RAS question
Tehri Dam, the highest dam in India, is built on which river?
Correct answer: (B) Bhagirathi.
Tehri Dam, India's highest dam, is built on the Bhagirathi River in Uttarakhand.
Explanation
Tehri Dam is correctly linked to the Bhagirathi because THDC India Limited describes the Tehri Hydro Power Complex as a multipurpose scheme on the Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganges. Tehri HPP includes a 260.5 m high earth and rockfill dam on the Bhagirathi, about 1.5 km downstream of its confluence with the Bhilangana. Tehri is India's highest dam and is located specifically on the Bhagirathi rather than on the broader Ganga system or another Himalayan river. The same complex is associated with 2,400 MW of peaking power, which explains why Tehri is repeatedly cited in questions on Indian dams, hydropower and river systems.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Alaknanda is not the river named for the Tehri Dam; THDC places the 260.5 m earth and rockfill dam on the Bhagirathi downstream of the Bhilangana confluence.
- (C) Ganga is too broad for this site-specific question, because the Tehri Hydro Power Complex is on the Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganges, and Ganga is formed later after Devprayag.
- (D) Yamuna is a separate Himalayan river system and is not mentioned for Tehri; THDC India Limited places the dam on the Bhagirathi.
Concept
This tests the Indian river systems and major multipurpose dam projects portion of Geography of India. It recurs in RAS because Tehri connects Himalayan rivers, hydropower, irrigation and strategic infrastructure in one standard map-based fact.