Pragnya IAS · Map 75 · Relief & drainage
India: the Ganga — tributaries, towns & water quality map study
Follow the Ganga from Devprayag to the delta, reading towns and pollution load together.
STUDY NOTE 1
The tributary ladder
Left bank: Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi. Right bank: Yamuna (with Chambal, Betwa, Ken), Son. Each confluence is a town: Devprayag, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna.
STUDY NOTE 2
The pollution geography
Kanpur’s tanneries, Varanasi’s ghats and the river’s own slowing gradient concentrate organic and industrial load; dissolved oxygen falls and coliform rises through the middle stretch.
STUDY NOTE 3
Namami Gange logic
Cleaning the river means treating sewage at towns, controlling industrial effluent and maintaining ecological flow — a basin-scale programme, not a city one.
Map reading task
List the Ganga’s confluence towns in order downstream and mark the worst pollution stretch.
Map key · Reference locations
What does this india: the ganga — tributaries, towns & water quality lesson explain?
Left bank: Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi. Right bank: Yamuna (with Chambal, Betwa, Ken), Son. Each confluence is a town: Devprayag, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna.
UPSC map practice & Geography Optional connection
For UPSC Prelims, pair the location with its state, neighbouring relief and relevant geographic process. For GS I and Geography Optional Indian geography revision, use a simple labelled sketch to explain the relationship rather than replacing the answer with place names. These are Pragnya-authored exercises, not official UPSC previous-year questions.
References & map credits
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