RAS question
Asan Conservation Reserve, India's first Ramsar site in Uttarakhand, is at the confluence of:
Correct answer: (C) Asan River and Yamuna.
Asan Conservation Reserve in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, lies at the confluence of the Asan River and the Yamuna River.
Explanation
Asan Conservation Reserve is not a generic Himalayan river junction; the official Ramsar Sites Information Service describes it as a 444-hectare stretch of the Asan River running down to its confluence with the Yamuna River in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand. Its precise location is the Asan-Yamuna confluence in Dehradun district. Its exam-relevant status is also important: it became Uttarakhand's first Ramsar site in 2020. The Ramsar profile explains why the site matters ecologically: the Asan Barrage helped create bird-friendly habitats, and the wetland supports biodiversity while also playing a role in hydrological regimes. The named conservation reserve is linked with the Asan-Yamuna confluence, not with the better-known pilgrimage confluences of north India.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Ganga and Yamuna meet at Prayagraj, whereas Asan Conservation Reserve is tied to the Asan River meeting the Yamuna in Dehradun district.
- (B) Alaknanda and Bhagirathi meet at Devprayag, which is a different Uttarakhand confluence and not the location of Asan Conservation Reserve.
- (D) The Tons-Yamuna pairing is not the confluence for this Ramsar site; the Ramsar profile names the Asan River and the Yamuna.
Concept
Environment and Ecology preparation requires linking Ramsar sites with their exact locations, not merely their states. Wetlands, conservation reserves and river systems often overlap with both geography and current-affairs mapping in RAS preparation.