Beas
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Beas
Hyphasis of the Greeks ; Arjikuja of the Vedas ; Sanskrit, Vipdsd
One of the ' five rivers ' of the Punjab from which the Pro- vince derives its name. Rising on the southern face of the Rohtang pass in Kulu, 13,326 feet above the sea, the Beas traverses the State of Mandi and enters Kangra District at Sanghol, 1,920 feet above sea-level. During the early part of its course the fall averages 125 feet per mile. A fine suspension bridge spans the river at Mandi town, and a bridge of boats is kept up during the cold season at Dera Gopipur in Kangra District. During its lower hill course the Beas is crossed by numerous ferries, at many of which the means of communication consists of inflated skins (darais). Lower down it meanders in a westerly course through hilly country, with a fall of 7 feet to the mile, and forms the main channel for the drainage of Kangra. Near Reh in that District it divides into three channels, which reunite after passing Mirthal, 1,000 feet above sea-level. On meeting the Siwalik Hills in Hoshiarpur, the river sweeps sharply northward, forming the boundary between that District and Kangra. Then bending round the base of the Siwaliks, it takes a southerly direction, separating the Districts of Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur. In this portion of its course through the uplands of the Punjab plains, a strip of low alluvial soil fringes its banks, subject in flood-time to inundation from the central stream. The main channel is broad and ill-defined, full of islands and expanding from time to time into wide pcjols. The depth does not exceed 5 feet in the dry season, increasing to 15 feet during the rains. Broad flat-bottomed country boats navigate this portion of the stream throughout the year. No bridges span the Beas in the Districts of Hoshiarpur or Gurdaspur. After touching Jullundur District for a few miles, the river forms the boundary between Amritsar and the Kapurthala State. At Beas station it is crossed by a railway bridge on the North-Western Railway ; and a bridge of boats on the grand trunk road is also maintained there during the cold season. The channel shifts from year to year through the alluvial valley according to the action of the floods. Finally, the Beas joins the Sutlej at the south-western boundary of the Kapurthala State, after a total course of 290 miles. It ranks sixth in size among the rivers of the Punjab.
The chief tributaries are the Chakki and the Bein. The Chakki collects the drainage of the Chamba hills and its main stream joins the Beas near Mirthal, while the other branch, formerly a tributary of the Ravi, has been turned aside by the Bari Doab Canal and forced to return to the Beas lower down. The Bein — called the ‘ Black ' (Siyah) Bein to distinguish it from the ' AVhite ' (Safed) Bein — rises in the Siwaliks, and joins the Beas to miles above its junction with the Sutlej.
The old course of the Beas can be traced from its present point of junction with the Sutlej through Lahore and Montgomery Districts to the place where it used to join the Chenab, near Shujabad, before the Chenab turned westwards. The united waters of the Jhelum, Chenab, and Ravi joined the Beas in those days 28 miles south of Multan. Since the end of the eighteenth century the course of the Beas has changed but little.
