Son River ( hi, सोन नदी, also spelt Sone River) is a perennial river located in central India. It originates near
Amarkantak Hill in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district of
Chhattisgarh and finally merges with the Ganges River near
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
in
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
. Sone river is the second-largest southern tributary of the
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
' after
Yamuna River. India's oldest river bridge
Koilwar Bridge over Sone River connects
Arrah with
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
. Sone river is famous for its sand across country. Multiple dam(s) and hydro-electric projects run on its course towards Ganges.
Course
Sone River is called 'सोन / सोने' in Hindi, but called 'शोण' in Sanskrit, a rare instance of an Indian river having masculine name. Damodar and Brahmaputr also have masculine name. The Sone originates near
Pendra in
Chhattisgarh, just east of the headwater of the
Narmada River, and flows north-northwest through
Shahdol district
Shahdol District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in east central India. It old name was Matsya raj or Virat kingdom in the name of great king Maharaja Virata. With a total area of and a population of 10,66,063. Shahdol is an important dist ...
in
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
state before turning sharply eastward where it encounters the southwest-northeast-
Kaimur Range
Kaimur Range (also spelt Kymore) is the eastern portion of the Vindhya Range, about long, extending from around Katangi in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh to around Sasaram in Rohtas district of Bihar. It passes through the Rewa and Mirzap ...
. The Sone parallels the Kaimur hills, flowing east-northeast through
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
and
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
states to join the Ganges just west of
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
. Geologically, the lower valley of the Son is an extension of the
Narmada Valley, and the
Kaimur Range
Kaimur Range (also spelt Kymore) is the eastern portion of the Vindhya Range, about long, extending from around Katangi in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh to around Sasaram in Rohtas district of Bihar. It passes through the Rewa and Mirzap ...
an extension of the
Vindhya Range.
Arwal,
Daudnagar,
Deori,
Rohtasgarh,
Dehri,
Sonbhadra and
Bihta are some of the major cities situated on Sone River.
The Sone river which is long, is one of the longest Indian rivers.
Its chief tributaries are the
Rihand
The Rihand River (also referred to as Renu, Renuka, Rend, Rer or Rehar) is a tributary of the Son River and flows through the Indian states of Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. Its old name was Renu or Renuka.
Course
The Rihand rises from Mati ...
,
Kanhar and the
North Koel. The Son has a steep
gradient
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gr ...
(35–55 cm per km) with quick
run-off and
ephemeral regimes, becoming a roaring river with the rain-waters in the
catchment area but turning quickly into a fordable stream. The Son, being wide and shallow, leaves disconnected pools of water in the remaining parts of the year. The channel of the Son is very wide (about 5 km at
Dehri) but the
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
is narrow, only wide. The meeting point with
North Koel the width of Sone River is . In the past, the Son has been notorious for changing course. As it is traceable from several old beds near its east bank, the river changed its course more than 5 times. In modern times this tendency has been checked with the
anicut at Dehri, and now more so with the
Indrapuri Barrage.
In Bihar, this river forms the border line between the
Bhojpuri- and
Magahi-speaking regions.
Sir John Houlton, the British administrator, described the Son as follows, "After passing the steep escarpments of the
Kaimur range
Kaimur Range (also spelt Kymore) is the eastern portion of the Vindhya Range, about long, extending from around Katangi in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh to around Sasaram in Rohtas district of Bihar. It passes through the Rewa and Mirzap ...
, it flows straight across the plain to the Ganges. For much of this distance it is over two miles wide, and at one point, opposite Tilothu three miles wide. In the dry weather there is a vast expanse of sand, with a stream not more than a hundred yards wide, and the hot west winds pile up the sand on the east bank, making natural embankments. After heavy rain in the hills even this wide bed cannot carry the waters of the Son and disastrous floods in Shahabad, Gaya, and Patna are not uncommon."
[Houlton, Sir John, Bihar, the Heart of India, pp. 47–48, Orient Longmans, 1949.]
Dams
The first dam on the Son was built in 1873–74 at Dehri.
The
Indrapuri Barrage was constructed, upstream, and commissioned in 1968.
The
Bansagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh was commissioned in 2008.
Bridges
The 1.44 Km long rail-cum-road
lattice-girder concrete and steel
Abdul Bari Bridge or
Koilwar Bridge near
Arrah in Bihar was completed in November 1862. It remained the longest bridge in India, until the
Nehru Setu bridge at
Dehri was opened in 1900.
[ After Nehru Setu bridge at Dehri, Railway Bridges are present on Sone River near Chopan, Vijay Sota & Anuppur.
The modern Son bridge built in Deolond, ]Shahdol
Shahdol is a city in Shahdol district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Shahdol district, The total geographical area of the district is .
Demographics
India census
A census is the procedure ...
district of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
was inaugurated by Motilal Vora
Motilal Vora (20 December 1928 – 21 December 2020) was an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress (INC). He served as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh (1985–1988; 1989). He was born in Nimbi Jodha, Jodhpur State, British ...
and Pandit Ram Kishore Shukla then Chief Minister and Finance Minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
on 13 February 1986.
The Government of Bihar sanctioned in 2008 a bridge across the Son River connecting Arwal and Sahar in Bhojpur district.
A four-lane road bridge, carrying NH 30, parallel to the existing rail and road Koilwar Bridge, has been planned.
Gallery
File:Bateliers sur la rivière Son, Umaria district, MP, Inde.jpg, Boatmen on the Son River, Umaria district, MP
File:Son River at Aurangabad district, Bihar.JPG, Son River, from Son Nagar railway station, Aurangabad district, Bihar
File:Son River1 at Aurangabad district, Bihar.JPG, Son River, from Son Nagar railway station, Aurangabad district, Bihar
See also
* List of rivers of India
References
{{Authority control
Tributaries of the Ganges
Rivers of Madhya Pradesh
Rivers of Jharkhand
Rivers of Bihar
Rivers of Uttar Pradesh
Rivers of India