Madhumati

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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.

Madhumati

One of the principal distributaries of the Ganges in Bengal and Eastern Bengal and Assam, which leaves the parent stream near Kushtia, in Nadia District, in 23" 55' X. and 89° 9' E., where it is called the Garai. Thence flowing south it assumes the name of Madhumati. It enters Backergunge District near the north- west corner at Gopalganj ; and from this point it takes the name of Baleswar, and forms the western boundary of the District, still flowing south, but with great windings in its upper reaches.

It then crosses the Sundarbans, separating the Khulna from the Backergunge portion of that tract, and enters the Bay of Bengal, after a course of 230 miles, in 21'^ 52' N. and Sg*^ 59' E., under the name of Haringhata, forming a fine deep estuary 9 miles broad. The river is navigable to opposite Morrelganj in the District of Khulna by sea-going ships, and throughout its entire course by native boats of the largest tonnage. Although there is a bar at the mouth of the Haringhata with only 1 7 feet of water at low tide, the navigation is easier than that of any other river at the head of the Bay of Bengal. The great banks or shoals which have formed at each side of the mouth and which extend seaward for several miles protect the entrance, and act as breakwaters to the swell. The river is not disturbed by the ' bore,' which visits the Hooghly and the Meghna, and it is also free from mid-channel dangers. Among its chief tributaries are the Kacha in Backergunge ; the Kalia or Gangni river, which receives a portion of the waters of the Nabaganga through the Bankarnali in Jessore : and the Bhairab in Khulna.