The Sharda River is the downstream of Kāli River (or Mahakali River) that originates in the northern Uttarakhand state of India in the Great Himalayas on the eastern slopes of Nanda Devi massif, at an elevation of in the Pithoragarh district. It then flows on the Nepal and India border. Descending, it enters the Indo-Gangetic Plain at Brahmadev Mandi in Nepal, where it expands above the Sharda Barrage. From that point onward, it is known as the Sharda River. The river proceeds southeastward into India through northern Uttar Pradesh before merging with the Ghaghara River southwest of Bahraich, covering a distance of approximately 300 miles (480 km).
It offers potential for hydroelectric power generation. The river is also proposed as source for one of the many projects in the Himalayan component of the Indian Rivers Inter-link project.
Hydrology Sources
The sources of the Sharda river have seen much debate through history. The tradition believes that the river originates from a collection of springs near the Kalapani village. The Almora District Gazetteer states:
In the British definition of 1911, the Sharda River is formed by the union of two headwaters: the Kalapani River that originates below the Lipulekh Pass and the Kuthi Yankti river that rises below the Limpiyadhura range, but both streams have been termed "Kali River" on different occasions.
The Sharda River serves as the boundary between Uttarakhand's Kumaon Division and Nepal from "a little below the Kalapani encamping ground" ().. The coordinates of the point "little below the Kalapani camping ground" are taken from the OpenStreetMap, which is representing the US Army's :File:Map India and Pakistan 1-250,000 Tile NH 44-6 Nanda Devi.jpg dated 1954. See also the enlarged map :File:1955-US-Army-map-Kali-river-sources.jpg. The Lipulekh Pass as well as the Limpayadhura pass (or Limpiya pass) are on Uttarakhand's border with Tibet.Himalayas, The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 13, 1908, p.134.
Course The Sharda River receives from the right, the Darma River at Tawaghat (). It passes Dharchula and receives Gori Ganga at Jauljibi, after which it exists the high mountains that reach into the alpine zone. At the first important left-bank (L) tributary from Nepal, the Chameliya joins after flowing southwest from Nepal's Gurans Himal (including Api). A bazaar town Jhulaghat () is on both sides of the river. Then the Kali receives the Sarju River (R) at . The area around Pancheshwar is called Kali Kumaon.
The Sharda River exits the Hill Region at Jogbudha Valley and receives two tributaries: Ladhiya (R) at and Ramgun (L) at . Then it enters the lower Shivalik Hills. Tanakpur (R) town is just above the dam of Sharda Sagar Reservoir at . Here water is diverted into an irrigation canal. Finally, the river exits the last hills into the Terai plains, passing the towns Banbasa (R) and Mahendranagar (Bhim Datta) (L). It flows southeast for another in Uttar Pradesh to join the Ghaghara River as a right-bank tributary at , some 30 km. NNW of Bahraich.Design and Construction of selected Barrages in India (1981), Publication number 149, Central Board of Irrigation and Power, Malcha Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.Central Board of Irrigation and Power (1981). Barrages in India. Publication no. 148. Malcha Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
Basin Mahakali is one of the five major river basins of Nepal which is shared with India and has a total basin area of .World Bank (1987). Nepal and International Inland Waterways issues, Legal Department, Asian Division: World Bank up to Upper Sharda Barrage, about 34 per cent of which lies in Nepal. The total catchment area is 17,818 km up to Lower Sharda Barrage.
Development and resource utilisation
Mahakali Treaty
As per a submission by the DDP Secretariat of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on Dams and Development Project, on the Mahakali Treaty it is stated that "the Treaty emphasizes an integrated approach to the development of water resources and, more importantly, attempts to validate past activities taken to develop water resources on the Mahakali River." UNEP has in conclusion observed that "the signing of the Mahakali Treaty has indeed provided India and Nepal with an opportunity for meaningful cooperation to benefit the millions of people in the two countries whose livelihood depends on the waters of the Mahakali River."
Dams The Pancheshwar Dam, a joint venture of India and Nepal for irrigation and hydro-electric power generation was proposed on this river in 1995, named as Sarayu or Kali River. However, Nepal and India have been unable to reach a decision on the 5,600-MW Pancheshwar multipurpose dam project, in part because of political changes both in Nepal and India. The project became a priority again in 2013, and negotiations restarted.
Irrigation
Lower Sharda Barrage
The lower Sharda Barrage is constructed on the Sharda River, about downstream of the Upper Sharda Barrage and nearly from Lakhimpur city. This project is part of the Sharda Sahayak Pariyojana. The project aims at irrigating culturable command area of with 70% irrigation intensity; the long feeder channel starts at the right bank of Sharda Barrage with a discharge of .
Hydropower In Nepal, Karnali and Mahakali rivers together have hydropower potential of 36,180 MW (economically exploitable is 25,000 MW) out of a total potential of 83,000 MW.
