Sutlej River:
With the Sutlej swelling due to incessant rain in its catchment areas and heavy releases from dams, evacuation in several low-lying villages of Fazilka and Ferozepur districts began late Tuesday afternoon.
- Sutlej River is an important tributary of the Indus river.
- It is the longest of the five big rivers that flow through the Punjab region in northern India and Pakistan.
- It is also known as “Satadree”.
- It is located north of the Vindhya Range, south of the Hindu Kush segment of the Himalayas, and in Pakistan.
- It rises on the north slope of the Himalayas in Lake Rakshastal in southwestern Tibet at an elevation above 15,000 feet (4,600 metres).
- It is one of only three Trans-Himalayan rivers originating in the high Tibetan Plateau that cuts across the mighty Himalayan ranges. The other two are the Indus and the Brahmaputra.
- The Sutlej enters India by flowing west and south-westwards through the Shipki La Pass in Himachal Pradesh at an altitude of 6,608 metres.
- The river then flows through Punjab near Nangal before meeting the Beas River. The merger of these two rivers goes on to form 105 Km of the India-Pakistan border.
- The river continues to flow for another 350 Km before joining the Chenab River.
- The combination of the Sutlej and Chenab Rivers forms the Panjnad, which finally flows into the Indus
- It has a total length of 1550 km, out of which 529 km is in Pakistan.
- The hydrology of the Sutlej is controlled by spring and summer snowmelt in the Himalayas and by the South Asian monsoon.
- Tributaries: Spiti River, Baspa River, Soan River, and the Nogli Khad are the major tributaries of the Sutlej River.
- The waters of the Sutlej are allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan, and are mostly diverted to irrigation canals in India.
- There are many hydroelectric and irrigation projects across the river, such as the Bhakra-Nangal Dam, Kol Dam, Nathpa Jhakri Project, and Baspa Hydel Scheme.
