The Hugli River in Hooghly
The Ganga is one of the three major rivers which constitutes the Great Plain of India through depositional activities. In its lower course, near Dhuliyan in Murshidabad, the Ganga has bifurcated into two channels – one towards the south and another towards the south-east. The southern flow is named 'Bhagirathi' which ends at Bay-of-Bengal near Sagar Island and the other flow is named 'Padma' which meets the Bay-of-Bengal after passing through Bangladesh.
Origins and Naming
According to mythology, Bhagirathi is not a natural river but it was excavated by Bhagirath in the days of Mahabharata [1]. The length of Bhagirathi is 520 kms and it is the western boundary of the world's largest delta. For some unaccountable reason, the name of the river Bhagirathi had been anglicized into 'Hugli' [2]. The name Hugli is derived from hogla (aquatic marshy plant) reeds [3].
"Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore acknowledged some unforgettable evenings at the riverbank in Chandernagore to be among the best moments of his life in a letter he wrote to Shrimati Indira Devi from Shilaidaha." [7]
Geographical Sections
Hugli River has three distinct sections:
- The upper section from the point of bifurcation near Dhuliyan in Murshidabad to its confluence with Jalangi river in Nadia
- The central section from Nadia to the confluence with Rupnarayan
- The lower one up to the sea
The central portion is nearly 193 kms, out of which approximately 80 kms of the river form the eastern boundary of the Hooghly district [4]. The Hugli River carries both the icemelt water from the Himalayas and the rain-fed streams' water from the Chhotangpur Plateau region.
Historical Development
Under government regulation in 1795, the Zilla Burdwan was divided into two parts, each under a separate officer. The northern part was Burdwan and the southern part was Hooghly [5]. Again Howrah was separated from Hooghly in 1843. So the long tract of the Hugli River is accompanying the district at its eastern margin from Guptipara in the north to Bally Khal in the south.
Bandel-Hooghly
The rise of Hooghly coincided with the fall of the Saptagram (Satgaon) port & the progressive silting of the Saraswati river. The location of the Saptagram port coincided roughly with modern Tribeni, near Bandel. The mighty Saraswati had been the main lifeline of the region & trading vessels had plied its waters for centuries, from much before the Europeans came along.
The Bhagirathi (Hugli) river was only a thin stream & was inhabited by the fisherfolk in lonely stretches. That is, until the earthquake of 1505, with its epicentre in Nepal, but which changed the slope of the Bengal basin & the fate of the two rivers. The Saraswati began to silt up, whereas the Bhagirathi was rejuvenated by a fresh flow of waters.
Portuguese Influence
The Portuguese had their base in Satgaon from about 1535, which they called 'Porto Pequeno' (small port). They were the first of the Europeans to arrive & they had carried on a flourishing trade. But gradually, the silting of the Saraswati made it very difficult for big trading vessels to arrive. They had to wait at the estuary for the high tide, to move further inland. The Portuguese began to look elsewhere to set up their base.
The Portuguese settled on a muddy stretch of land along the western bank of the Bhagirathi. The area was wooded with a small bush-like plant, called 'hogla', common in the Gangetic delta & the Sunderbans. Popular conceptions say that the name 'Hooghly' may have been derived from this plant (pronounced 'Ugolim' by the Portuguese).
