Atrai River (also spelt as Atreyee) ( bn, আত্রাই/আত্রেয়ী নদী) flows 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 ...

and northern parts of

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 ...

. In ancient times the river was called Atreyee and finds a mention in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

, one of the two Sanskrit epics of ancient India.. It is linked with Jorapani river, Fuleswari river, and Karatoya River. It originates in Siliguri ward no 40, near baikanthapur forest West Bengal and then after flowing through Dinajpur District of Bangladesh, it enters India again. It passes through

Kumarganj Kumarganj is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Balurghat subdivision of Dakshin Dinajpur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History Dinajpur district was constituted in 1786. In 1947, the Radcliff ...

and Balurghat community development blocks in

Dakshin Dinajpur district Dakshin Dinajpur () or South Dinajpur is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. It was created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur District. The Headquarter (sadar) of the district is at Balurghat. It ...

. The river then renters Bangladesh. It splits into two rivers—the Gabura and the Kankra in Dinajpur district. It crosses the

Barind Tract Barind Tract (alternately called the Varendra Tract in English and Borendro Bhumi in Bengali) is the largest Pleistocene era physiographic unit in the Bengal Basin. It covers most of Dinajpur, Rangpur, Pabna, Rajshahi, Bogra, and Joypurhat dis ...

and flows into

Chalan Beel Chalan Beel ( bn, চলনবিল) is a wetland in the Sirajganj, Natore and Pabna districts of Bangladesh. It is a large inland depression, marshy in character, with rich flora and fauna. Forty-seven rivers and other waterways flow into the ...

. The river serves as a perennial source of

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, even though it is often the cause of flooding in many areas 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 ...

s. Total length of this river is approximately . The maximum depth of the river is .

Early history

The Atrai was formerly one of the greatest rivers of north

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

for it was the main channel by which the waters of the Teesta discharged into the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

. In 1787, however, the Teesta broke away from its ancient bed and cut for itself a new and capacious channel by which it found its way into the Brahmaputra. Since then the Atrai has lost its importance and has now few traces of its former greatness. It enters the district from

Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous division and district. Located on the north bank of the P ...

flowing through the Chalan Beel and falls into the Baral near the village of Nurnagar. Formerly, it used to pursue a course to the south and east after leaving the Chalan Beel till it fell into the Jamuna; but the middle portion of this old channel has been obliterated by the Baral and the Ichhamati, which, taking off from the

Padma The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...

cut across the Atrai and overwhelmed it by copious deposit of silt. The southern portion of the river in this district can still be traced from its junction with the Ichhamati at Boalmari; it then flows through Dulai and Bera thana and falls into the Padma near Ratanganj. This river presents one of the most striking instances of riverine changes in the district of

Pabna Pabna ( bn, পাবনা) is a city of Pabna District, Bangladesh and the administrative capital of the eponymous Pabna District. It is on the north bank of the Padma River and has a population of about . Etymology * According to the histo ...

References

{{coord, 25, 14, 48, N, 88, 46, 32, E, display=title, region:BD_type:river_source:wikimapia Rivers of Bangladesh Rivers of West Bengal Tributaries of the Ganges International rivers of Asia Rivers of India Rivers of Rangpur Division