RAS question
Which of the following rivers of Rajasthan has an inland drainage system?
Correct answer: (C) Ghaggar.
The Ghaggar is a Rajasthan river with an inland drainage system, as it disappears into the sands of the Thar Desert and does not reach the sea.
Explanation
Ghaggar fits inland drainage because its flow ends within the land rather than joining an ocean-bound river system. The river enters Rajasthan from Haryana, disappears into the sands of the Thar Desert near Suratgarh, and does not reach any sea. The Rajasthan Environment Portal - Rajasthan at a Glance notes that Ghaggar originates in Haryana and is an intermittent stream that disappears into the sands of the Thar Desert in the northern corner of Rajasthan. That behaviour separates it from rivers that join larger drainage networks. Inland drainage depends not merely on whether a river flows through Rajasthan, but whether its water ultimately escapes to the sea; Ghaggar does not.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Banas is wrong because it drains into the Chambal and, through the larger Ganges system, eventually reaches the Bay of Bengal rather than ending inland.
- (B) Mahi is wrong because it is an Arabian Sea drainage river, so it is not an inland drainage river.
- (D) Chambal is wrong because it drains into the Yamuna and then into the Bay of Bengal, making it part of an external drainage system.
Concept
Rajasthan's drainage patterns include a key distinction between inland drainage in the desert tract and rivers linked to larger sea-bound systems. RAS often repeats this concept because river drainage connects physical geography, desert conditions, and map-based elimination together.