RAS question
The 'Luni' river of Rajasthan is unique because it:
Correct answer: (B) Is the largest river of the Thar Desert region that disappears without reaching the sea.
The Luni is western Rajasthan's largest desert-region river and is unique because it disappears in the marshy Rann of Kutch without reaching the sea.
Explanation
The Luni is an inland-drainage river of western Rajasthan's desert region. The Rajasthan PHED's Luni River Basin atlas records that the river rises on the western slopes of the Aravalli Range near Ajmer, at about 550 metres above mean sea level, and then flows south-westwards for about 495 km through Rajasthan. Instead of meeting the sea, it reaches the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and disappears in its marshy land. That is why option B captures its distinctive character: not merely that it lies in the Thar Desert belt, but that it is the major river there whose drainage ends inland rather than at a marine outlet.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Luni does not drain eastwards to the Bay of Bengal; its course is towards the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.
- (C) The Chambal Gorge belongs to a different river system in eastern Rajasthan, while the Luni basin lies to the west of the Aravalli hills.
- (D) The Luni is not Himalayan in origin; the basin atlas places its source on the western slopes of the Aravalli Range near Ajmer.
Concept
This tests inland drainage and desert-region river systems in Rajasthan. RAS often asks it because the Luni is the clearest Rajasthan example of a large river that loses itself before reaching the sea.