Dams

West Bengal Rivers Profile

About West Bengal 

Area: 88752km2; 20 districts; Population- > 91 million Topography: Mountains, Plateaus and Plains.

About West Bengal Rivers

The state of West Bengal, a land of many rivers, covers an area of about 88,752 km2 and is the home of more than 90 million populations as per census of 2011. The Ganga divides the state into two unequal hubs: the North and South Bengal. The state has been divided into 20 districts, the seven districts are within North Bengal and remaining 13 districts are in South Bengal. West Bengal is the only state of India that extends from the Himalaya in the north to Bay of Bengal in south. It offers wide topographic diversity and intricate drainage network of 29 basins. The south Bengal can further be subdivided into two geographical units taking Bhagirathi-Hugli river (the western distributary of the Ganga) as the demarcating line. The western part is called Rarh Bengal and the eastern part is described deltaic Bengal. The rivers of West Bengal have been divided into five groups: i) the rivers of North Bengal; ii) the Ganga-Padma system; iii) the Bhagirathi- Jalangi-Churni system; iv) the western tributaries to Bhagirathi and v) the tidal creeks of Sundarban.

west bengal rivers

River Basins 

The Central Pollution Control Board and West Bengal Pollution Control Board have identified different stretches of 17 rivers as polluted based on BOD load. The fecal coliform count in most of the rivers were found above threshold limit.

Polluted River Stretches in West Bengal
Priori ty Criteria WB Status
I Monitoring locations exceeding BOD concentration 30 mg/l has been considered as the standard of sewage treatment plant and in river it appears without dilution. (River locations having water quality exceeding discharge standards for BOD to fresh water sources). NIL
II Monitoring locations having BOD between 20-30 mg/l. NIL
III Monitoring locations having BOD between 10-20 mg/l. 4
IV Monitoring locations having BOD between 6-10 mg/l. 2
V Monitoring locations having BOD between 3-6 mg/l. 11
Sl. River Stretch Identified Towns / Urban Agglomerates Identified Stretch Length (In Km) Priority Level
1. Barakar Kulti To Asansol Chittaranjan, Kulti, Burnpur, Asansol 20 V
2. Churni Santipur Town To Majhadia Ranaghat 30 III
3. Damodar Durgachakm To Dishergarh Vill Udayanarayanpur, Bagnan, Durgapur, Asansol 200 IV
4. Dwarakeshwar Bankura To Kushtia Bankura 20 V
5. Dwarka Tarapith To Sadhak Bamdeb Ghat Chandipur, Tarapith, Bishnupur, Margram 50 III
6. Ganga Tribeni To Diamond Harbour Berhampore Kanchrapara, Hooghly, Naihati, Chandannagar, Bhatpara, Barrackpore, Baranagar, 50 V
Sl. River Stretch Identified Towns / Urban Agglomerates Identified Stretch Length (In Km) Priority Level
      Kolkata, Howrah, , Palta, Dakshineswar, Uluberia    
7. Jalangi Laal Dighi To Krishna Nagar Krishnanagar, Chapra 20 IV
8. Kaljani Bitala To Alipurdwar Hamiltonganj, Alipurduar 30 V
9. Kansi Midnapore To Ramnagar Medinipur 25 V
10. Karola Jalpaiguri To Thakurer Kamat Jalpaiguri 50 V
11. Mahananda Siliguri To Binaguri Siliguri 50 V
12. Mathabhanga Madhupur To Gobindapur Majhdia, Krishnaganj, Durgapur, Swarnakali 80 III
13. Mayurkashi Suri To Durgapur Suri, Sainthia 95 V
14. Rupnarayan Kolaghat To Benapur Bagnan, Kolaghat, Tamluk 20 V
15. Silabati Ghatal To Nischindipur Ghatal, Nischindipur 25 V
16. Teesta Siliguri To Paharpur Jalpaiguri, Siliguri 10 V
17. Vidhadhari

(Tidal)

Haroa Bridge To Malancha Burning Ghat Haroa, Minakhan, Malancha 15 III

A report by Dr. Kalyan Rudra (rudra.kalyan@gmail.com)

You may also like to see Rajasthan Rivers Profile

NOTES:-

  • This report was commissioned for India Rivers Week 2016. 
  • The report is a short description, for detailed report kindly explore the link West Bengal Rivers
  • West Bengal Rivers Profile can also be seen on India Rivers Week blog 

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