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ENHI

RAS question

Tehri Dam, one of the tallest dams in India, is built on which river?

Correct answer: (B) Ganga (Bhagirathi).

Tehri Dam is built on the Bhagirathi River, a tributary and headwater stream of the Ganga, in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand.

  1. (A)

    Sutlej

  2. (B)

    Ganga (Bhagirathi)

  3. (C)

    Yamuna

  4. (D)

    Alaknanda

Explanation

Tehri Dam is associated with the Bhagirathi, not the main-channel Ganga name as used downstream. The official THDC description calls the Tehri Hydro Power Complex a multipurpose scheme on the Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganga, and describes Tehri HPP as a 260.5 m earth-and-rockfill dam on the river Bhagirathi, about 1.5 km downstream of its confluence with the Bhilangana. That matches the exam framing: Tehri Dam is one of India's tallest dams and is located in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Therefore, among the options, the best answer is Ganga (Bhagirathi), because the dam stands specifically on the Bhagirathi headwater of the Ganga system.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Sutlej is linked here with Bhakra Dam, whereas the official Tehri project description places Tehri on the Bhagirathi.
  • (C) Yamuna is not the river named in the official Tehri project description, and no major dam of this scale is identified on it.
  • (D) Alaknanda is another Ganga headwater, but the Tehri Dam is specified as being on the Bhagirathi, downstream of the Bhilangana confluence.

Concept

This tests river-system mapping within Indian physical geography, especially the Ganga headwaters and major multipurpose river-valley projects. RAS often revisits such facts because dams combine location, rivers, power, irrigation and regional geography in one question.

Source

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