Betwa River

The Betwa River is a southern tributary of river Yamuna which flows between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It originates near Barkhera village (south west of capital city Bhopal) in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. The source of the river is located at an elevation of 576m above sea level in the Vindhya mountain range. The river has been mentioned in many of the old texts like the epic Mahabharta as Vetravati and Shuktimati.  Some even say that the poets Kalidas and Ban Bhatt wrote their great works Meghdoot and Kadambari respectively, sitting on the banks of this river. The river was worshipped and the capital of Chedi Kingdom was built on its bank.

Betwa flows from Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh following a north easterly direction entering Uttar Pradesh near the Bangawan village of Jhansi district. It travels a length of 590 km before meeting Yamuna in the town of Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh. Of this entire course, 232 km are in Madhya Pradesh and the rest in Uttar Pradesh. At the confluence with Yamuna at Hamirpur, the elevation of the river is 106m above sea level which points at a significant drop in height as it travels from Barkhera to Bangawan. In its entire course, there are a number of big and small rivers which join it. The most notable amongst them are Dhasan and Jamini. As part of a river linking project by the government, there were plans to link the Betwa with the Ken River but they have been shelved for the time being.

ew dams have been constructed on it to control its flow. These include the Rajghat Dam, the Matalila Dama and the Parichha Dam. There are many towns which are located on the banks of the river and the most famous is the historic town of Orchha.

Course

The Betwa basin is located between 22o54' N and 26 oN latitudes and 77o10'E and 82o20' E longitude. From Barkhera in Madhya Pradesh to Bangawan in Uttar Pradesh, the river covers a distance of 590 km flowing in the north east direction before it meets the river Yamuna. The catchment area spreads over a massive 43895 sq km out of which a major part (30217 sq km) lies in Madhya Pradesh and the rest in Uttar Pradesh. From the hills in the Vindhya Range, the river enters the district of Vidisha crossing it after flowing for 96 km. It navigates through different landforms in the districts of Tikagarh, Sagar, Vidisha, Raisen, Bhopal, Guna, Shivapuri and Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh and the districts of Jalaun, Jhansi and Banda in Uttar Pradesh. During its course, Betwa crosses the regions of Malwa Plateau where it is almost impossible to navigate. Thereafter it breaks into the upland of Bundelkhand and then joins the Yamuna.  During its long journey, a number of smaller rivers join it before the river finally merges with the river Yamuna. On the right bank, Betwa is joined by Bina, Jamini, Dhasan and Birma while on the left bank Kaliasote, Bah, Saga, Narain, Halali and Kaithan meet it.

Tributaries

Jamni River

This is the main tributary of Betwa which originates at Sagar. The confluence of Betwa and Jamini is at the historical town of Orchha. The total length of the river is 201km of which 29km is exclusively in Madhya Pradesh, 87 km in Uttar Pradesh and the rest forms a boundary between the two states. There are plans on to link Jamni with the lakes and other water bodies nearby so as to cater to the water scarce Bundelkhand region.

Dhasan River

This is one of the major tributaries of Betwa joining it on the right bank. In ancient times, the river was known as Dasharna. Even today, the nearby villagers consider the river holy and pray to it. The source of this 362 km long river is in a place name Begumganj in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. 54km of this river flows along the south eastern part of Lalitpur District of Uttar Pradesh thereby demarcating its boundary. Of the total length of the river only 71km is in Uttar Pradesh. In Madhya Pradesh, the river contributes a total basin area of 8291sq km. 2 km from Harpalpur railway station in Madhya Pradesh is the Lehchura Dam built on Dhasan.

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