Kosi River

In News

• Recently, according to a new study it was found that the change in course of the Kosi River is not natural.

About Kosi river

• The Kosi or Koshi is a trans-boundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India.
  • It drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal.
• Kosi River is also known as Saptakoshi for its seven upper tributaries.
  • These include the Tamor River originating from the Kanchenjunga area in the east and Arun River and Sun Kosi from Tibet.
  • The Sun Koshi’s tributaries from east to west are Dudh Koshi, Bhote Koshi, Tamakoshi River, Likhu Khola and Indravati.
  • The Saptakoshi crosses into northern Bihar, India where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district.
• The river basin is surrounded by ridges which separate it from the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the north, the Gandaki in the west and the Mahananda in the east.
• Challenges
  • Its unstable nature has been attributed to the heavy silt it carries during the monsoon season, and flooding in India has extreme effects.
  • The Kosi River is known as the “Sorrow of Bihar”.

Source:DTE