The Kaladan River ( my, ကုလားတန်မြစ်, ; also Kysapnadi, Beino, Bawinu and Kolodyne) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

in eastern Mizoram State of

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 ...

, and in

Chin State Chin State (, ) is a state in western Myanmar. The Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, Bangladesh to the south-west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to the west and Ma ...

and

Rakhine State Rakhine State (; , , ; formerly known as Arakan State) is a state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region to the east, the Bay of Ben ...

of western

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. The Kaladan River is called the Chhimtuipui River in India.Still under construction[, The Statesman. It forms the international border between India and Burma between 22° 47′ 10" N (where its tributary, the Tiau River
, joins it) and 22° 11′ 06" N.NF 46-7 "Gangaw, Burma"
U.S. Army Map Service topographic map 1:250,000, 1954, first printing April 1958

History

Kaladan was an entry point to Mizoram from the seaport of

Sittwe Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers empt ...

in 1904. Kaladan is Mizoram's largest river and it flows through its southeastern region.

Geography

The river arises in central Chin State as the Timit, , and flows south and is soon joined by the Chal, after which it is known as the Boinu River. It continues south until just before it is joined by the Twe River at 22° 08′ 40″ N 93° 34′ 30″ E, when it swings west. It continues west until 22° 05′ 20″ N 93° 14′ 12″ E, when it heads northwest. At 22° 11′ 06″ N 93° 09′ 29″ E, below Mount Phabipa, it turns north and becomes the international border between India and Myanmar. It flows north to 22° 47′ 09″ N 93° 05′ 47″ E, where the international border continues north along the Tyao River, and the Boinu heads northwest into Mizoram State, at which point it is known as the Kaladan. At 22° 56′ 21″ N 92° 58′ 55″ E it reaches its northernmost point, and turns south west, is joined by the Tuichong River from the right and then heads south.NF 46-6 "Chittagong, Pakistan"
U.S. Army Map Service topographic map 1:250,000, 1955, first printing March 1960 The Kaladan is joined from the right by the Mat River at 22° 43′ 39″ N, 92° 54′ 46″ E. It continues south and is joined by the Kawrthingdeng River from the right. It again enters Chin State, at Raithaw Ferry, 22° 03′ 40″ N 92° 51′ 05″ E, just northwest of Khenkhar. The Mi River joins from the left at 21° 06′ 56″ N 92° 57′ 42″ E. At Ngame the river enters the Rakhine State of Myanmar and continues south to

where it enters the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...

Development

At present, the Kaladan is the fifth largest river in the world that is completely unfragmented by

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s anywhere in its

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

, behind only the Fly,

Mamberamo The Mamberamo (''Indonesian: Sungai Mamberamo'') is the second longest river on the island of New Guinea, after Sepik River (1,146 km) and third largest in Oceania by discharge (5,500 m3/s) volume after Fly River (7,500 m3/s) and Sepik (7,000 m3/ ...

and

Sepik The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the second largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun (formerly West Se ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and the

Pechora Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; kv, Печӧра, ''Pećöra'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Pechora River, west of and near the northern Ural Mountains. The area of the town is . Population: History Pechora was ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. Nonetheless, the governments of India and Myanmar are working on a US$500 million, ''

Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project The Kaladan Road Project is a US$484 million project connecting the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State, Myanmar by sea. In Myanmar, it will then link Sittwe seaport to Paletwa in Chin State via the Kaladan ri ...

'' that will facilitate trade between the two nations. The project includes the construction of the US$120 million deepwater Sittwe Port at the mouth of the river, dredging of the Kaladan River to enable cargo vessels to navigate the river from Sittwe to Mizoram, the construction of a river port at Paletwa, as well as the widening and upgrade of highways between Paletwa and Myeikwa on the Indo-Myanmar border. India undertook the development of the 158 km river boat route from

seaport to the Inland Water Terminal (IWT) and hydropower project at Paletwa jetty via the Kaladan River in

.India awards road contract to complete Kaladan project in Myanmar
Business Line, 9 June 2017. River dredging and a jetty upgrade were completed in June 2017.
/ref> There is at least one river lock for navigation.India's connectivity to Myanmar
The project will open up not only Mizoram but all of India's northeastern states as hinterland for the Sittwe Port. Construction for the port started in 2010 and is expected to be completed by mid-2020. Development of the river is also being negotiated with the Shwe Gas Project for economic enhancement

References

External links

"Boinu Hydroelectric Project (640 MW)"
Ministry of Power, Government of India
Kaladan.com - news covering Indo-Myanmar Kaladan project
{{Rakhine State, state=collapsed Rivers of Myanmar Rivers of Mizoram International rivers of Asia India–Myanmar border Bay of Bengal Rakhine State Sittwe Rivers of India

History

Geography

Development

See also

References

External links