Jat Ganga
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Jat Ganga (जाटगंगा) or Neel Ganga (नीलगंगा) is the name of tributary of Ganges River near Gangotri in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The valley of the Jat-Ganga is claimed by China and controlled by India. The Jahnavi River (Jadh Ganga) confluences with the Bhagirathi River at Bhaironghati just west of Gangotri.
Variants
- Jat-Ganga (जाटगंगा)
- Jataganga (जाटगंगा)
- Jadh Ganga (जाटगंगा)
- Jataganga River/Jataganga river (जाटगंगा नदी)
- Neel Ganga (नीलगंगा)
- Nilaganga (नीलगंगा)
- Jahnavi River (जाह्नवी नदी)
- Jadh Ganga (जाध गंगा) also called Jahnavi River is a tributary of Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand state of India.
Course of Jat Ganga
Jat Ganga rises, north of Mana Pass, from Lambi glacier where the river is known as Lambi Gad (Lambi River). This area administered by India lies near the LAC, the disputed defacto border between India and China, which is also claimed by China as part of Zanda County of Tibet.
Lambi Gad flows from south to north, and after it takes a westward turn it is called the Mendi Gad (Mendi River, also Mana Gad or Mana river). The Mendi Gad, while continuing west, at ~3 km confluences with a south-to-north flowing rivulet which originates from the Surali Bamak glacier in the south, at further ~2 km confluences with a south-to-north flowing rivulet which originates from the Tara Bamak glacier in the south, at further ~2 km confluences with a south-to-north flowing Gull Gad (Gull River) which originates from the Mana Bamak glacier in the south, at further ~8 km confluences with a northeast-to-southwest flowing Nilapani Gad (Nilapani River) which originates from the Nilapani Bamal glacier in the northeast.
After this confluence of point Mendi Gad and Nilapani Gad, the Mendi Gad is known as the Nilapani Gad, which continues another ~5 km west and confluences with the northeast-to-southwest flowing Jadhang Gad (Jadhang River) at Naga. Sites along the Jadhang River are Jadhang (Sang), Pulam Sumdo, Jadhang peak (5290 m), Sonam peak, (5262 m), Tirpani, Pulam Sumda, Tsangchok, and Sumla near LAC.
After the Naga, the river is known as Jadh Ganga (Jat Ganga) till it exits Nelang valley, after which it is also known as the Jahnvi River. The Jahnvi River (Gadh Ganga) then confluences with the Bhagirathi River at Bhaironghati just west of Gangotri.
Mana Pass
Mana Pass is located within the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, 47 km north of the town of Mana, India and 52 km north of the Hindu pilgrimage town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand. It is the source of the Saraswati River, the longest stem of one of the longest Ganges tributaries, the Alaknanda River.[1] That river trickles through several scenic small ponds between the pass and Lake Deo Tal three km southwest of the pass. Mana pass is also the key col for climbing Chaukhamba peak.
Mana as a name derives from "Manibhadra Ashram", the ancient name of the town of Mana.[2]
History: Mana Pass was an ancient trade route between Uttarakhand and Tibet. Mana Pass led from Badrinath to the kingdom, now province, of Guge in Tibet. The Portuguese Jesuits António de Andrade and Manuel Marques became the first known Europeans to enter Tibet across Mana Pass in 1624. The pass continued as a minor trade route until its closure in 1951 by the Chinese. On April 29, 1954, China and India signed an agreement granting pilgrims and indigenous travelers the right to travel between the two countries through Mana Pass.
Access: The pass is reached from the south by an extension of India National Highway 7 (NH-7, old number NH-58) that connects Fazilka with Badrinath, though beyond Badrinath the graded road is subject to landslides.
Tributary of Bhagirathi
The headwaters of the Bhagirathi are formed at Gaumukh (elevation 3,892 metres), at the foot of the Gangotri glacier and Khatling glaciers in the Garhwal Himalaya. It is then joined by its tributaries; these are, in order from the source:
- Kedar Ganga at Gangotri (elevation 3,049 m),
- Jadh Ganga (Jat Ganga) at Bhaironghati (elevation 2,650 m),
- Kakora Gad and Jalandhari Gad near Harsil (elevation 2,745 m),
- Siyan Gad near Jhala (elevation 2,575 m),
- Asi Ganga near Uttarkashi (elevation 1,158 m),
- Bhilangna River near Old Tehri (elevation 755 m). The Bhilangna itself rises at the foot of the Khatling Glacier (elevation 3,717 m ) approximately 50 km south of Gaumukh.
