View source for James and Mary Sands

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This article has been extracted from <br/>

THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/>

OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
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[[Category:India|J]]
[[Category:Places|J]]
''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. ''

=James and Mary Sands=

A dangerous shoal in the Hooghly 
river, Bengal, situated in 22degree 14' N. and 88° 5' E., between the 
confluence of the Damodar and Rupnarayan rivers with the Hooghly. 
The sands are 3 miles long and a third of a mile in width. They 
are so named from the wreck of the ship Royal James and Mary 
which took place on these sands in 1694. The sands occupy the 
centre of the river, leaving channels on either side, known as the 
Eastern and Western Gut ; they are probably due to the diminution of 
the velocity of the current of the main channel, caused by the water 
of the Rupnarayan entering the Hooghly nearly at right angles. 
Various schemes have been suggested for evading this dangerous 
shoal ; and it has more than once been proposed to dig a short canal 
at the back of Hooghly Point so as to avoid the sands, or to construct 
ship canals from the docks to Diamond Harbour or to Canning on the 
Matla river. The problem was examined in 1865 and again in 1895 
by experts, both of whom suggested the construction of walls to train 
the channel into the Western Gut. Neither proposal has been adopted 
by the Port Commissioners, who are at present considering another 
scheme to improve the existing channels by dredging.