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Context

• National Green Tribunal directed the MoEF&CC to look into the question of declaring parts of river Son, running in both states, as 'Son Ghadiyal Wildlife Sanctuary' in accordance with law within 3 months.

About Son River

• It is a perennial river located in central India.
• The Sone River is the second-largest southern tributary of the Ganges after the Yamuna River.
• India's oldest river bridge Koilwar Bridge over Sone River connects Arrah with Patna.

Origin and course

• It originates near Amarkantak Hill in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district of Chhattisgarh and finally merges with the Ganges River near Patna in Bihar.
• The Sone originates near Pendra in Chhattisgarh, just east of the headwater of the Narmada River, and flows north-northwest through Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh state before turning sharply eastward where it encounters the southwest-northeast-Kaimur Range.
• The Sone parallels the Kaimur hills, flowing east-northeast through Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar states to join the Ganges just west of Patna.
• Geologically, the lower valley of the Son is an extension of the Narmada Valley, and the Kaimur Range an extension of the Vindhya Range.
• Arwal, Daudnagar, Deori, Rohtasgarh, Dehri, Sonbhadra and Bihta are some of the major cities situated on Sone River.

Etymology

• Sone River is a rare instance of an Indian river having masculine name. Damodar and Brahmaputra also have masculine name.

Other facts

• In Bihar, this river forms the border line between the Bhojpuri- and Magahi-speaking regions.

About Son Gharial Sanctuary

• It was established under Project Crocodile for Gharial conservation and population growth.
• An altogether length of 210 km encompassing lengths of 161 km of Son river, 23 km of Banas river, and 26 km of Gopad River was declared as a sanctuary in 1981.
• Sandy habitats (such as Sand banks, riverine islands etc) are major habitats for many endangered species like Gharial, Indian Soft Shell Turtle (Chitra Indica), Indian Skimmer (Rynchops albicollis) etc.
• About 101 species of birds registered in the sanctuary make it rich in aquatic and avifaunal biodiversity.

PRACTICE QUESTION Q) Which of the following statements with reference to Son River is/are correct? 1. The Sone originates near Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh. 2. Its chief tributaries are the Rihand, Kanhar and the North Koel. 3. The river forms the border line between the Bhojpuri- and Magahi-speaking regions. 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 1, 2 and 3 Correct Answer: 2

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