Beas is a river in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab states, India., UPSC.

Beas River

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Context: Beas river in spate as Himachal Pradesh hit by cloudburst, heavy rain.

Details

Name	Beas River.
Ancient Names	Arjikuja (Vedas), Vipasa (Ancient Indians), Hyphasis (Ancient Greeks).
Streams / Origin	Beas Rishi and Beas Kund streams meet at Palachan village, North of Manali to form the river Beas, Rohtang Pass in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.
Fall into	Confluence with the Sutlej River at Harike in Punjab, India.
Length	470 kms.
Flows through	Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
Flow discharge	Perennial and fed by snow and rainfall.
Valley form	Kullu and Kangra.
Tributaries	Parbati, the Spin and Malana nala in the East. The Solang, the Manalsu, the Sujoin, the Phojal and the Sarvati Streams in the West.
Dams/Projects	Pong Dam (also known as Maharana Pratap Sagar) and the Pandoh Dam, Larji hydro electric project.
Indus Treaty:	The treaty gave the waters of the western rivers—the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers—the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—to India.
Ecological importance.	Endemic- Indus river dolphin (*Platanista minor*).
Religious Significance.	Sacred to Sikhs and Hindus.
Historical Events	It marked the easternmost boundary of Alexander the Great’s invasion of India in 326 BC.
Threat	Climate change, Urbanization, Deforestation.

Cloudburst

Definition: Rainfall of 10 cm or more in an hour over a roughly 10 km x 10-km area is classified as a cloudburst event. By this definition, 5 cm of rainfall in a half- hour period over the same area would also be categorized as a cloudburst.
During a cloudburst event, a place receives about 10% of this annual rainfall within an hour.
Period: Cloudbursts are common events, particularly during the monsoon months.
Area of occurrence and reason : Most of these happen in the Himalayan states, Western side of western Ghats due to high mountain topography.
Consequences: Landslides and Flash floods, Extensive destruction downstream.
Forecast : No forecast ever mentions a possibility of a cloudburst but there are warnings for heavy to very heavy rainfall events in advance.
Recent Finding: Instances are increasing due to climate change.

Sources:

Indian express: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-are-cloudburst-incidents-and-are-they-rising-across-india-8103789/

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following statements.

1.Harike Wetland came into existence after the construction of a barrage near the confluence of rivers Sutlej and Beas.

2.Beas River lies entirely within the Indian territory.

Which of the above statement/s is/are correct?

A.1 only

B.2 only

C.Both 1 and 2

D.Neither 1 nor 2

Answer C