The Jaldhaka River (Pron:/ˌdʒælˈdɑːkə/) ( bn, জলঢাকা নদী), also known as Dichu, a tributary of

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. I ...

is a

trans-boundary river A transboundary river is a river that crosses at least one political border, either a border within a state or an international boundary. Bangladesh has the highest number of these rivers, including two of the world's largest rivers, the Ganges and ...

flowing through

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

with a length of 233 kilometres. It originates from the Bitang Lake (or Kupup Lake) at

Kupup Kupup is a hamlet in the Indian state of Sikkim near the border with China. It lies in a transverse valley below the Dongkya Range, close to the Jelep La pass. A nearby moraine ridge across the valley forms part of the watershed between the Tees ...

, Gangtok District, Sikkim, near the

Jelep La Jelep La (; ) elevation , is a high mountain pass between Sikkim, India and Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is on a route that connects Lhasa to India. The pass is about south of Nathu La and is slightly higher. It was frequently used for t ...

pass below Dongkya Mountain Range. It flows through

Pakyong District Pakyong district is a district in the Indian state of Sikkim, administered from Pakyong. The district was formed in 2021 from three former subdivisions of the East Sikkim district, viz., Pakyong Subdivision, Rangpo Subdivision and Rongli Subdiv ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...

and then passes through forests of

Samtse District Samtse District ( Dzongkha: བསམ་རྩེ་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Bsam-rtse rdzong-khag''; older spelling "Samchi") is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. It comprises two subdistricts (''dungkhags''): ...

where it flows for around 40 Kilometres and than re-enters

at Bindu,

Kalimpong district Kalimpong district is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. Originally known as Dalingkot tehsil, the region was alternatively under the control of Sikkim and Bhutan. In 1865, it was annexed from Bhutan by British India under the Treaty ...

. Further it passes through West Bengal's cities and towns like

Dhupguri Dhupguri is a town and a municipality of Jalpaiguri district near Jaldhaka River in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography General Dhupguri has an average elevation of 80 metres (262 feet), and is a municipality in the Jalpaigur ...

Falakata Falakata is a city and a municipality, lying near Jaldhaka River in the Alipurduar subdivision of the Alipurduar district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Falakata is located at It has an average elevation of 88 m ...

Mathabhanga Mathabhanga is a city along Jaldhaka River and a municipality in Cooch Behar district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Mathabhanga subdivision. Geography Location Mathabhanga is located at . It has an average ...

and flows through Kalimpong,

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is loca ...

and

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in t ...

districts in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. Than the river enters

at Mogolhat,

Lalmonirhat District Lalmonirhat ( bn, লালমনিরহাট জেলা, ''Lalmonirhat Jela'' also ''Lalmonirhat Zila'') is a district, situated at the northern border of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division. Lalmonirhat mahakuma was establishe ...

of Rangpur Division. It is known as

Dharla River The Dharla River ( bn, ধরলা নদী, translit=Dhorola nodi) is a tributary of Brahmaputra which is a trans-boundary river flowing through India, Bhutan and Bangladesh. It originates from Kupup/Bitang lake lying in Pangolakha Wildlife ...

and flows through towns like Kolaghat, Phulbari and Kurigram City and Passes southwards until the Dharla

debouches In hydrology, a debouch (or debouche) is a place where runoff from a small, confined space discharges into a larger, broader body of water. The word is derived from the French verb ''déboucher'' (), which means "to unblock, to clear". The term ...

into the Brahmaputra River at Bagua Anantpur of

Kurigram District Kurigram District ( bn, কুড়িগ্রাম) is a district of Bangladesh in the Rangpur Division. The district is located in northern Bangladesh along the country's border with India. Under Indian rule, the area was organized as a mahakum ...

. Due to the river's wandering over several international borders, only a small length of the river lies in Bangladesh and Bhutan and most of its path lies in India. In some places, this river is also known as Mansai river and Singhimari river.

Geography

Jaldhak or Dichu originates from the Kupup Lake, a small glacial lake in

. It gains volume through the confluence of two other streams near Bindu, viz., Bindu Khola and Dudh Pokhri. The combined stream meet at Bindu to increase the volume of Jaldhaka River, thus forming a riverine boundary with India and Bhutan in the left bank. The main tributaries that join the river on its right bank are the Murti, the Jholung khola, the Naksal Khola, the Sutunga and the Jarda in the lower reach. The Diana, Rehti-Duduya and Mujnai are the main left bank tributaries. Jaldhaka Nakshal

The river flows through the three North Bengal districts of Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Bihar. The entire watershed is the most fertile agricultural zone along with the

Teesta Teesta River is a long river that rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Rangpur, and enters the Bay of Bengal. It drains an area of . In India, it flows through ...

Basin. The upper course is famous for crops like ginger, medicinal herbs and fruits like oranges and pomegranate. The middle course comprising Jalpaiguri district is entirely tea and corn dominated and the lower course is dominated by rice, jute and tobacco. The inter-river formed lands are cultivated with crops like bamboo and mat sticks. In the lower basin, the inter-river lands are cultivated with banana. The river enters Bangladesh at Ghoksadanga district to meet the Brahmaputra or the Jamuna as it is known there.

Floods

River Jaldhaka, along with

River Teesta Teesta River is a long river that rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Rangpur, and enters the Bay of Bengal. It drains an area of . In India, it flows through ...

have created major flooding multiple times in

during

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

season between June to September.

References

External links

Jaldhaka River mapped on OpenStreetMap
{{Coord, 27.0297, N, 88.8747, E, region:BD_type:river_source:wikidata, display=title Rivers of Bangladesh Rivers of Sikkim Rivers of West Bengal International rivers of Asia Rivers of India Rivers of Rangpur Division Rivers of Kalimpong district Tributaries of the Brahmaputra River

Geography

Floods

See Also

References

External links