Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Hora and Mathur (
1952
), Datta and Majumdar
(
1970
), Johal (
1982
), Sharma and Johal (
1984
),
Johal and Sharma (
1986
), Johal et al. (
1993
),
Yazdani (
1996
), Mohan and Singh (
2004
), and
Hussain (
2010
). Not much information regarding
consolidated list of the fi sh fauna from Rajasthan
portion of Chambal River is available. Dubey and
Mehra (
1962
) described 71 species of fi sh from
Madhya Pradesh portion of Chambal River.
The entire Chambal River basin extends over
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh
covering around 93 tehsils and 24 districts
(Hussain and Badola
2001
). The Chambal River
is also utilized for hydropower generation at
Gandhi Sagar Dam, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam, and
Jawahar Sagar Dam and for annual irrigation of
5,668.01 km
2
in the commands of the right main
canal and the left main canal of the Kota Barrage.
The river fl ows in a generally north-easterly
direction for a length of 225 km through Rajasthan.
The Chambal fl ows for another 217 km between
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and further
145 km between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh. It enters Uttar Pradesh and fl ows for
about 32 km before joining the Yamuna River in
Etawah District at an elevation of 122 m, to form
a part of the greater Gangetic drainage system
(Jain et al.
2007
). A 600 km stretch of the
Chambal River between Kota Barrage and
Chambal-Yamuna confl uence has been protected
as the tristate National Chambal Sanctuary.
The National Chambal Sanctuary lies between
24° 55
Deccan Mahseer (
Tor khudree
), giant freshwater
ray (
Himantura chaophraya
), narrow-headed giant
soft-shelled turtle (
Chitra indica
), three-striped
roofed turtle (
Batagur dhongoka
), gharial
(
Gavialis gangeticus
), mugger crocodile
(
Crocodylus palustris
), Indian skimmer
(
Rynchops albicollis
), black-bellied tern
(
Sterna acuticauda
), sarus crane (
Grus antigone
),
Gangetic dolphin (
Platanista gangetica gangetica
),
and smooth-coated otter (
Lutrogale perspicillata
).
Most of the aforementioned higher vertebrates
are dependent on the fi shes as their food; an
alteration in fi sh community structure will have
direct impact on their survival. Therefore, present
studies are undertaken to explore fi sh diversity of
Chambal River besides challenges and threats
faced by fi sheries in this river. This will help
fi shery managers and administrators to design
conservation strategies in proper perspective.
Importance of the Chambal River
Chambal River extends over Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The Chambal
River, a principal tributary of Yamuna River,
originates from the Singar Chouri peak at an ele-
vation of about 843 m in the Vindhya Range near
Mhow in Indore District of Madhya Pradesh.
The Chambal River basin lies between latitudes
22° 27
′
N and 27° 20
′
N and longitudes 73° 20
′
E
and 79° 15
E. The geographic location of
Chambal River being at the inter junction of the
Aravalli, Vindhyan hill ranges, and Malwa
Plateau makes it zoo-geographically important.
In its topography, the deep and fast fl owing
Chambal River varies considerably. The substrate
ranges from mud and silt to sand and rock.
This river harbors unique faunal diversity such as
Deccan Mahseer (
Tor khudree
), giant freshwater
ray (
Himantura chaophraya
), narrow-headed
giant soft-shelled turtle (
Chitra indica
), three-
striped roofed turtle (
Batagur dhongoka
),
gharial (
Gavialis gangeticus
), mugger crocodile
(
Crocodylus palustris
), Indian skimmer
(
Rynchops albicollis
), black-bellied tern (
Sterna
acuticauda
), sarus crane (
Grus antigone
),
′
E. It
consists of the big arc described by the Chambal
between Jawahar Sagar Dam in Rajasthan and the
Chambal-Yamuna confl uence in Uttar Pradesh.
Over this arc, two stretches of the Chambal are
protected as the National Chambal Sanctuary
status - the upper segment, extending from
Jawahar Sagar Dam to Kota Barrage, and the
lower segment, expanding from Keshoraipatan in
Rajasthan to the Chambal-Yamuna confl uence in
Uttar Pradesh. The sanctuary was formed in order
to facilitate the restoration of “ecological health”
of this riverine system and provide full protection
for the endangered gharial (
Gavialis gangeticus
).
This river harbors unique faunal diversity such as
′
to 26° 50
′
N and 75° 34
′
to 79° 18
′
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