The Hinglo River (also spelt Hinglow) is a tributary of the

Ajay River Ajay (/ˈədʒɑɪ/) is a river which flows through the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The catchment area of Ajay River is . See also List of rivers of India This is a list of rivers of India, starting in the west and movin ...

in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

s of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

and

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 ...

Course

The Hinglo has its source in

Santhal Parganas Santhal Pargana division constitutes one of the five district administration units known as the divisions of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Origin of name Santhal Pargana derives its name from two words: " Santhal", a major tribe of India ...

, runs parallel to the Ajay for some distance and flows into it a little after Bhimgarh, actually near Palashdanga village,

Birbhum district Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other imp ...

. It has a watershed area of .

Irrigation and floods

A dam across the Hinglo provides irrigation in the areas between the Ajay and the Kopai but environmentalists also blame the dam for floods. Hinglo dam has a capacity of . However, as a result of improper management of water resources for canal irrigation, the bed of the river has risen and the canals have become derelict. Moreover, the dam is silted up. During the last phase of the monsoon season when excessive rainfall occurs the dam cannot take in all the water and so much of it is released. This surplus water becomes voluminous and overflows the bank of the river and canals. The side embankments are not constructed perfectly everywhere, and the weak points are breached to cause flood. Flood waters can not always find passage to be drained out quickly causing water logging.

References

Rivers of West Bengal Rivers of Jharkhand {{India-river-stub