Jamuna , Janai

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Jamuna , Janai

Name given to the lower section of the Brahmaputra, in Eastern Bengal and Assam, from its entrance into Bengal in 25 degree 24' N. and 89 degree 41' E., to its confluence with the Ganges in 23 degree 50' N. and 89 degree 45' E. Its course is almost due south, extending approximately for a length of 121 miles. This channel is of comparatively recent formation. When Major Rennell compiled his map of Bengal towards the close of the eighteenth century, the main stream of the Brahmaputra flowed in a south-easterly direction across the District of Mymensingh, past the civil station of Naslrabad, to join the Meghna just below Bhairab Bazar. Some thirty years later, at the time of Buchanan Hamilton's survey, this channel had already .become of secondary importance; and at the present time, though it still bears the name of Brahmaputra, it has dwindled to a mere watercourse, navigable only during the rainy season. The Jamuna is now the main stream, and it extends from near Ghora- mara in Rangpur District to the river mart of Goalundo in Faridpur, situated at the junction with the main stream of the Ganges.

Along the left or east bank stretches the District of Mymensingh, and on the right or west bank lie Rangpur, Bogra, and Pabna, all in the Rajshahi Division. Although a modern creation, the Jamuna thus serves as an important administrative boundary. In the portion of its course which fringes Bogra District, it is locally known as the Daokoba or . hatchet-cut,' perhaps to distinguish it from the Jamuna (1) in that District. It runs through a low-lying country, formed out of its own loose alluvial sands, which afford the most favourable soil for jute cultivation. At some points its channel swells during the rainy season to a breadth of four or five miles, broken by frequent chars or sandbanks, which form, are washed away, and re-form year after year, according to the varying incidence of the current The chief river mart on the Jamuna" is Sirajganj in Pabna District The Jamuna is navigable throughout its entire length, at all seasons of the year, by native craft of the largest burden, and also by the river steamers that ply to Assam.