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Sabarmati River
Sabarmati River
	Sabarmati River near Ahmedabad, Gujarat
	Interactive Map
Location
Country	India
State	Gujarat, Rajasthan
Cities	Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Aravalli Range, Udaipur District, Rajasthan, India
• elevation	782 m (2,566 ft)
Mouth
• location	Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat, India
Length	371 km (231 mi)
Basin size	30,680 km2 (11,850 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	120 m3/s (4,200 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Ahmedabad
• average	33 m3/s (1,200 cu ft/s)
• minimum	0 m3/s (0 cu ft/s)
• maximum	484 m3/s (17,100 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Wakal River, Harnav River, Hathmati River, Watrak River
• right	Sei River

The Sabarmati River is one of the major west-flowing rivers in India.^[3] It originates in the Aravalli Range of the Udaipur District of Rajasthan and meets the Gulf of Khambhat of Arabian Sea after travelling 371 km (231 mi) in a south-westerly direction across Rajasthan and Gujarat.^[3] 48 km (30 mi) of the river length is in Rajasthan, while 323 km (201 mi) is in Gujarat.^[3]

Course

The Sabarmati River originates in the Aravalli Range in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The total length of the river is 371 km (231 mi).^[4] After travelling 48 km (30 mi) in Rajasthan it flows into the Indian state of Gujarat where it is joined by a left bank tributary, Wakal, near the village Ghonpankhari.^[5] From there, the river continues southwest to Mhauri and meets a right bank tributary, the Sei River. Continuing its journey, it is joined by a left bank tributary, the Harnav River, before entering the Dharoi reservoir. After the Sabarmati passes the Dharoi dam it meets another left bank tributary, the Hathmati River.^[5] From there, the river flows past the city of Ahmedabad and is joined by a left bank tributary, the Watrak River. The Sabarmati River continues to flow and drains into the Gulf of Khambhat, in the Arabian Sea.^[5]

Basin

The catchment area of the Sabarmati basin is 21,674 km² (8,368 sq mi) out of which 4,124 km² (1,592 sq mi) lies in Rajasthan State and the remaining 18,550 km² (7,160 sq mi) in Gujarat.^[6] The basin is located in a semi-arid zone with rainfall ranging from 450 to 800 mm (18 to 31 in) in different parts of the basin.^[7] The river traverses three geomorphic zones: rocky uplands, middle alluvial plains, and lower estuarine zone.^[8]

The major tributaries are the Watrak, Wakal, Hathmati, Harnav, and Sei rivers.^[3]^[6]^[9] Average annual water availability in the Sabarmati basin is 308 m³ (10,900 cu ft) per capita, which is significantly lower than the national average of 1,545 m³ (54,600 cu ft) per capita.^[10]

The Sabarmati is a seasonal river whose flows are dominated by the monsoon, with little or no flows post-monsoon.^[7] An average flow of 33 m³ (1,200 cu ft) per second was measured at Ahmedabad during the period 1968–1979.^[11] Over the past century, the flood of August 1973 is considered to be the largest flood,^[7] when a flow of 14,150 m³ (500,000 cu ft) per second was measured at Dharoi.^[12]

Significance in Hinduism

In Rajasthan, it is believed that the Sabarmati River originated due to the penance of ascetic Kashyapa on Mount Abu.^[13] His penance had pleased Shiva and in return, Shiva gave ascetic Kashyapa the Ganges River. The Ganges River flowed from Shiva's hair onto Mount Abu and became the Sabarmati River.^[13] In another legend surrounding the origin of the river, Shiva brought the goddess Ganga to Gujarat and that caused the Sabarmati to come into being.^[14]

History

Rajashekhara's Kavya-mimamsa (10th century) calls the river Shvabhravati (IAST: Śvabhravatī). The 11th century text Shringara-manjari-katha calls it "Sambhramavati" (literally, "full of fickleness").^[15]

Jain Acharya Buddhisagarsuri has written many poems about the Sabarmati River.^[16]

During India's independence struggle, Mahatma Gandhi established the Sabarmati Ashram as his home on the banks of this river.^[17]

In 2018, an assessment by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) named the Kheroj-Vautha stretch of the Sabarmati among the most polluted river stretches in India.^[18] Ahmedabad civic body's failure to build a sewage treatment plant in Motera resulted in further pollution of the river water.^[19]

Dams

There are several reservoirs on the Sabarmati and its tributaries. The Dharoi dam is located on the main river.^[20] The Hathmati, Harnav and Guhai dams are located on the tributaries meeting the main river upstream of Ahmedabad while Meshvo reservoir, Meshvo pick-ueir, Mazam and Watrak dams are located on tributaries meeting downstream. The Kalpasar is planned project in the Gulf of Khambhat.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, water from the Narmada river was released into the Sabarmati River through the Sardar Sarovar dam.^[21]

Economy

Sabarmati Riverfront

The Sabarmati Riverfront project is one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by the government to enrich the economy. As per the research conducted by couple of academics, the main concern of the riverfront project was to reduce river pollution, increase tourism, and prevent future floods.^[22] As of 2020, the second phase of the project has received in-principle approval.^[23] KPMG has listed the Sabarmati Riverfront project in its top 100 most innovative global infrastructure projects.^[24]

Gallery

Lithograph by Dutchman Philip Baldeus depicting Ahmedabad and Sabarmati River circa 1752
Sabarmati River in 1890
Watercarts in Sabarmati near Ahmedabad in 1890s
View of the Harnav, a tributary of the Sabarmati
Construction work going on near the river under the Sabarmati River Front Development Project
River Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Sabarmati River near Ambod