Forum Pakistan

(In Sanskrit: Asikni; in Greek: Acesines; called Rima in the section below its confluence with the *Ravi) This is one of the five major rivers of the *Punjab and the biggest tributary of the *Sutlej, joining it from the west.

The Chenab is 950 km. long and its basin is 138,000 sq. km. in area. The general direction of the flow is from north-east to south-west. It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Bhaga to the west and Chandra from the east. These take their source respectively from the north-west and south-east of the Bara Lacha Pass (4,883 metres) in the Main *Himalayan Range. The two tributaries join near Tandi at about 2,300 metre above sea level. The Chenab breaks its way through a narrow deep gorge across the Pir-Panjal and Siwalik Ranges and enters the arid Punjab Plain in the region of the Indo-Pakistan frontier. In its lower reaches, the river is 1.5 km. wide. The main tributaries are the *Jhelum and Ravi.

In the upper reaches the river is fed primarily with glacier and subsoil waters and in the plain by rainfall. The regimen is determined by the monsoons. Water begins to rise in March with the peak of the flood season occurring in July and August. It is its lowest level between November and February. The average discharge in the region where the river emerges into the plain is 890 cubic m. per sec. During flooding the level of the water rises by up to 4.5 metres. In the lower reaches the Chenab floods to 3-10 km. wide, the loose sandy soils in the territory causing extensive flooding. In its lower and middle course the river is navigable. The waters of the Chenab are extensively used for irrigation. The total area irrigated by the river exceeds 2.5 million hectares. The valley is densely populated.