael, bamboo, and a variety of grasses and medicinal plants.

Forest areas outside protected areas are also quite rich in floral and faunal diversity.

Mandla Plant Fossils National Park, Dindori National fossils park Ghughuya is situated in Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh in India. This national park has plants in fossil form that existed in India anywhere between 40 million and 150 million years ago spread over seven villages of Mandla District (Ghuguwa, Umaria, Deorakhurd, Barbaspur, Chanti-hills, Chargaon and Deori Kohani). The Mandla Plant Fossils National Park is an area that spreads over . Such fossils are found in three other villages of the district also, but they lie outside the national park.

The Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve covers part of three civil districts viz., Narmadapuram, Betul and Chhindwara of Madhya Pradesh. The total area is . It envelops three wildlife conservation units viz., Bori Sanctuary (518.00 km2), Satpura National Park (), and Pachmarhi Sanctuary (). Satpura National Park comprises the core zone and the remaining area of ), surrounding the core zone serves as buffer zone. The area comprises 511 villages. The area exhibits variety of geological rock and soil formations. There is a wide spectrum of floral and faunal features that occupy the Satpura conservation area. It is one of the oldest forest reserves, which has an established tradition of scientific management of forests. It constitutes a large contiguous forest block that harbours a community of plant and animal species typical of the central highland region.

Apart from the above national parks, there are also a number of natural preserves such as the Amarkantak, the Bagh Caves and the Bhedaghat. In compliance of the Environmental Action Plan for the Narmadasagar and Omkareswar HEPs, as per the recommendations of the Wildlife Institute of India three new protected areas may be created, which are, a) the Narmada National Park (496.70 km2), b) the Surmanya Sanctuary (126.67 km2) and c) Omkareshwar Sanctuary (119.96 km2) comprising a total area of .

Shoolpaneshwar Sanctuary in Gujarat, near the Sardar Sarovar dam site, previously called the Dumkal Sloth Bear Sanctuary (old sanctuary has been expanded four times) now covers an area of about , comprises a major watershed feeding the Sardar Sarovar and Karjan reservoir (on the Karjan River, a tributary of Narmada in Gujarat). It is the habitat of mammals and a variety of birds, including eagles and hawks.

Anthropological and archaeological sites

The development of the Narmada river has led to the inundation of some archaeological and architectural sites. The Department of Archaeology, Museums and Archives, Government of Madhya Pradesh, undertook rescue excavations in response, and transplanted a number of temples. An attempt to comprehensively list and publish lost sites has been undertaken by Jürgen Neuss. Many Dinosaur fossils have been found in the Narmada valley. The first dinosaur fossil in India was discovered in 1828 by William Sleeman at Jabalpur. In 1982 fossil remains of Rajasaurus narmadensis, which lived in the Cretaceous Period, was discovered.

The Narmada Human, an extinct hominin species was discovered near Hathnora village in Sehore district in 1982, and is one of the earliest hominin bones in South East Asia. Other evidence or early hominin activity, including tools, have been found along the valley

River development

The Narmada river has a huge water resources potential, as much as of average annual flow (more than 90% of this flow occurring during the monsoon months of June – September), which according to estimates is greater than the combined annual flows of the Ravi, Beas and the Sutlej rivers, which feed the Indus basin. The 75% dependable flow is .

Sardar Sarovar Dam

As one of the 30 dams planned on river Narmada, the Sardar Sarovar Dam is the largest structure to be built. It is the second largest concrete dam in the world in terms of the volume of concrete used in its construction, after the Grand Coulee Dam across the Columbia River, US. It is a part of the Narmada Valley Project, a large hydraulic engineering project involving the construction of a series of large irrigation and hydroelectricity multi-purpose dams on the Narmada River. After a number of cases before the Supreme Court of India (1999, 2000, 2003), by 2014 the Narmada Control Authority had approved a series of changes in the final height and the associated displacement caused by the increased reservoir, from the original to a final from foundation.

Water dispute

Investigations for harnessing the Narmada waters began in 1945 to 1946 by A. N. Khosla who was the chairman of the Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission (CWINC). In 1948 the Khosla Committee recommended that further investigations be carried out on four of the seven proposed sites. The four sites included Tawa, Bargi, Punasa and the Broach Barrage and Canal Project. In 1951 CWNIC was renamed Central Waterways & Power Commission (CWPC) and in 1957 a senior member of the CWPC selected further investigations to be completed at Navagam, a site that fell under the Broach Project. Navagam eventually became CWPC's preferred site because the geography allowed the dam's height to be raised higher. In 1960, the federal Government of India's Ministry of Irrigation and Power consultant team recommended that the Navagam Dam height be raised in one phase and that the drought prone areas in then Bombay State (modern day Saurashtra and Kutch regions) receive irrigation.

thumb|Layout of Water Resources Development Projects in the Narmada Basin in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh

Even though the tribunal award resolved the initial issue of water sharing, the height of dam, benefit sharing and the mode of settlement of affected people caused serious difficulties in implementation, particularly of the Sardar Sarovar dam. This resulted in the Bank conducting an Independent Review Mission (IRM) in 1991 of the Sardar Sarovar Project and identified several recommendations.

Narmada Canal

thumb|Waters flowing from Narmada Canal

The Narmada canal brings water from the Sardar Sarovar dam to the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The canal is 532 km long, with 485 km in Gujarat and 75 km in Rajasthan. The Narmada canal has helped both states supply water to arid regions of Kutch and Saurashtra for irrigation purposes. The Narmada canal had covered over 68 percent of the proposed villages (6,513) by 2010 in Gujarat.

Indirasagar Dam

thumb|[[Indirasagar Dam on Narmada River]]

The Indira Sagar Project (ISP) at Punasa is one of the 30 major projects proposed in the Narmada basin with the largest storage capacity in the country. The project is located near Punasa village, in Khandwa District, Madhya Pradesh. This Multipurpose River Valley Project envisages construction of a concrete gravity dam, long and high with gross storage capacity of the reservoir of and live storage of to provide an annual irrigation potential of and a generation of 1000 MW of hydropower. The project also ensures supply of of drinking water to rural areas in Khandwa district. In accordance with NWDT award, an annual regulated flow of shall be released to the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), ex-Maheshwar Project. The operation of Indira Sagar Project will be carried out in such a way as to facilitate the regulation of Sardar Sarovar.

The dam and the powerhouse have been completed, but storage has been restricted up to EL 260 m under orders of the High Court, Jabalpur from R&R consideration. All the units of the powerhouse have been commissioned and generation of power from the eight units of 125 MW capacity, each commenced from January 2004. The irrigation component of the project is under a fairly advance stage of implementation.

Bibliography

Srivastava Pankaj (2007). Jungle Rahe taki Narmada Bahe. (Hindi). Narmada Conservation Initiative, Indore.
Weir, Shelagh. The Gonds of central India: The Material Culture of the Gonds of Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh. London: British Museum, 1973