Yamuna river: origin, course, tributaries and why it matters

Origin: Yamunotri in the Garhwal Himalaya

The Yamuna rises from the Yamunotri Glacier on the slopes of the Bandarpunch peaks in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. Yamunotri temple, dedicated to the goddess Yamuna, stands near the source and is one of the four shrines of the Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit.

Published figures for the source elevation differ because they measure different points: the glacier area is usually given as around 4,500 metres, while 6,387 metres is the height of Kalanag, the highest point of the surrounding Bandarpunch massif. Exam answers should name Yamunotri and the Bandarpunch peaks rather than rely on a single elevation figure.

Course: from the hills to Prayagraj

From the hills the river flows south through the Shivalik range, briefly touching Himachal Pradesh, then enters the plains near Dakpathar and forms part of the boundary between Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. At the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana much of its water is diverted into the Western and Eastern Yamuna Canals, which irrigate Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Downstream it flows past Delhi, Mathura, Agra, Etawah and Hamirpur, running roughly parallel to the Ganga for much of this stretch. The land between the two rivers is the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, a fertile alluvial plain famous for crops including basmati rice. At Prayagraj the Yamuna meets the Ganga at Triveni Sangam, the site of the Kumbh Mela.

Tributaries: Tons, Chambal, Betwa and Ken

The Tons is the Yamuna's largest tributary by volume and carries more water than the main stream at their meeting near Kalsi, close to Dehradun. The Hindon joins from the left bank near Noida, while the Chambal is the longest tributary, rising in the Vindhya Range near Mhow and joining the Yamuna in Etawah district after a course of about 960 km.

Further downstream the Sindh, Betwa and Ken join from the right bank, all rising in central India and flowing north-east to the Yamuna. Together with smaller streams such as the Giri and the Hanuman Ganga, these tributaries drain a basin of about 366,223 sq km, roughly 40% of the entire Ganga basin.

Sacred river, polluted river

In Hindu tradition the Yamuna is worshipped as the goddess Yamuna, daughter of the sun god Surya and sister of Yama, the god of death, and bathing in her waters is believed to free devotees from the fear of untimely death. Krishna's childhood at Vrindavan and Mathura is set on her banks, and the river is tied to festivals such as Bhai Dooj.

The same river is among India's most polluted. The roughly 22 km stretch through Delhi is under 2% of its length but is reported to account for around 80% of its pollution load, as untreated sewage and industrial waste enter through city drains. The Yamuna Action Plan, running since 1993, has built sewage treatment capacity, but the gap between treatment capacity and sewage actually reaching the plants remains the central problem.

Editorial disclosure

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