Son River

Son River (Saun)
Savan
River
Country	India
States	Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar
Region	Baghelkhand
Tributaries
- left	Ghaghar River, Johilla River
- right	Banas River, Gopad River, Rihand River, Kanhar River, North Koel River
Cities	Sidhi, Dehri, Patna
Landmark	Indrapuri Barrage
Source	Amarkantak
- elevation	600 m (1,969 ft)
Mouth	Ganges River
- coordinates	25°42′9″N 84°51′54″E / 25.70250°N 84.86500°E / 25.70250; 84.86500
Length	784 km (487 mi)

This is about the river in India, for a river in Vietnam, see Son River (Vietnam).

Son River (also spelt Sone; Hindi: सोन नदी) of central India is the largest of the Ganges' southern tributaries.

Course

Sonemuda,origin of Sone River

Babur crossing the Son River.^[1]

The Son originates near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh,^[2] just east of the headwater of the Narmada River, and flows north-northwest through Madhya Pradesh state before turning sharply eastward where it encounters the southwest-northeast-running Kaimur Range. The Son parallels the Kaimur hills, flowing east-northeast through Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar states to join the Ganges just above 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. Dehri on sone is the major town situated on Son River.

The Son river at 784 kilometres (487 mi) long, is one of the largest rivers of India.^[2] Its chief tributaries are the Rihand 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 part of the year. The channel of the Son is very wide (about 5 km at Dehri on sone) but the floodplain is narrow, only 3 to 5 km wide. In the past, the Son has been notorious for changing course, as it is traceable from several old beds near its east bank. In modern times this tendency has been checked with the anicut at Dehri, and now more so with the Indrapuri Barrage.

Sir John Houlton, the British administrator, describes 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 – and at one point, opposite Tilothu – three miles wide. In the dry weather there is 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."^[3]

Dams and bridges

The first obstruction in the Son was an anicut in 1873-74 at Dehri. The Indrapuri Barrage was constructed, 8 km upstream, and commissioned in 1968.^[4] The Bansagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh was commissioned in 2008.

The Son bridge built in deolond was inaugurated by Motilal Vora and Pandit Ram Kishore Shukla then Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Madhya Pradesh on 1986/02/13, the Koilwar Bridge, near Arrah, was amongst the earlier long bridges in the country. It was opened in 1862.^[5] While the Koilwar Bridge remained the longest bridge in the country, till it was over taken by Nehru Setu, at Dehri, opened in 1900, the latter started off as the longest bridge in the country, and retained its position as the longest railway bridge for more than a century.^[3][6]

The Government of Bihar sanctioned in 2008, a bridge across the Son River connecting Arwal and Sahar in Bojpur district.^[7] A four-lane road bridge, carrying NH 30, parallel to the existing rail and road Koilwar Bridge, has been planned.^[8]

Gallery

• 

  Boatmen on the Son River, Umaria district, MP

See also

• List of rivers of India

References

1. ↑ "Baburnama". 1590s. 
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sir William Wilson Hunter. Imperial gazetteer of India, Volume 23. ISBN 76-78 Check |isbn= value (help). 
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Houlton, Sir John, Bihar, the Heart of India, pp. 47–48, Orient Longmans, 1949.
4. ↑ "Performance Evaluation of Patna Main Canal". ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region,. Retrieved 2011-07-08. 
5. ↑ "Bridges: The Spectacular Feat of Indian Railways" (pdf). National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 2011-07-05. 
6. ↑ "Longest railway bridge in Kochi". ForumCo.com. Retrieved 2011-07-07. 
7. ↑ "Arwal". The Bihar, 31 March 2010. Retrieved 2011-07-03. 
8. ↑ "Four-lane connector over Sone, Ganga". The Telegraph, 8 April 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.