RAS question
The Gangotri Glacier is the source of which river?
Correct answer: (A) Ganga (as Bhagirathi).
The Gangotri Glacier is the source of the Bhagirathi, the source stream of the Ganga.
Explanation
Gangotri Glacier in Uttarakhand is the source of the Bhagirathi River, which the official Uttarakhand State Mission for Clean Ganga page identifies as the source stream of the Ganga. State Mission for Clean Ganga (SMCG) Namami Gange Uttarakhand says the Bhagirathi emanates from Gangotri Glacier at Gaumukh. This is why the exam option is framed as “Ganga (as Bhagirathi)”: the river is not called Ganga at the glacier. It becomes the Ganga at Devprayag, where the Alaknanda joins the Bhagirathi. The glacier is located in Uttarkashi district and is approximately 30 km long, but the decisive point is the Bhagirathi-to-Ganga sequence.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Alaknanda is wrong because it is the river that joins the Bhagirathi at Devprayag, while the question asks for the river sourced by Gangotri Glacier; Alaknanda's origin is at Satopanth Glacier near Badrinath.
- (C) Mandakini is wrong because it is listed among the headwater streams of the Ganga system, but it originates from Chorabari Glacier near Kedarnath, not Gangotri Glacier.
- (D) Yamuna is wrong because its origin is at Yamunotri Glacier, and State Mission for Clean Ganga (SMCG) Namami Gange Uttarakhand treats Yamuna separately as a river that later meets the Ganga at the Sangam in Allahabad.
Concept
This tests the Himalayan drainage portion of Indian geography, especially the source streams and confluences of the Ganga system. RAS often revisits such questions because they link physical geography with map-based river-system facts.