The river flows from its source for 205 km before meeting the Alaknanda River at an elevation of 475 m in the town of Devprayag. Downstream of this confluence, considered holy by Hindus, the river is known as the Ganga, or Ganges River by westerners. Chaukhamba I is the highest point of the Bhagirathi basin.
Nellang and Jadhang
Nelang or Congsa (Congsha) is a small hilly village which lies in one of the areas subject to territorial disputes between India and China. Congsa is now controlled by Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India and claimed by Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet，China. Jadh Ganga, an important tributary of the Bhagirathi River, flows through this place. Some of the nearby villages are Jadhang，Sang and Pulam Sumda, which all lie in the valley of the Jadh Ganga. The valley of the Jadh Ganga is claimed by China and controlled by India.
Zanda County
Zanda County (Tibetan: རྩ་མདའ་རྫོང་ wylie: rtsa mda' rdzong; Chinese: 札达县; Pinyin: Zhádá Xiàn) is a county in the Ngari Prefecture to the extreme west of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
जाटगंगा
कैप्टन दलीप सिंह अहलावत[3] ने लिखा है.... भैरों घाटी जो कि गंगोत्री से 6 मील नीचे को है, यहां पर ऊपर पहाड़ों से भागीरथी गंगा उत्तर-पूर्व की ओर से और नीलगंगा (जाटगंगा) उत्तर पश्चिम की ओर से आकर दोनों मिलती हैं। इन दोनों के मिलाप के बीच के शुष्क स्थान को ही भैरों घाटी कहते हैं। जाटगंगा के दाहिने किनारे को लंका कहते हैं। इस जाटगंगा का पानी इतना शुद्ध है कि इसमें रेत का कोई अणु नहीं है। भागीरथी का पानी मिट्टी वाला है। दोनों के मिलाप के बाद भी दोनों के पानी बहुत दूर तक अलग-अलग दिखाई देते हैं। जाटगंगा का पानी साफ व नीला है इसलिए इसको नीलगंगा कहते हैं। महात्माओं और साधुओं का कहना है कि भागीरथी गंगा तो सम्राट् भगीरथ ने खोदकर निकाली थी और इस नीलगंगा को जाट खोदकर लाये थे इसलिए इसका नाम जाटगंगा है। इसके उत्तरी भाग पर जाट रहते हैं। इस कारण भी इसको जाटगंगा कहते हैं। इस जाट बस्ती को, चीन के युद्ध के समय, भारत सरकार ने, वहां से उठाकर सेना डाल दी और जाटों को, हरसिल गांव के पास, भूमि के बदले भूमि देकर आबाद किया। हरसिल गांव दोनों गंगाओं के मिलाप से लगभग 7 मील नीचे को गंगा के दाहिने किनारे पर है। बघौरी गांव हरसिल से लगा हुआ है। जाटों ने यहां गंगा के किनारे अपना गांव बसाया जिसका नाम बगोरी रखा। यह गांव गंगा के किनारे-किनारे लगभग 300 मीटर तक बसा हुआ है जिसमें लगभग 250 घर हैं। लोग बिल्कुल आर्य नस्ल के हैं। स्त्री-पुरुष और बच्चे बहुत सुन्दर हैं। ये लोग बौद्ध धर्म को मानते हैं। इनके गांव में बौद्ध मन्दिर है। ये लोग भेड़ बकरियां पालते हैं। और तिब्बत से ऊन का व्यापार करते हैं। ये अपने घरों में ऊनी कपड़े बुनते हैं।
नील पर्वत
विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[4] ने लेख किया है ... 2. नील पर्वत (AS, p.504): महाभारत, अनुशासनपर्व 25,13 में तीर्थों के प्रसंग में नील की पहाड़ी का तीर्थ रूप में वर्णन है। यह हरिद्वार के पास एक गिरि शिखर है, जो शिव के नील नामक गण का तपस्या स्थल माना जाता है। गंगा की नीलधारा इसी पर्वत के निकट से बहती है- 'गंगाद्वारे कुशावर्ते बिल्वके नील पर्वते तथा कनखले स्नात्वा धूतपाप्मा दिवं व्रजेत' महाभारत, अनुशासनपर्व 25, 13.