In the Indian state of Uttarakhand, which adjoins the Sharda (Mahakali river), the power generation envisaged is likely to be 6400 MW at 60% load factor (about 24,000 MW at 16% load factor) out of which 2400 MW (9000 MW at 16% load factor) is from the right bank tributaries of the Sharda (Mahakali), excluding the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project.
Some of the projects built/under construction/planned are as under.
Tanakpur Barrage and Hydroelectric Project
Tanakpur HEP is a run of the river scheme on the Sharda River (Mahakali River in Nepal) located near the town of Tanakpur in the district of Champawat. It has a Barrage across the Sharda River for diverting river flows into a long power channel of 566 m3/s capacity for utilisation of 24 m head available between the Barrage at Tanakpur and the existing Sharda canal i.e. downstream of Banbasa Barrage. The power station with three units of 40 MW (3x40 MW=120 MW) is located near the existing Banbasa Barrage. The tail race channel joins directly the Sharda River. The project is designed to produce 460 million units of power on 90% availability. The construction of the Barrage was started in 1988. In the spirit of furthering co-operation within the Mahakali River area, the Governments of India and Nepal entered into a memorandum of understanding, commonly referred to as the Tanakpur Agreement, on 6 December 1991. The Agreement provided for the construction of the left afflux bund on Nepalese territory for which the Nepalese provided of land to construct the left afflux bund of in length. As a quid pro quo, the Agreement provided for the installation of a head regulator, the main part of the reservoir regulating the water flow, at the Tanakpur Barrage with a capacity of , and required India to construct a canal to deliver of water to Nepal. India was also required to provide 10 million kWh of energy to Nepal free of charge. The Tanakpur Project was commissioned in April 1993. But the seething discontent entrenched for nearly five years in Nepal on benefits agreed to be provided by India to Nepal under the agreement of 1991 continued till the Mahakali Treaty between the two countries for the integrated development of water resources on the Mahakali River was signed on 12 February 1996. The Mahakali Treaty has subsumed the regime established by the Sharda Treaty, has validated the controversial Tanakpur Agreement, and endorsed the idea of a new multipurpose project – The Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) – the details of which, are being worked out. As per the Treaty, Nepal is now entitled to an annual supply of 70 million kWh of energy from Tanakpur HEP on a continuous basis, free of cost, from the effective date of the Mahakali Treaty. For this purpose, India also agreed to construct a 132 kV transmission line all the way to the Indo-Nepalese border from the Tanakpur Power Station. There is provision for the supply of of water for the irrigation of Dodhara Chandni area. India has also agreed to construct a road linking Tanakpur to Nepal's East–West highway.
Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) & Purnagiri Re-regulating Dam (Indo–Nepal) In compliance of the Treaty provisions mentioned above, the scope of Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) is being actively discussed and defined by Nepal and India to enable finalisation of the Detailed Project Report. The proposed project, which straddles the border that lies along the median point of the river, envisages a 293 m high rock fill dam (to be the largest rock fill dam in the world), just downstream of the confluence of the Mahakali and Sarju river, having a live storage capacity of 9.24 BCM and a dead storage capacity of 2.15 BCM. In the project area, the river forms the border between India and Nepal, dividing the Sudurpashchim Province province of Nepal from the Uttarakhand State in India. The PMP also envisages a re-regulating dam for which two alternatives at Purnagiri (1020 MW) and Rupaligad (500 MW) have been considered, to hold the waters passing through the turbines and provide regulated back season release to irrigate designated commands in Nepal and India. Two power stations are projected, one on either bank, with an overall installed peaking capacity, between 5,500 and 6,480 MW at 20 per cent load factor. As per the Treaty principles both sides are committed to design and operate the project as a single, integrated scheme to yield, "the maximum total net benefits accruing to them". The power benefit is to be assessed on the basis of saving in costs as compared with the relevant alternatives available. As per the Treaty "equal entitlement in the utilisation of the waters of the Mahakali River "without prejudice to their respective existing consumptive uses" is also planned to be ensured from the PMP.
Chameliya Hydroelectric Project Chameliya Hydroelectric Project, in Nepal (in the Far Western Development Region), a daily peaking run-off-river (PROR) scheme with an installed capacity of 30 MW, has been taken up for construction during January 2007. The Project lies about 950 km west of Kathmandu on Chameliya river, a tributary of Mahakali river in Darchula district. The Main features of the Project are 54 m high concrete dam, 4.06 km long headrace tunnel, surge tank, penstocks and semi- underground powerhouse with two units of each 15.3 MW vertical shaft Francis turbines. The generated power from the Project will be evacuated through 131 km long 132 kV transmission line, connecting Attariya Substation at Kailali district.
Tourism
National parks in the basin
Notable national parks are Shuklaphanta National Park in Nepal and Dudhwa National Park in India. Shuklaphanta National Park was established in 1976 as a wildlife reserve and covers an area of in Kanchanpur District, Far-Western Region, Nepal. The protected area supports a wide range of nationally and globally important biodiversity, including 46 mammal species.