Question

Choose the correct statement(s) regarding the Damodar River system:

1. It is called the ‘Biological Desert’ due to industrial pollution.

2. It flows through a rift valley.

• A. 1 only
• B. 2 only
• C. Both 1 and 2
• D. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Both 1 and 2

• Correct Answer: Option C - Both 1 and 2

• Biological Desert: The Damodar River is indeed called the "Biological Desert" or "Sorrow of Bengal" due to severe industrial pollution. The river flows through major industrial and mining regions in Jharkhand and West Bengal, including coal mines and steel plants. The heavy discharge of industrial effluents, mine waste, and ash from thermal power plants has severely degraded its water quality, killing aquatic life and earning it this unfortunate nickname.

• Rift Valley: The Damodar River flows through what is geologically classified as a rift valley. This valley was formed by the subsidence of land between parallel faults or cracks in the earth's crust. The Damodar Valley is part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau region and represents a graben (a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults).