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UPSC Prelims 2010 · Indian Geography · Rivers, Lakes and Dams
Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched? Dam/Lake — River
- (a) Govind Sagar — Satluj
- (b) Kolleru Lake — Krishna
- (c) Ukai Reservoir — Tapi
- (d) Wular Lake — Jhelum
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (b) Kolleru Lake — Krishna
Not correct — Kolleru lies between the Godavari and Krishna deltas and is fed by small streams.
The idea
A reservoir is water impounded on a river, while a natural lake may receive several small streams. A lake between two deltas is not automatically located on either main river. Check the actual drainage connection rather than the nearest major river name.
Why the others are wrong
(a) Correct — Govind Sagar is Bhakra’s reservoir on the Sutlej.
(c) Correct — Ukai is on the Tapi.
(d) Correct — the Jhelum flows through Wular.
The trap
Kolleru lies near the Krishna delta, which makes the pair look right.
Elimination technique
“Between Krishna and Godavari deltas” does not mean “on the Krishna”. Kolleru’s local-stream drainage exposes (b) as the mismatched pair.
Also know
Pong reservoir is on the Beas, and Hirakud is on the Mahanadi. Kolleru drains towards the sea through Upputeru and receives local stream inflow. Chilika is a coastal lagoon in Odisha. Reservoir names such as Gobind Sagar and natural-lake names require different origin checks.
🔒 Kolleru: largest freshwater lake of AP, Ramsar site (2002).
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