Buriganga River In Bangladesh

Buriganga River a tide-influenced river passing through west and south of Dhaka City. There is a traditional story behind naming it. In ancient times one course of the ganges used to reach the bay of bengal through dhaleshwari. This course gradually shifted and ultimately lost its link with the main channel of the Ganges and was renamed as the Buriganga. The water levels during high and low tides in this river astonished the Mughals.

The Buriganga originated from the Dhaleshwari near Kalatia. Its average width and depth are 400m and 10m respectively. This river is only 27 km long. The turag has joined the Buriganga at Kamrangirchar of Dhaka City. In fact, the main flow of the Buriganga comes from the Turag. It meets with the Dhaleshwari at munshiganj. The present head of the Buriganga near Chhaglakandi has silted up and opens only during floods, but the lower part is still open throughout the year. The downstream junction with the Dhaleshwari fluctuates from time to time according to changes in the position of the latter river; at present it lies about 3.22 km southwest of Fatullah. Its course by Dhaka is stable, fixed by the resistant clays marking the southern edge of the madhupur tract.

The Buriganga is of great economic importance to Dhaka. It provides river connection by launch and country boats. Large steamers can no longer ascend the river in the dry season. In 1989, a bridge (the Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge) was built over the river for vehicles and pedestrians. In 2001, a second bridge over the river was also built at Babubazar for vehicles and pedestrians.

Water pollution in the River Buriganga is as its highest. The most significant source of pollution appears to be from tanneries in the Hazaribagh area. In the dry season, the dissolved oxygen level becomes very low or non-existent and the river becomes toxic. [Sifatul Quader Chowdhury]