Betwa in Ashoknagar.JPG

The Betwa ( Hindi: बेतवा, Sanskrit: वेत्रवती) is a river in Central and Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. It rises in the Vindhya Range (Raisen) just north of Narmadapuram in Madhya Pradesh and flows northeast through Madhya Pradesh and Orchha to Uttar Pradesh. Nearly half of its course, which is not navigable, runs over the Malwa Plateau. The confluence of the Betwa and the Yamuna rivers is in Hamirpur district in Uttar Pradesh.

The Indian navy named one of its frigates INS ''Betwa'' in honour of the river.

History

In Sanskrit "Betwa" is ''Vetravati''. This river is mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with the Charmanwati river. Both are tributaries of Yamuna. Vetravati was also known as Shuktimati. The capital of Chedi Kingdom was on the banks of this river. The length of the river from its origin to its confluence with Yamuna is , out of which lies in Madhya Pradesh and the balance of in Uttar Pradesh. In accordance with an inter-state agreement between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in 1973, Betwa River Board (BRB) was constituted under the Betwa River Board Act, 1976. The Union Minister of Ministry of Water Resources, the Chairman of the Board, the Union Minister of Power, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, and Chief Ministers and Ministers in-charge of Finance, Irrigation and Power of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are its members.

Future

The Betwa River is being linked with the Ken River as a part of the river linking project in Madhya Pradesh. Latterly the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has given its clearance for the Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers (ILR) project. Another noteworthy project on the Betwa River is the construction of the Matatila Dam, an undertaking between the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The region is important for migratory waterbirds.Shukla, D.C. (1994). "Habitat characteristics of wetlands of the Betwa Basin, India, and wintering populations of endangered waterfowl species". ''Global wetlands'', pp. 863–68 An ambitious project to link Ken and Betwa rivers has become a stage for a unique man-animal conflict. Proponents of the project, led by the Union Water Ministry, say that the proposed Daudhan dam and the canal—the key structures of the project—that will transfer surplus water from the Uttar Pradesh section of the Ken to the Betwa in Madhya Pradesh are critical to irrigate nearly in drought-ravaged Bundelkhand.

Dams

* Rajghat Dam
* Matatila Dam
* Parichha Dam
* Dhurwara Dam
* Halali Dam

See also

* Ganga
* Yamuna

References

External links

Betwa River


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Rivers in Buddhism
Rivers of India
Rivers of Madhya Pradesh
Rivers of Uttar Pradesh
Tributaries of the Yamuna River