Haryana committed to construct Satluj-yamuna link canal says governor

Subject : Geography

Section:

Concept :

The Haryana Governor said the State government is committed to constructing the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in order to get the State’s share of waters in the Ravi and the Beas rivers. The SYL canal is a focal point of a water-sharing dispute between Haryana and Punjab.

Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal

The canal, once completed, will enable sharing of the waters of the rivers Ravi and Beas between Haryana and Punjab.
Haryana will get its share of Ravi and Beas waters by diverting equal amount of Sutlej water towards Haryana.
The Satluj Yamuna Link Canal is a proposed 214-kilometre-long canal connecting Sutlej and Yamuna rivers.
It is a 214-km canal, 122 km of which was to run through Punjab and the rest through Haryana.
Haryana has completed its side of the canal, but work in Punjab has been hanging fire for over three decades.
Water resources are under the State List, while the Parliament has the power to make laws regarding inter-state rivers under the Union List.

Key Highlights about Sutlej and Yamuna River

Sutlej:

The ancient name of Sutlej River is Zaradros (Ancient Greek) Shutudri or Shatadru (Sanskrit).
It is the longest of the five tributaries of the Indus River that give the Punjab (meaning “Five Rivers”) its name.
Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj are main tributaries of Indus.
It rises on the north slope of the Himalayas in Lake La’nga in southwestern Tibet.
Flowing northwestward and then west-southwestward through Himalayan gorges, it enters and crosses Himachal Pradesh before beginning its flow through the Punjab plain near Nangal.
Continuing southwestward in a broad channel, it receives the Beas River (and forms 65 miles of the India-Pakistan border before entering Pakistan and flowing another 220 miles to join the Chenab River west of Bahawalpur.
Sutlej River meets the Beas River in Harike in the Ferozpur district before entering Pakistan.
The combined rivers then form the Panjnad, the link between the Five Rivers and the Indus.
Luhri Stage-I Hydro Electric Project is located on River Satlujin Shimla and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh.

Yamuna:

The river Yamuna, a major tributary of river Ganges, originates from the Yamunotri glacier near Bandarpoonch peaks in the Mussoorie range of the lower Himalayas at an elevation of about 6387 meters above mean sea level in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.
It meets the Ganges at the Sangam (where Kumbh mela is held) in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh after flowing through Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi.
Length: 1376 km
Important Dam: Lakhwar-Vyasi Dam (Uttarakhand), Tajewala Barrage Dam (Haryana) etc.
Important Tributaries: Chambal, Sindh, Betwa and Ken (Right bank).