Jamni River

Jamni is one of the rivers which form the network of rivers in Madhya Pradesh. It is one of the important tributaries of river Betwa which later joins the Yamuna and hence becomes a part of the Yamuna sub basin. Jamni merges into Betwa near the town of Orchha in Madhya Pradesh. This inter-state river originates in the Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh. Covering a length of 201 km, Jamni travels through the districts of Sagar and Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh. Following the natural slope of the terrain to travel from south to north, the river flows at a height of 258 m above the sea level. Of the 201 km of its length, it flows in the state of Madhya Pradesh for a mere 29 km and has a catchment area of 1235 sq km. For the next 85 km, the river acts as a boundary between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh while the last 87 km are exclusively in Uttar Pradesh. The Jamni sub basin covers an area of 4510 sq km and by 2025 it is expected that it will be able to irrigate an area of 1607 sq km which is about 49% of its total area.

The Bundelkhand region of India through which the Jamni River flows, faces a scarcity of water. To give relief to the people living in this area, the government of Madhya Pradesh has launched the Harpura irrigation and river-lake link project. The aim of this project is to link the Jamni River with the lakes and other water bodies in the region. It is expected to irrigate an area of 1980 hectares of land in this region. In addition to this, to utilise the water from the river for irrigation purpose, many dams have been constructed in Lalitpur district. This has been possible because of the topography of the area which offers a natural drainage pattern. A number of dams have been constructed here including the one on the Jamni River as well as on its tributaries Shahzad and Sajnam.

Course

The Jamni River which originates in the district of Sagar in Madhya Pradesh is primarily rain fed. As a result it swells up during the monsoon season and the water level falls down during the summer months. It is one of the important sources of water in the dry areas of Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. This inter-state river flows through Sagar in Madhya Pradesh to enter the district of Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh and finally crosses over to Tikamgarh again in Madhya Pradesh and meets the Betwa near the town of Orchha. It cuts through Sagar to enter the district of Lalitpur flowing through the forest near the village of Madapur. For the next 45km, it flows in the northward direction and turns to the north east for 6km after leaving the town of Mahroni on the right. For the next 60 km, the river forms the boundary of the district and at places it flows close to the Betwa River but does not merge in to it. The Jamni takes care of the irrigation of a large area in this district.

Jamni flows along the western boundary of the district of Tikamgarh and forms a border for the district. It forms a thin strip shaped basin which follows the western border of the district. The undulating topography of this region has made it ideal for creation of both natural and man-made tanks and lakes.

Tributaries

Shahzad

This river is a tributary of Jamni River. Shahzad merges with Jamni near Hazaria village in Uttar Pradesh. The Gobind Sagar reservoir has been created by constructing a dam across this river near Lalitpur. In the same district, the 18m high and 4160 m long Shahzad Dam is built across the river which caters to the irrigation requirements of more than16000 hectares of land here. A 44 km long canal has been constructed for the purpose of irrigation.

Sajnam

This tributary of Jamni River merges into it at Chandawali. Sajnam has been dammed in Lalitpur to provide water for irrigating 7145 hectares of land annually. The dam has brought a revolution in the region since its inauguration in 1990.

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