Surma-Meghna River System

A Map showing major rivers in Bangladesh including Meghna.

The Surma-Meghna River System is a river complex in South Asia, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest on earth.^{[citation needed]} It rises in the Manipur Hills of northeast India as the Barak River and flows west becoming the Surma River and then flows south as the Meghna River, a total of 946 km (669 km within Bangladesh) to the Bay of Bengal.

Course

Barak

Main article: Barak River

From its source in the Manipur Hills of India, near Mao Songsang, the river is known as the Barak River. Near its source, the river receives a lot of little hill streams, including the Gumti, Howrah, Kagni, Senai Buri, Hari Mangal, Kakrai, Kurulia, Balujhuri, Shonaichhari and Durduria. It flows west through Manipur State, then southwest leaving Manipur and entering Mizoram State.

In Mizoram State the Barak flows southwest then veers abruptly north when joined by a north flowing stream and flows into Assam State where it turns westward again near Lakhipur as it enters the plains. It then flows west past the town of Silchar where it is joined by the Madhura River. After Silchar, it flows for about 30-odd kilometres & near Badarpur, it divides itself into the Surma River and the Kushiyara River and enters Bangladesh. The principal tributaries of the Barak in India are the Jiri, the Dhaleshwari (Tlawng), the Singla, the Longai, the Madhura, the Sonai (Tuirial), the Rukni and the Katakhal.

The depth of river is 15 feet (0.0013 h). 60 hours (710,000 ft) 100 feet (0.0085 h) 90 feet (0.0076 h) 85 feet (0.0072 h)

Surma

Main article: Surma River

After entering into modern Karimganj District in south Assam, Barak divides in two, with the northern branch being called the Surma River and the southern the Kushiyara River. At this point the river enters the Sylhet Depression (or trough) which forms the Surma Basin.^[1]

The Surma is fed by tributaries from the Meghalaya Hills to the north, and is also known as the Baulai River after it is joined by the south-flowing Someswari River.

The Kushiyara receives tributaries from the Sylhet Hills and Tripura Hills to the south, the principal one from the Tripura Hills being the Manu. The Kushiyara is also known as the Kalni River after it is joined by a major offshoot (distributary) from the Surma. When the Surma and the Kushiyara finally rejoin in Kishoreganj District above Bhairab Bazar, the river is known as the Meghna River.

Meghna

Main article: Meghna River

The Meghna is formed inside Bangladesh above Bhairab Bazar by the combination of the Surma and Kushiyara rivers. Down to Chandpur, Meghna is hydrographically referred to as the Upper Meghna. After the Padma joins, it is referred to as the Lower Meghna.

River Meghna from the bridge over the river

In Daudkandi, Comilla, Meghna is joined by the great river Gumti, created by the combination of many streams. This river reinforces Meghna a lot and increases the waterflow considerably. The pair of bridges over Meghna and Gomoty are two of the country's largest bridges.

The name for the largest distributary of the Ganges in Bangladesh is the Padma River. When the Padma joins with the Jamuna River, the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra, and they join with the Meghna in Chandpur District, the result is the Lower Meghna.

After Chandpur, with the combined flow of the Padma and Jamuna, it moves down to the Bay of Bengal in an almost straight line. In the course from Chandpur to the Bay of Bengal, the Meghna splits into a number of little rivers, but the main flow is through the Meghna Estuary.

Near Bhola, just before flowing into the Bay of Bengal, the river divides into two main streams in the Ganges delta and separates an island from both sides of the mainland. The western stream is called Ilsha and the eastern one is called Bamni.

Economics

Notes

1. ^ Mannan, Abdul (2002) "Stratigraphic evolution and geochemistry of the Neogene Surma Group, Surma Basin, Sylhet, Bangladesh" University of Oulu, Oulu, Bangladesh, ISBN 951-42-6710-9

See also

• List of rivers in Bangladesh