Cyclone and Storm Surge - Iczmpwb.org

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receive, at least during the rains, a share of the Damodar flood, which had one of its outfalls into the
Hooghly near Kalna till 1660 and near Noaserai till about the middle of the 18th Century, both the
places being above the offtake of the Jamuna at Tribeni.
Erection of embankments by the owners of local fisheries, construction of locks etc., premature and
reclamation by raising marginal embankments within the spill area spelt disaster for the river.
Excavation of the Circular canal in 1830, New Cut canal in 1859, construction of Dhapa lock in 1883
and Bhangar Khal lock at Bamangola in 1898 accelerated the deterioration of the river. Finally
excavation of the Kristopur canal in 1910 sealed its fate by cutting off a large part of its basin area,
thereby reducing the upland discharge as well as the spill area. The rate of deterioration can be
gauged from the following statement of cross-sectional area of the river channel.
Table 3-2. Cross-Sectional Area of Bidhyadhari River Channel
Year 1883 1904 1917 1926 1936
Cross-sectional area (sq. ft.) 1 3674* 9702* 4700* 2440** 363**
Equivalent area sq. m. 1270.4 901.2
* Below 8.7 RL
** Below 9.75 RL
Hunter's Statistical Account of Bengal (1875) describes the Bidhyadhari river as follows: “The
Bidyadhari is a large river with a very circuitous course in the district, it flows from the Sunderbans in
the east, northwards past Harua (present day Haroa), where it takes the nake of the Harua Gang,
after which it takes a bend to the west and joined by the Nona Khal; it then flows south-west to the
junction of the Baliaghata and Tolly's Canals, and afterwards takes a south-easterly direction to the
town of Canning. Here it is joined by the Karatoya and the Atharabanka, the united streams flow
southwards through the Sunderbans as the Matla River, debouching upon the Bay of Bengal under
that name.”
L.S.S.O' Malley's Bengal District Gazetters, 24 Parganas, 1914 further states: “The portion of the
Bidhyadhari near Calcutta which at present serves as an outfall channel for the storm water and
sewage of the city, has for some years past been silting up at a rapidly increasing rate. The
acceleration of the silting process is attributed mainly to works in connection with local fisheries and
to the reclamation of portions of the Salt Water Lakes for rice cultivation, the effect being to decrease
the spill of water from the river over the adjoining land and consequently, to increase the deposit of
silt in the river bed. Other contributory causes have been the construction of the Dhapa lock, the
closing of tributaries in each of which the tide used to flow and ebb freely, and the canalization of the