The Bhagirathi-Hugli River System

Abstract

The Bhagirathi-Hugli River is the western branch of the Ganga and flows more than 500 km through West Bengal. The Jalangi and the Mathabhanga–Churni are two other offshoots of the Ganga, and those two join the Bhagirathi and Mayapur and Payradanga, respectively. The lower 280 km stretch of the Bhagirathi is tidal and known as the Hugli River. The Bhagirathi remains delinked from the Ganga for about nine months of the year and receives water from 38-km-long feeder canal originating from the Farakka barrage. The river tends to oscillate laterally in its non-tidal regime and has thrown several distributaries in the lower reach. The channels which had been important navigational route during the mediaeval and post-mediaeval period have gone dry. The attempt to resuscitate the Bhagirathi-Hugli River by inducing water through a feeder canal originating from the Farakka barrage has not worked to the level of expectation, and the river is in alarming state of decay.