What is Chenab?

The Chenab River (Punjabi: ਚਨਾਬ, IAST: canāb, Urdu: چناب, Hindi: चनाब, literally: 'Moon(Chen) River(ab)') is formed by the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi located in the upper Himalayas in the Lahul and Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh, India. In its upper reaches it is also known as the . It flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir into the plains of the Punjab, forming the boundary between the Rechna and Jech interfluves (Doabs in Persian). It is joined by the Jhelum River at Trimmu and then by the Ravi River. It then merges with the Sutlej River near Uch Sharif to form the Panjnad or the 'Five Rivers', the fifth being the Beas River which joins the Satluj near Ferozepur, India. The Satluj then joins the Indus at Mithankot. The total length of the Chenab is approximately 960 kilometres. The waters of the Chenab are allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty.^[1][2]

The river was known to Indians in the Vedic period as (Sanskrit: अश्किनि) or Iskmati and as Acesines to the Ancient Greeks^[3]. In 325 BC, Alexander the Great allegedly founded the town of Alexandria on the Indus (present day Uch Sharif or Mithankot or Chacharan) at the confluence of the Indus and the combined stream of Punjab rivers (currently known as the Panjnad River)^[4].

The Chenab has the same place in the consciousness of the people of the Punjab as, say, the Rhine holds for the Germans, or the Danube for the Austrians and the Hungarians. It is the iconic river around which Punjabi consciousness revolves, and plays a prominent part in the tale of Heer Ranjha, the Punjabi national epic and the legend of Sohni Mahiwal.

This river has been in the news of late due to the steps taken by the Indian government to build a number of hydropower dams along its length (in India) most notably the Baglihar hydel power project(expected time of completion 2008). This is a result of the Indus Basin Project. These planned projects on Chenab have been hotly contested by Pakistan which says that India is breaking the terms and clauses of the Indus water treaty by storing and channelling the waters of this river, a claim totally rejected by the Indian government.

Railway

Notes

References

• http://www.travel-himalayas.com/rivers-himalayas/chandra-chenab-river.html

     The Five Rivers of The Punjab     

Punjabi Names	Jhelum	Chenab	Ravi	Sutlej	Beas
Ancient Greek Names	Hydaspes	Acesines	Hydraotes	Satadru	Hyphasis
Sanskrit Names	Vitasta	Ashkini	Parushani	Shatadru	Arjiki

Geography of Himachal Pradesh
Lakes	Renuka Lake | Maharana Pratap Sagar | Gobind Sagar (more...)
Rivers	Beas | Chenab | Ravi | Sutlej | Yamuna
Districts	Bilaspur | Chamba | Hamirpur | Kangra | Kinnaur | Kullu | Lahul and Spiti | Mandi | Sirmaur | Shimla | Solan | Una
Other	Climate of Himachal Pradesh | Protected areas of Himachal Pradesh | List of peaks in Himachal Pradesh

•  • [ e] Punjab Geography
Chenab Ravi Jhelum Beas Satluj Sindh Hakra Sandal Bar Neeli Bar Ganji Bar Kirana Bar Kirana Mountain Range Suleman Mountain Range Shiwalik Mountain Range Thal Cholistan Murree Kallar Kahar Pothohar Plateau Salt Range Margalla Hills Majha Doaba Malwa Khewra Salt Mines Kachhi Chhachh Trimmu Headworks Soon Sakesar

•  • [ e] Waters of South Asia
Inland	Indus Ganges Yamuna Chenab Jhelum Brahmaputra Godavari Narmada Tapti Ravi Beas Sutlej Dudh Kosi Padma Sarasvati Krishna Kaveri Meghna Mahanadi Son Ghaghara Betwa Chambal Kosi Sapt Koshi Tamur Mo Chhu Sankosh Drangme Chhu Ganges Basin Ganges Delta Indus Delta Dal Lake Pookode Lake Skeleton Lake Chilka Lake Lake Powai Borith Lake Saiful Muluk Gosaikunda Nizam Sagar Red Hills Lake Malampuzha Kerala Backwaters
Off the Coast	Indian Ocean Arabian Sea Laccadive Sea Bay of Bengal Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Khambhat Palk Strait Gulf of Mannar
Main	Rivers of India