Key Facts about Chambal River

About Chambal River:

• It is an important river in the Malwa plateau and a principal tributary of the Yamuna River, thus forms part of the greater Gangetic drainage system. It flows through Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. 
• Course:
  • It rises in the Vindhya Range just south of Mhow, in western Madhya Pradesh.
  • From its source, it flows north into southeastern Rajasthan.
  • Turning northeast, it flows past Kota and along the Rajasthan–Madhya Pradesh border; shifting east-southeast, it forms a portion of the Uttar Pradesh–Madhya Pradesh border and flows through Uttar Pradesh to empty into the Yamuna.
• To its south, east and west, the basin is defined by the Vindhyan mountain ranges, while the north-western boundary is marked by the Aravalli range.
• Tributaries: The main tributaries of Chambal include the Banas and Mej rivers on the left and the Parbati, Kali Sindh and Shipra rivers on the right.
• Major Dams: Gandhi Sagar Dam, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam, and Jawahar Sagar Dam.
• National Chambal Sanctuary:
  • It encapsulates a significant segment of the Chambal River, spanning from the Jawahar Sagar Dam in Rajasthan to the Chambal-Yamuna confluence in Uttar Pradesh. 
  • It was established with the imperative to restore ecological equilibrium to a crucial north Indian river system and to provide comprehensive protection to the highly endangered gharial.