Abstract
The Bhagirathi–Hugli River is a branch of the Ganga which receives seven tributaries and having a combined catchment area covering 66,000 km2. These tributaries are replenished by rainwater during the four monsoon months and remain almost dry during the non-monsoon months. But the lower catchments of these rivers are plains and prone to recurrent floods. Even after embanking and building of reservoirs across many rivers, the floods have not been regulated. The Damodar which was earlier described as ‘Sorrow of Bengal’ and tamed both by embankment and dam/reservoir continues to imperil its lower catchment by recurrent floods.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Bagchi K, Mukherjee KN (1979) Diagnostic Survey of Rarh Bengal. Dept. of Geography, University of Calcutta, India
Bhattacharya K (2002) Damodar: Bandth Nirmaner Ekal O Sekal (in Bengali), (Damdar: Dam Building in Modern Times and Early Days), Pratiti; Edited by Rahul Ray. Chuchura, Hugli
Biswas A (1981) The Decay of Irrigation and Cropping in West Bengal (1850-1925). Cressida Trans 1(1):00001
Biswas, A. (1988) To live with flood: the case of West Bengal. Paper presented in the international symposium on river bank erosion, flood and population displacement. Jahangir Nagar University, Dhaka
Chapman GP, Rudra K (2007) Water as foe, water as friend: lessons from Bengal’s millennium flood. J South Asian Development 2(1):19–49
Govt. of West Bengal (1989) River Systems of West Bengal
Govt. of West Bengal (2011) Unpublished base paper related to the activities of the newly constituted Flood Control Commission
Rennell J (1780) A Bengal Atlas. (Rudra K, 2016) (ed). Sahaitya Samsad, Kolkata
Rudra K (2001) Nimno Damodar Abobahikar Bonya O Nikashi Samasya: DVC-r safalya O Byarthota (Flood and drainage problem of the lower damodar basin: success and failure of DVC). Pratiti; Edited by Rahul Ray. Chuchura, Hugli
Rudra K (2008) Banglar Nadikatha (in Bengali). Sahitya Samsad, Kolkata
Rudra K (2012) Atlas of Changing River Courses in West Bengal. Sea Explorers’ Institute, Kolkata
Saha M (2008) Rarh Banglar Duranto Nadi Damodar (in Bengali). Laser Art, Sreerampur, Hooghly
Saha MN (1933) Need for a Hydraulic Research Laboratory. Reprinted (1987) in Collected Works of Meghnad Saha. Orient Longman, Calcutta
Saha MN, Ray KS (1944) ‘Planning for Damodar Valley’. Science and Culture, 10 (20) Reprinted (1987) in Collected Works of Meghnad Saha. Orient Longman, Calcutta
Van Leenen (1726) New map of kingdom of Bengal
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rudra, K. (2018). The Western Tributaries to the Bhagirathi–Hugli River. In: Rivers of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta. Geography of the Physical Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76544-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76544-0_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-76543-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-76544-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)