Yamuna

 The Yamuna, which originates less than a hundred miles east of the Bhagirathi, flows parallel to the Ganga and a little to the south for most of its course before merging with the Ganga at the holy city of Allahabad, also known as Triveni Sangam (literally, Three-way Junction, the third river being the mythical Saraswati which is also supposed to be an underground river). New Delhi, capital of India, and Agra, site of the Taj Mahal, are two of the major cities on the Yamuna.

Yamuna river forms the eastern boundary of Haryana with Uttar Pradesh. Yamuna enters Haryana near the Kalesar forest in Yamunanagar district. It flows south along the districts of Yamunanagar, Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat, and exits Haryana near Hasanpur in district Faridabad. At Tajewala barrage in district Yamunanagar, the waters of the river Yamuna are caught and diverted in the Western Yamuna Canal for irrigation. There is a nice tourist spot at Hathni Kund near this barrage. The world famous Taj Mahal is situated on the banks of this river in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. This river is also called Yamna, Jamna and Jamuna in different Hindi dialects.

From Uttaranchal, the river flows into the state of Himachal Pradesh. After passing Paonta Sahib, Yamuna flows along the boundary of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and after exiting Haryana it continues to flow till it merges with the river Ganga (Ganges) at Sangam or Prayag in Allahbad (Uttar Pradesh). The total length of the river is 1,370 km. Its major tributaries are the Chambal and Betwa rivers.

Yamuna is popularly called as Jamuna in Uttar Pradesh state and northern India which rises in Himalayas near Yamunotri. It is from here the river started her journey to Vrindavan and Mathura. Then she started flowing towards south and southeastern parts and flourished the places on her way. Reaching the Prayag, one of the most sacred places in India, she joins with Ganges. Then they both flow together till Ksheer Sagar.

 The Yamuna is now the source of irrigation for Uttar Pradesh and Punjab states. The East Yamuna, West Yamuna, and Agra are the major canals on the river.

The river is  tapped at Wazirabad through a barrage for drinking water supply to Delhi. Generally, no water is allowed to flow beyond Wazirabad barrage in dry season, as the available water is not adequate to fulfill the demand of water supply of Delhi.

Whatever water flows in the downstream of Wazirabad barrage is the untreated or partially treated domestic and industrial wastewater contributed through several drains along with the water transported by Haryana Irrigation Department from Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) to Agra Canal via Nazafgarh Drain and the Yamuna. After 22 Km downstream of Wazirabad barrage there is another barrage, Okhla barrage, through which Yamuna water is diverted into Agra Canal for irrigation. No water is allowed to flow through barrage during dry season. Whatever water flows in the river beyond Okhla barrage is contributed through domestic and industrial wastewater generated from East Delhi, Noida and Sahibabad and joins the river through Shahdara drain. The Yamuna after receiving water through other important tributaries joins the river Ganga and the underground Saraswati at Prayag (Allahabad) after traversing about 950 Km. Thus, Yamuna river can not be designated as continuous river particularly in dry seasons (almost 9 months), but can be segmented in five distinguished independent segments due to characteristic hydrological and ecological conditions.

The catchment of Yamuna river system covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh & Delhi states.