The rivers of West Bengal

Briefly describe the hill rivers of West Bengal. Or, introduce the rivers and streams fed by ice meltwater of West Bengal.

Northern Uttaranchal or hilly region or Uttarbanga Rivers:

● Teesta (315 km): The major river of the Darjeeling Himalayas, the Teesta originates from the Jemu Glacier in Sikkim and flows first through Sikkim and then through Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts of West Bengal to join the Yamuna in Bangladesh. The rivers Baro Rangit, Riang, Rangpo, Rilli, etc. are tributaries of Teesta. It is called the 'River of Terror' because of its terrible floods during the monsoons.

● Torsa (about 320 km): The Torsa originates in the Chungi Valley of China's Tibet and flows into Bhutan as the Amuchu. It flows south through the Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts of North Bengal. The river joins the Kaljani River and joins the Yamuna in Bangladesh. Torsa has two tributaries – Kaljani and Halong.

● Mahananda (about 360 km): Originates from the Paglajhora spring in the Mahaldhiram mountains of the Darjeeling Himalayas and flows first south and then southwest, after flowing through central Bihar, it enters Malda in West Bengal and finally joins the Padma River in Bangladesh. Its main tributaries are Balasan and Mechi.

● Jaldhaka (about 192 km): The Jaldhaka River originates from Bidang Lake in the Sikkim-Bhutan border hills and flows through Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts of West Bengal to join the Yamuna River in Bangladesh. Its tributaries are Naxalkhola, Mujnai, Dayna, Dudugdha, Bikhola Bindu Khola, etc.

Characteristics of Rivers-

1) Most of the rivers in this region are formed by glaciers or springs.

2) The rivers are mainly south and southeast.

3) The rivers are fed by glacial water and are perennial. 

4) The rivers are very arid and suitable for hydropower generation. 

5) The channel of the rivers is very deep and 'V-shaped. 

6) Most of the rivers are tributaries of the Yamuna River in Bangladesh. 

7) Rivers are prone to flooding. 

8) Since none of the rivers here flow directly into the sea, there are no tides in the rivers.

Briefly describe the rivers of central West Bengal.

Rivers of North Madhyamalaya: 

● Ganga River (520 km): From Gangotri Glacier Gomukh Caves the Ganga river started her journey.

The Ganges River originates from the main river of West Bengal. Although the Ganga River flows through a very little part of West Bengal. From Mithipur village in Murshidabad district, Ganga divides into two branches, one branch named the Padma flows into Bangladesh and falls into the Bay of Bengal, and the other branch named Bhagirathi-Hooghly falls into the Bay of Bengal near Sagardwip.

● Bhagirathi-Hooghly River: Bhagirathi-Hooghly is the main river of the Ganga delta plain region in West Bengal. This tributary river of Ganga from Swarupganj in Nadia to the Bay of Bengal is known as Hooghly River and the remaining part is known as Bhagirathi-Hooghly.

Other rivers in the region are divided into a right bank tributary of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river and b left bank tributary of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river.

a) Right Bank Tributaries of Bhagirathi-Hooghly River: The right bank or west bank tributaries of Bhagirathi Hooghly River are Damodar, Rupnarayana, Mayurakshi, Ajay, Dwarkeshwar, Haldi, Brahmani, Shilavati, Kansavati or Kansai, etc. The confluence of the Kangsavati and Keleghai rivers is known as the Haldi river and the confluence of the Shilavati and Dwarkeshwar rivers is known as the Rupnarayana river.

>> Features: Nourished by monsoon water; in summer the river has almost no water or dries up, And excess water flow during monsoons often causes flooding.

b) left bank tributaries of Bhagirathi-Hooghly River: Bhagirathi is the main tributary of the left bank or east bank of Hooghly River. Jalangi and Churni. In addition, some branches; For example – the Mathabhanga tributary of Padma and the Mathabhanga tributary Kalindi, Ichamati, and Bhagirathi tributary Vidyadhari flow here. Apart from this, some parts of the Malta and Piali rivers flow here.

Characteristics: Predominantly fed on saline water; And most of the rivers are dead or muddy due to silt accumulation; And because the depth of the river valley is less, it floods during monsoon.

Give a brief description of the rivers of the southern part of West Bengal. OR, Write the characteristics of tidal-fed rivers of West Bengal.

Southern rivers:

● Rivers of Sundarbans or Active Alluvial Region - Malta, Piyali, Gosaba, Vidyadhari, Thakura, Raimangal, Kalindi, Saptamukhi etc.

> Characteristics: The rivers of this region are south-flowing.

● The rivers are connected to each other through creeks. And their source is hard to trace. As the rivers are fed by tidal water, their upper reaches are dried up by the pull of tides. And the water of the rivers is salty. 3 Rivers are less in length. These are the lower reaches of the main river. Their speed is low and the bank is low.

River Rasulpur of Kanthi Baliadi region, Yatra,

Pichavani, Champa etc.

> Characteristics: • Rivers are almost dead i.e. almost stagnant. And these are evil currents. So there is no water throughout the year. And the amount of water is less. Rivers have essentially become sea inlets.

Briefly describe the rivers of the plateau region of West Bengal. Or, introduce the rain-fed rivers of West Bengal.

Western Basin or Western Plateau and Red Zone:

Major major rivers------

● Damodar (592 km): Damodar Plateau originates from the Khamarpat Hills in the Palamau district of Jharkhand.

It flows through and falls into the Hooghly River. Its main tributary is Mundeswari and its tributaries are Bokaro and Barakar. As this river used to flood in the past, it was called 'Bengal Dukha' or 'River of Misery'.

● Ajay (276 km): Ajay originates in the Chotonagpur plateau and flows through the border of West Burdwan and Birbhum to join the Bhagirathi near Katwa. Hello, a tributary of Coonoor.

● Mayurakshi (241 km): This river originates from the Trikoot Hills in Santal Pargana of Jharkhand and flows into the Bhagirathi crossing Birbhum district. Its tributaries are• 

● Kansavati or Kasai (336 km): From Ayodhya Hills, the river starts her journey.

After rising, the Kansavati flows through Purulia and Bankura and enters Jhargram, and divides into two branches. One of its branches joins the Rupnarayan and the other branch joins the Keleghai river and falls into the Hooghly river under the name Haldi. One of its tributaries is the Kumari.

● Subarnarekha (477 km): Originating from the Chhotonagpur plateau region of Jharkhand, this river flows through a small area of ​​the plateau region of West Bengal and falls into the Bay of Bengal.

● Dwarkeshwar: Rises from the Talabani Hills in Purulia and joins the Shilavati or Shilai river near Ghatal in West Medinipur.

● Rupnarayan (138 km): Dwarkeshwar and Shilavati or Shilai rivers meet near Midnipur Ghatal to form Rupnarayan. The river flows southeast and joins the Hooghly river near Gaonkhali.