The Banas is a river which lies entirely within the state of
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
in
western India
Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of India, Republic of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative divisions of India, Adminis ...
. It is a
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
Chambal River, itself a tributary of the
Yamuna
The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...
, which in turn merges into the
Ganga. The Banas is approximately 512 kilometres in length.
The name "Banaas" literally translates as "forest-hope" (Ban-aas) meaning "Hope-of-the-forest" or 'Van Ki Aasha.' The river originates in the Veron ka Math situated in Khamnor Hills of the
Aravalli Range
The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in North India, Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Ahme ...
, about 5 km from
Kumbhalgarh in
Rajsamand district. It flows northeast through the
Mewar
Mewar, also spelled as Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasth ...
region of Rajasthan, then across
Hadavati before meeting the Chambal near the village of Rameshwar in
Sawai Madhopur District.
The Banas drains a basin of 45,833 km
2, and lies entirely within Rajasthan. It drains the east slope of the central portion of the Aravalli Range, and the basin includes all or part of
Ajmer
Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...
,
Bhilwara,
Bundi,
Chittorgarh,
Dausa,
Jaipur
Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
,
Pali
Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
,
Rajsamand,
Sawai Madhopur,
Sirohi,
Tonk, and
Udaipur
Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...
districts.
The cities of
Nathdwara,
Jahazpur, and
Tonk lie on the river. Major tributaries include the right bank tributaries of
Berach and
Menali and the left bank tributaries of
Kothari,
Khari,
Dai,
Dheel River, Sohadara River,
Morel
''Morchella'', the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales ( division Ascomycota). These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges ...
and
Kalisil. ''This river is known as the Virgin River'' because it merges into the desert instead of the sea.
The Banas is a seasonal river that dries up during the summer, but it is nonetheless used for irrigation. The Bisalpur-Jaipur project (a dam across the Banas at
Deoli, about 40 km from
Tonk) was completed by the
Government of Rajasthan in 2009 and it provides drinking water from the Banas to
Jaipur city.
Isarda Dam is an under construction dam on the Banas River.
References
Chambal River
Rivers of Rajasthan
Rivers of Madhya Pradesh
Rivers of Uttar Pradesh
Tributaries of the Yamuna River
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