Betwa River

The Betwa is a river in Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. Also known as the Vetravati, the Betwa rises in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh and flows north-east through Madhya Pradesh and flow through Orchha to Uttar Pradesh. Nearly one-half of its course, which is not navigable, runs over the Malwa Plateau before it breaks into the upland. A tributary of the Yamuna River, the confluence of the Betwa and the Yamuna Rivers takes place in the Hamirpur town in Uttar Pradesh, in the vicinity of Orchha.

History

In Sanskrit 'Betwa' is 'Vetravati' which means ‘containing reeds'. 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.

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 is the Chairman of the Board and the Union Minister of Power, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, Chief Ministers and Ministers in-charge of Finance, Irrigation and Power of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are its Members. Ministry of Water Resources website.

Future

The Betwa River is being linked with the Ken River as a part of the river linking project in...
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