✔ Nepal is a country in the Himalayas with tremendous, beautiful natural resources. It has a total area of 1,47,181 square kilometers and is a collection of marvelous, long, pure, and holy rivers.
✔ Kali Gandaki is one of the major rivers, mainly named after the goddess Kali. It rises primarily on the Mustang, amid the Himalayas, originating from the Tibetan Plateau and eventually joining the Trishuli River.
✔ Kali Gandaki River is the origin of the world’s deepest river canyons and was also the ancient traditional route to Tibet. Its significance isn’t limited to its natural beauty. Still, it is also well-recognized for its cultural and religious importance to the people along its banks.
✔ People from different continents come on the river to pay respects and tribute to their ancestors and wash away the sins they have committed throughout their lives.
✔ Kaligandaki is also renowned for its whitewater rafting and kayaking opportunities. The place is rich in biodiversity and is an alluring hotspot for ecotourism.
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Kali Gandaki River Religious importance:
✔ It is a magnet for tourists from everywhere, with its hallowed waters simultaneously sanctified by Hindus and Buddhists.
✔ These banks are also ornamented with rituals and ceremonies that give people a profound spiritual experience when they visit this place. Moreover, the confluence of the Trisuli River with Kali Gandaki also has significance in terms of religious pilgrims.
✔ It’s not only a river but also the life, spirituality, and cultural riches of Nepal. When we go through the maze of modernization, may we realize that this river is sacred and work towards saving it to keep its memory alive even in future times.
✔ As time passes, I pray that the Kali Gandaki River will continue enriching individuals’ souls with its mystic waters.
Kali Gandaki River for Electricity Generation:
| Key project Features | Details |
| Category | Reservoir Drawdown and slicing and modifying the operating rule. |
| Reservoir Volume | 7.7 Million Cubic Meters (Mm3) |
| Installed Capacity | 144 Megawatt |
| Date of Commissioning | 2002 |
✔ The Kali Gandaki River, with an installed capacity of 144MW, is a run-of-river project primarily designed to manage the river’s high sediment load. It was in operation in 2002.
✔ Despite the Kali Gandaki River facing tough challenges such as turbine abrasion and rising flood levels in the upper reservoir, the project’s concrete gravity dam was generated by radial crest gates in sluicing modes, maintained by 3.5 Mm3 of storage for power peaking.
| Operation Mode | Condition |
| Sluicing Mode (Summer) | Inflow > 2x Desing Power |
| Impounding Mode (Winter) | Inflow <= 2x Desing Power |
| Flood Management | Inflow < 2000 m3/s |
✔ Turbine abrasion has been mitigated by modifying the intake structure. Numerical sediment transport modeling addresses the rising flood of the upper reservoir.
Kali Gandaki River for Tourism:
✔ The Kali Gandaki River, also locally famous as the Krishna Gandaki River, is the major waterway in Nepal. People from all over the world arrive at the Kali Gandaki River for spiritual and tourism purposes. The major tourist attractions in Kali Gadaki River are:
Rafting: If you are a whitewater enthusiast and wish to adventure in water through rafting, then Kali Gandaki River welcomes you warmly. You can experience the scenic beauty around it and have an unforgettable rafting experience.
Kayaking: Nepali is one of the pro collections of whitewater playgrounds. You can explore its unforgettable beauty throughout the world. It delivers a world-class whitewater kayaking experience amid the Himalayas. Explore the thrill of kayaking with diverse scenery, and so on.
Government activities regarding Kali Gandaki River:
✔ Senior advocate Prakash Mani Sharma has promoted religious tourism along the Kali Gandaki River, linking Mukti Chhetra in Nepal to Harihar Chhetra in Bihar, India.
✔ This initiative aims to utilize the river’s significance for Hindus worldwide while safeguarding its ecological and cultural integrity. Recent Supreme Court orders halted the proposed Kali Gandaki-Tinau river diversion scheme, allowing advocates like Sharma to focus on tourism development.
✔ Indian tourists, especially from southern states, have visited Mukti Chhetra, boosting the region’s religious tourism. Sharma highlights the river’s potential for tourism and advocates against dam constructions that could harm its sanctity.
✔ Various stakeholders, including spiritual leaders and local politicians, support tourism promotion as an alternative to river exploitation. Sharma’s efforts align to declare the Kali Gandaki River a UNESCO World Heritage site, emphasizing its religious and
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Conclusion on Kali Gandaki River:
✔ Kali Gandaki River is more than a spiritual journey; it is also nature’s wonder. This river has cut through the impressive Kali Gandaki Gorge, one of the deepest gorges in the world, located between the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri massifs.
✔ The region’s picturesque scenes and varied flora and fauna make it naturally stunning, attracting mountain climbers and those who love nature. Besides serving religious purposes, the Kali Gandaki River plays a crucial role in the local economy.
✔ The river sustains livelihoods by supporting farming along its banks and powering communities by generating hydroelectricity. Additionally, the place has attractive landscapes that tourists visit, such as cultural sites.
✔ The conservation of the Kali Gandaki River calls for efforts to ensure its vitality for years.
✔ These challenges include deforestation, pollution, and encroachment on riverbanks. Promoting sustainable practices and responsible tourism will enable us to save this precious natural and cultural heritage, which our children can benefit from in the future.
