Rivers are very important for any country.

They play important roles in communication,

transportation, agriculture, and economy. In many countries, dams are built across rivers to
produce hydro electricity. On the contrary, rivers also cause flood which destroys houses and
crops and wash away people. Due to the devastating flood caused by Hung H, the largest river
of China, it is also known as Chinas Sorrow. Today, I would like to talk about some of the
famous rivers of South Asia.

Among the diversity of landscape ranging from snow-capped mountain ranges to deserts, plains,
rainforests, hills, and plateaus, India comprises most of the Indian subcontinent situated on the
Indian plate. Of all that rivers in India work as veins throughout the body of Indian landscape.
The country has a number of river sources and most of them do a lot more than just supply
potable water to the people of India.
All major rivers of India originate from one of the three main watersheds. They are under as:
* The Himalaya and the Karakoram ranges
* Vindhya and Satpura range in central India
* Sahyadri or Western Ghats in western India
In that, the Himalayan river networks are snow-fed. They have a continuous water flow
throughout the year. The other two networks depend entirely on the monsoons and shrink into
rivulets during the dry season.
The Himalayan river system encompasses the river i.e., Indus, Ganges, Yammuna, Beas,
Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Jhelum. The rivers originated from the Vindhya-satpura watershed are
Narmada, Tapti, Chambal, etc. the river system flows from east to west and discharge their water
into the Arabian Sea in Gujarat. Whereas, the Western Ghats are the source of all Deccan Rivers
these are Mahanadi River, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri River, etc. all that drain into the Bay of
Bengal.
From time immemorial, rivers in India have been used as a source of water, for food, for
transportation, as a defensive barrier, and as a means of disposing of waste. And even for
thousands of years ago, rivers had been remained shelter of evident Civilization of Indus valley
, which existed in northwestern India around 2500 BC on the bank of river Saraswati which can
be deciphered even today.
Rivers in India keeps a special place in the hearts and minds of its people so much so they accord
them sacred as other gods and goddesses and worship them spiritually. Indians refer these rivers
as mata (mother).



Indus:
It is the most important river of Pakistan. If you look at the history of Pakistan then you would
see that it originated from the Indus valley civilization. The civilization flourished on the banks
of the Indus River. The river originated in Tibet near Mansarovar.It runs over India, Northern
part of Pakistan and falls into the Arabian Sea. The total length of the river is 3200 kilometers. It
has twenty tributaries. Indus plays a vital role in Pakistans economy. The provinces of Punjab
and Sindh which are the major agricultural centers of the country use water of this river. Besides,
the river supports many industries.

Ganges:
The river flows over Northern India and Bangladesh. The river is 2,510 kilometers long. The
population density of the areas near this river is very high. This huge population and
industrialization has caused serious water pollution. Along with another river Yamuna, this river
has formed a deltaic land which covers Bangladesh, West Bengal and India. This is the largest
delta of the world. Like the Indus of Pakistan, this river is also very important for agriculture in
these areas. From the religious point of view, this river is worshipped as a goddess by the Hindus
and also referred as Holy Ganga. The Hindus believe that they can get rid of their sins by
bathing in this river.

Irrawaddy:
The river is also known as Ayeyarwady. Ayeyarwady is a Sanskrit word which is considered
to have been originated from another Sanskrit word "airavati", which means "Elephant". This
river flows over Myanmar. It is the largest river of Myanmar. The length of the river is about
1350 miles. This river divides the Burmese region into two parts from north to south. This river
plays a great role in Burmas economy. It is a major means of communication and agriculture.
Originating from Kachin, the river has a total drainage area of this river is 158,700 square miles.
Before train and cars arrived in Burma, this river was the main means of communication. This is
why it was also known as "Road to Mandalay".

Brahmaputra:
Brahmaputra means the son of Brahma. This river runs through three countries: China (Tibet),
India (Assam), and Bangladesh. In these three countries, it is known by different names; in Tibet,
Yarlung Tsangpo; in Assam, Brahmaputra; and in Bangladesh Jamuna and Brahmaputra.
Originating from the northern Himalayas, this river is 3000 kilometers in length. In spring, this
river causes flood in many places as snow from the Himalayas starts to melt. It is also among the
few rivers in the world that has tidal bore.

Godavari
After Ganges, Godavari is the major river of India. A seasonal river, Godavari starts from
Trimbakeshwar in Nashik. From there it goes to the southern portion of India. Through Andhra
Pradesh it falls into the Bay of Bengal. The river is 1,450 kilometers long. To the Hindus, this
river has great religious importance.

Kaveri River:
This river is known as Dakshina Ganga. According to legend, this river originated from a girl
named Lopamudra, who was the daughter of Brahma. In order to achieve blessing from her
father, she became a river. The water of Kaveri is believed to be very pure and it purifies all the
sins. Starting from the western ghats of Karnataka, the river flows through the Deccan plateau
and falls into the Bay of Bengal. The length of this river is 765 kilometers.

Most of the countries of South Asia are agro based countries. More than fifty percent of the
countries population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. Good crops grow well
where the supply of water is good. Rivers are the major sources of water for agriculture in these
countries. Hence, many of these rivers are considered to be holly and pure. River and rain are
very important for the South Asian countries. Also the rivers are very vital for communication
and transportation. Water transportation is very cheap. However, these rivers cause huge damage
during the rainy season by causing flood. Despite all these they are really important for South
Asia.