The Chenab River is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh state, India. Chenab flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan, before flowing into the Indus River near the city of Uch Sharif.
The waters of the Chenab were allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty. India is allowed non-consumptive uses such as power generation. The Chenab River is extensively used in Pakistan for irrigation. Its waters are also transferred to the channel of the Ravi River via numerous link canals.
View from Gandhola Monastery down the Chenab river in Lahaul
Name
The Chenab river was called Asikni (Sanskrit: असिक्नी) in the Rigveda (VIII.20.25, X.75.5). The name meant that it was seen to have dark-coloured waters. The term Krishana is also found in the Atharvaveda. A later form of Askikni was Iskamati (Sanskrit: इस्कामति) and the Greek form was Ancient Greek: Ἀκεσίνης – Akesínes; Latinized to Acesines.
In the Mahabharata, the common name of the river was Chandrabhaga (Sanskrit: चन्द्रभागा) because the river is formed from the confluence of the Chandra and the Bhaga rivers. This name was also known to the Ancient Greeks, who Hellenised it in various forms such as Sandrophagos, Sandabaga and Cantabra.
The simplification of Chandrabhaga to ‘Chenab’, with evident Persianate influence, probably occurred in early medieval times and is witnessed in Alberuni.
Course
 |
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021)
|
The river is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi, 8 km southwest of Keylong, in the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
The Bhaga river originates from Surya taal lake, which is situated a few kilometers west of the Bara-lacha la pass in Himachal Pradesh. The Chandra river originates from glaciers east of the same pass (near Chandra Taal). This pass also acts as a water-divide between these two rivers. The Chandra river transverses 115 km (71 mi) before the confluence. The Bhaga river transverses through narrow gorges a distance of 60 km (37 mi) before the confluence at Tandi.
History
The river was known to Indians in the Vedic period In 325 BC, Alexander the Great allegedly founded the town of Alexandria on the Indus (present day Uch Sharif or Mithankot or Chacharan in Pakistan) at the confluence of the Indus and the combined stream of Punjab rivers (currently known as the Panjnad River).
Dams
The river has rich power generation potential in India.
- Salal Dam – 690 MW hydroelectric power project near Reasi
- Dul Hasti Hydroelectric Plant – 390 MW type power project in Kishtwar District
- Pakal Dul Dam – a proposed dam on a tributary Marusadar River in Kishtwar District
- Ratle Hydroelectric Plant – an under-construction power station near Drabshalla in Kishtwar District
- Kiru Hydroelectric Power Project (624 MW proposed) located in Kishtwar district
- Kwar Hydroelectric Power Project (540 MW proposed) located in Kishtwar district
Old bridge over Chenab river at Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir, India
•Baglihar Hydroelectric power project (900 MW) near Ramban
All of these are “run-of-the-river” projects as per the Indus Water Treaty of 1960. The Treaty allocates the Chenab River to Pakistan. India can use its water for domestic and agricultural uses or for “non-consumptive” uses such as hydro power. India is entitled to store up to 1.2 million acre-feet (1.5 billion cubic metres) of water in its projects. The three projects completed as of 2011 (Salal, Baglihar and Dul Hasti) have a combined storage capacity of 260 thousand acre-feet (320 million cubic metres).
Pakistan has four headworks on the Chenab:
- Marala Headworks – located near Sialkot
- Khanki Headworks – located in Gujranwala District
- Qadirabad Headworks – located in Mandi Bahauddin District
- Trimmu Barrage – located in Jhang District