RAS question
At which place does the Ganga enter the plains?
Correct answer: (B) Haridwar.
The Ganga enters the plains at Haridwar in Uttarakhand.
Explanation
Haridwar is the point where the Ganga enters the plains. NCERT traces the river's upper course from the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh, where it is known as the Bhagirathi, through narrow Himalayan gorges. At Devprayag, the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda, and from that point the river is known as the Ganga. The same account then states that the Ganga enters the plains at Haridwar before flowing south, south-east and east. So the question is not asking where the Ganga is formed, or where it meets another major river in the plains, but the transition from the Himalayan course to the Indo-Gangetic plain.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Allahabad, now Prayagraj, is a downstream plains location associated with the Ganga-Yamuna confluence, not the point where the Ganga first enters the plains.
- (C) Rishikesh lies upstream of Haridwar, so it does not match the NCERT statement that the Ganga enters the plains at Haridwar.
- (D) Devprayag is where the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda and the river is thereafter known as the Ganga, but NCERT places the entry into the plains at Haridwar.
Concept
This tests the river-system map sequence of the Ganga from its Himalayan source region to the plains. It recurs in RAS because drainage questions often hinge on precise locations such as source, confluence and plain-entry points.