Sone River

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Sone River
Son River, Umaria district, MP, India.jpg
Location
Country India
State Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar
Region Baghelkhand, Bhojpur-Purvanchal and Magadha
Cities Sidhi, Dehri, Daudnagar, Chopan, Arwal, Koilwar
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • location Pendra, Chhattisgarh
 • coordinates 22°43′48″N82°03′31″E / 22.73000°N 82.05861°E / 22.73000; 82.05861
Mouth Ganges River
 • location
 Maner, Patna district, Bihar
 • coordinates
 25°42′21″N84°51′44″E / 25.70583°N 84.86222°E / 25.70583; 84.86222
Length784 km (487 mi)
Discharge 
 • location Ganges River
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftGhaghar River, Johilla River, Chhoti Mahanadi River
 • rightBanas River, Gopad River, Rihand River, Kanhar River, North Koel River

Sone River, also spelt Son River, is a perennial river located in central India. It originates near Amarkantak Hill in Pendra (Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district), Chhattisgarh and finally merges with the Ganges river near Maner in Patna, Bihar. The Sone River is the second-largest southern tributary of the Ganges after the Yamuna River. India's oldest river bridge Koilwar Bridge over Sone River connects Arrah with Patna. Sone river is famous for its sand across country. Multiple dams and hydro-electric projects run on its course towards the Ganges.

Contents

Course

Sonemuda, origin of Sone River Amarkantak5.jpg
Sonemuda, origin of Sone River
Babur crossing the Son River. Babur crossing the river Son.jpg
Babur crossing the Son River.

Sone River is called 'सोन / सोने' in Hindi, but called 'शोण' in Sanskrit, a rare instance of an Indian river having masculine name. Damodara and Brahmaputra also have masculine name. This river is mentioned as SoNai in Sangam Tamil literature Kuṟuntokai as early as 2nd century CE. [2] The Sone originates near Pendra in Chhattisgarh, just east of the headwater of the Narmada River, and flows north-northwest through Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh state before turning sharply eastward where it encounters the southwest-northeast-Kaimur Range. The Sone parallels the Kaimur hills, flowing east-northeast through Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar states to join the Ganges just west of Patna. Geologically, the lower valley of the Son is an extension of the Narmada Valley, and the Kaimur Range an extension of the Vindhya Range. Arwal, Daudnagar, Deori, Rohtasgarh, Dehri, Sonbhadra and Maner are some of the major cities situated on Sone River.

The Sone river which is 784 kilometres (487 mi) long, is one of the longest Indian rivers. [3] Its chief tributaries are the Rihand, Kanhar and the North Koel. The Son has a steep gradient (35–55 cm per km) with quick run-off and ephemeral regimes, becoming a roaring river with the rain-waters in the catchment area but turning quickly into a fordable stream. The Son, being wide and shallow, leaves disconnected pools of water in the remaining parts of the year. The channel of the Son is very wide (about 5 km at Dehri) but the floodplain is narrow, only 3 to 5 kilometres (2 to 3 mi) wide. The meeting point with North Koel the width of Sone River is 5 to 8 kilometres (3 to 5 mi). In the past, the Son has been notorious for changing course. As it is traceable from several old beds near its east bank, the river changed its course more than 5 times. In modern times this tendency has been checked with the anicut at Dehri, and now more so with the Indrapuri Barrage.

In Bihar, this river forms the border line between the Bhojpuri- and Magahi-speaking regions.

Sir John Houlton, the British administrator, described the Son as follows, "After passing the steep escarpments of the Kaimur range, it flows straight across the plain to the Ganges. For much of this distance it is over two miles wide, and at one point, opposite Tilothu three miles wide. In the dry weather there is a vast expanse of sand, with a stream not more than a hundred yards wide, and the hot west winds pile up the sand on the east bank, making natural embankments. After heavy rain in the hills even this wide bed cannot carry the waters of the Son and disastrous floods in Shahabad, Gaya, and Patna are not uncommon." [4]

Dams

The first dam on the Son was built in 1873–74 at Dehri.

