UKPSC Prelims 2024 General Studies Paper-I · Question 14 of 147

Correct — A, Bhaironghati.

The Jadh Ganga, also called the Jahnavi, comes down from the Nelang valley near the India–China border in Uttarkashi district and meets the Bhagirathi at Bhaironghati, a little downstream (west) of Gangotri on the Uttarkashi–Harsil–Gangotri road.

The idea to carry away is that each Bhagirathi tributary has its own junction town: Kedar Ganga at Gangotri, Jadh Ganga at Bhaironghati, Asi Ganga near Uttarkashi, Bhilangana at Tehri, and at Devprayag the Alaknanda.

Bhaironghati is also where the route into the restricted Nelang valley leaves the Gangotri highway, and the highway crosses the Jadh Ganga gorge there on a high bridge. That is why the place and the river are remembered together.

• (b)
  Dharasu — Dharasu lies on the Bhagirathi below Uttarkashi, far downstream of the point where the Jadh Ganga enters, and it is remembered as a road junction rather than a river junction.

  It is the answer to where the Yamunotri road via Barkot leaves the Gangotri highway (Dharasu Bend), and it is the site of the Dharasu power station.

• (c)
  Chirbasa — Chirbasa is a halt about 9 km above Gangotri on the foot trail to Gaumukh, named for its chir pines. It sits upstream of Gangotri, whereas the Jadh Ganga joins the Bhagirathi below Gangotri.

  It is the answer to the first halt on the Gangotri–Gaumukh trek.

• (d)
  Bhujbasa — Bhujbasa (Bhojbasa), named for its bhoj or birch trees, is about 14 km above Gangotri and roughly 4 km short of Gaumukh, where the Bhagirathi emerges from the Gangotri glacier. It lies far upstream of the Jadh Ganga junction.

  It is the answer to the last camp before Gaumukh on the Gangotri trek.

A confluence question asks where a tributary meets its trunk stream. The Bhagirathi, the headstream of the Ganga from Gaumukh, receives its tributaries at named places down the valley, and each name is fixed to one tributary.

Knowing that sequence from Gaumukh to Devprayag answers this question and its reversed and match-the-pairs forms.

• The Jadh Ganga, also called the Jahnavi, drains the Nelang valley of Uttarkashi district near the India–China border.
• The Jadh Ganga joins the Bhagirathi at Bhaironghati, a little downstream (west) of Gangotri on the Uttarkashi–Gangotri road.
• The Kedar Ganga meets the Bhagirathi at Gangotri itself.
• The Asi Ganga joins the Bhagirathi near Uttarkashi; the Bhilangana joins at Tehri, a junction now under the Tehri reservoir.
• Old Tehri, at the Bhagirathi–Bhilangana junction, was also known as Ganeshprayag.
• The Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda at Devprayag, and the combined river is called the Ganga from there.
• Chirbasa (about 9 km) and Bhojbasa (about 14 km) are halts on the roughly 18 km Gangotri–Gaumukh trek, upstream of Gangotri.
• Dharasu, downstream of Uttarkashi on the Bhagirathi, is where the road to Barkot and Yamunotri leaves the Gangotri highway.
• The Nelang valley was closed to visitors after the 1962 war and reopened to Indian tourists with restrictions in 2015.
• Gartang Gali, a wooden cliff-side stairway in the Nelang valley, was restored and reopened in August 2021.

• Seeing 'Bhagirathi' and reaching for the well-known names on the Gaumukh trail: Chirbasa and Bhujbasa are upstream of Gangotri, while the Jadh Ganga enters below Gangotri.
• Mixing up the Bhagirathi's tributaries: Kedar Ganga belongs to Gangotri, Asi Ganga to Uttarkashi, Jadh Ganga to Bhaironghati.
• Treating Dharasu as a river junction because it is a junction: its fork is the road to Yamunotri, not a tributary.
• Hunting for a 'Prayag' name: the Panch Prayag belong to the Alaknanda, and the Jadh Ganga's junction is plain Bhaironghati. On the Bhagirathi, old Tehri at the Bhilangana junction did carry one — it was known as Ganeshprayag.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Kedar Ganga joins the Bhagirathi at which of the following places?

  • (a)Gangotri
  • (b)Harsil
  • (c)Uttarkashi
  • (d)Devprayag
  Answera — The Kedar Ganga, which comes down from the Kedartal side, meets the Bhagirathi at Gangotri itself.

  Harsil is where the Kakora Gad and Jalandhari Gad join; Uttarkashi is the Asi Ganga's junction; Devprayag is where the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Nelang valley of Uttarkashi district is drained by which river?

  • (a)Asi Ganga
  • (b)Jadh Ganga
  • (c)Bhilangana
  • (d)Kedar Ganga
  Answerb — The Jadh Ganga (Jahnavi) flows through the Nelang valley and joins the Bhagirathi at Bhaironghati.

  The Asi Ganga joins near Uttarkashi, the Bhilangana joins at Tehri, and the Kedar Ganga joins at Gangotri; each drains a different side valley.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following lists places along the Bhagirathi correctly from its source downstream?

  • (a)Gaumukh – Bhojbasa – Chirbasa – Gangotri – Bhaironghati
  • (b)Gaumukh – Chirbasa – Bhojbasa – Gangotri – Bhaironghati
  • (c)Gangotri – Bhaironghati – Bhojbasa – Chirbasa – Gaumukh
  • (d)Bhaironghati – Gangotri – Gaumukh – Chirbasa – Bhojbasa
  Answera — Bhojbasa is about 4 km below Gaumukh and Chirbasa about 9 km above Gangotri, so Bhojbasa comes before Chirbasa on the way down; Bhaironghati is below Gangotri.

  Option b swaps Bhojbasa and Chirbasa. Option c runs upstream from Gangotri and puts Bhaironghati above it. Option d places Gaumukh, the source, in the middle.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following pairs of a river and its point of confluence with the Bhagirathi is NOT correctly matched?

  • (a)Kedar Ganga – Gangotri
  • (b)Jadh Ganga – Bhaironghati
  • (c)Asi Ganga – Uttarkashi
  • (d)Alaknanda – Rudraprayag
  Answerd — The Alaknanda meets the Bhagirathi at Devprayag, not at Rudraprayag; Rudraprayag is where the Mandakini joins the Alaknanda.

  The other three pairs are correct: the Kedar Ganga joins the Bhagirathi at Gangotri, the Jadh Ganga at Bhaironghati and the Asi Ganga near Uttarkashi.