The Indrapuri Barrage was constructed, 8 kilometres (5 mi) upstream, and commissioned in 1968. [5]

The Bansagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh was commissioned in 2008.

Bridges

The 1.44 Km long rail-cum-road lattice-girder concrete and steel Abdul Bari Bridge or Koilwar Bridge near Arrah in Bihar was completed in November 1862. [6] It remained the longest bridge in India, until the Nehru Setu bridge at Dehri was opened in 1900. [4] [7] After Nehru Setu bridge at Dehri, Railway Bridges are present on Sone River near Chopan, Vijay Sota & Anuppur.

The modern Son bridge built in Deolond, Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh was inaugurated by Motilal Vora and Pandit Ram Kishore Shukla then Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Madhya Pradesh on 13 February 1986.

The Government of Bihar sanctioned in 2008 a bridge across the Son River connecting Arwal and Sahar in Bhojpur district. [8]

New Koilwar Bridge: A 6-lane road bridge, carrying NH-922, parallel to the existing rail and road Koilwar Bridge. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indrapuri Barrage</span> Dam in Bihar, India

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Koilwar Bridge, at Koilwar in Bhojpur spans the Sone river. This 1.44 km long, 2-lane, rail-cum-road bridge connects the city of Arrah with Patna, the capital of Bihar state in India. The bridge is named after Indian academic and social reformer Prof. Abdul Bari, and is presently the oldest operational railway bridge in India, standing since 4 November 1862. It is shown in the 1982 Oscar award winning film Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough. From 1862 to 1900, Koilwar Bridge remained as the longest river bridge in India.

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Shamshernagar is a large village in the Daudnagar subdivision and block in Aurangabad district, located in Bihar, India. The town falls under the jurisdiction of the Magadh division. Situated on the bank of the Sone River, the National Highway 139 passes through the village. The Indrapuri Barrage canal is a local waterway. Shamshernagar is densely populated. It has adequate infrastructure, including a middle school, an intermediate high school, an additional Primary Health Centre, and a Regional Rural Bank (MBGB). Shamshernagar is an electrified village. and possesses a water tank for its water supply. It shares a border between Aurangabad and Arwal districts. Buses, auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws provide regional transportation.

New Koilwar Bridge, at Koilwar in Bhojpur is a 1.52 km long, 6-lane wide road bridge over the Sone river. It connects Arrah with Patna, the capital of Bihar state in India and also carries Buxar-Arrah-Patna national highway (NH-922). New Koilwar Bridge is named after Indian mathematician and Padma Shri awardee Vashishtha Narayan Singh (1946–2019). New Koilwar Bridge is 500 metres north and parallel to the existing 2-lane wide Koilwar Bridge. The construction work of all 6-lanes completed and Bridge is fully opened to public on 14 May 2022.

State Highway 81 (SH-81) is a state highway in Bihar, India. It covers two major districts of Bihar. This state highway starts from Sakaddi near Arrah and ends at Nasriganj near Dehri-on-Sone and Daudnagar. SH-81 is also known as the Chandi-Nasriganj road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Highway 119A (India)</span> Proposed national highway in India

National Highway 119A (NH-119A) or Patna-Arrah-Sasaram highway is a proposed 4/6-lane wide national highway in Bihar, India. The NH-119A starts from Sadisopur in Patna district to Suara near Dehri-on-Sone in Rohtas district, via Arrah in Bhojpur district. This highway mostly runs along Sone river.

References

  1. ↑ "Baburnama". 1590s. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013.
  2. ↑ Kurunthogai Verse 75 - Sangam Tamil Literature
  3. ↑ Sir William Wilson Hunter. Imperial gazetteer of India, Volume 23. pp. 76–78. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 Houlton, Sir John, Bihar, the Heart of India, pp. 47–48, Orient Longmans, 1949.
  5. ↑ "Performance Evaluation of Patna Main Canal" (PDF). ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "Bridges: The Spectacular Feat of Indian Railways" (PDF). National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  7. ↑ "Longest railway bridge in Kochi". ForumCo.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  8. ↑ "Arwal". The Bihar, 31 March 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Four-lane connector over Sone, Ganga". The Telegraph, 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
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