Karnaphuli ( bn, কর্ণফুলি ''Kôrnophuli''; also spelt Karnafuli), or Khawthlangtuipui (in Mizo, meaning "western river"), is the largest and most important river in Chattogram and the Chattogram Hill Tracts. It is a wide river in the south-eastern part 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 ...

. Originating from the Saithah village of

Mamit district Mamit district is one of the eleven districts of Mizoram state in India. Mamit is located at the western part of Mizoram. It shares an international border with Bangladesh, divided by the Sajek river. Mamit district has a very significance in t ...

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...

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 ...

, it flows southwest through Chattogram Hill Tracts and Chattogram into 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 ...

. Before 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 ...

, it was the fastest flowing river in Bangladesh. It is said to "represent the drainage system of the whole south-western part of Mizoram." Principal tributaries include the Kawrpui River or Thega River, Tuichawng River and Phairuang River. A large hydroelectric power plant using Karnaphuli river was built in the Kaptai region during the 1960s. The mouth of the river hosts the Port of Chattogram, the largest and busiest seaport of Bangladesh.

Etymology

The presence of Arab traders and merchants in the

history of Chittagong The region of Chittagong is traditionally centred around its seaport which has existed since ancient times. The region was home to the ancient independent Buddhist kingdoms of Samatata and Harikela. It later fell under of the rule of the Gupta ...

led to many areas in Chittagong to have names of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

origin. The name of this river is thought to have come from ''qarnaful'', the Arabic word for clove, and refers to an incident in which an Arab ship full of cloves sank in this river.

Chittagong City

Chittagong is situated on the banks of the Karnaphuli River between the

Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...

and the

. The city is a noteworthy seaside seaport city and monetary focus in southeastern Bangladesh. The Chittagong Metropolitan Area has a populace of more than 8.9 million, making it the second biggest city in Bangladesh. It is the capital of an eponymous locale and division. A water treatment plant has been set up by

Chittagong Port Authority Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is a government agency of Bangladesh responsible for the management, maintenance and governance of the country's major port of Chittagong, located in the city of Chittagong on the Karnaphuli River nine nautical m ...

to source water from the Karnaphuli river for its uses. The plant will make the port self-reliant in its water needs.

Tlabung

Tlabung is situated on the banks of the Karnaphuli River in

Lunglei district Lunglei district is one of the eleven districts of Mizoram state in India. As of 2011 it is the second most populous district in the state, after Aizawl. It is also the largest district in Mizoram with an area of 4,572 km2(1,765 sq mi). To ...

. Karnaphuli River links Mizoram with the port cit of Chittagong on the shores of

. British Troops and missionaries used this route to reach Mizoram during the Colonial days. It used to take 5 days to reach from Chittagong to Tlabung on a motorboat, a distance of about 90 kilometers after which they would travel another 35 kilometers to reach

Lunglei Lunglei (Pron: /ˈlooŋgˌleɪ/) is a town, situated in the south-central part of Mizoram state, northeastern India. Lunglei, literally meaning 'bridge of rock' got its name from a bridge like rock found in the riverine area around Nghasih - a ...

Transportation

The Government has awarded a contract to build a two lane Karnaphuli tunnel underneath the Karnaphuli river to China Communication Construction Company (CCCC). This will be the first underwater tunnel in Bangladesh. CCCC will receive $706 million for its services with total costs expected to be over $1 billion.

Aquatic life

The river is home to

Ganges river dolphin The Ganges river dolphin (''Platanista gangetica'') is a species of toothed whale classified in the family Platanistidae. It lives in the Ganges and related rivers of South Asia, namely in the countries of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is rel ...

, which is an endangered species.

Hilsa The ilish (''Tenualosa ilisha'') ( bn, ইলিশ, translit=iliś; also known as the ilishi, hilsa, hilsa herring or hilsa shad, is a species of fish related to the herring, in the family Clupeidae. It is a very popular and sought-after food ...

used to be common in the river, but have nearly disappeared from the river due to pollution.

Kaptai dam

The

Kaptai Dam Kaptai Dam ( bn, কাপ্তাই বাঁধ) is on the Karnaphuli River at Kaptai, upstream from Chittagong in Rangamati District, Bangladesh. It is an earth-fill embankment dam with a reservoir (known as Kaptai Lake) water storage ca ...

is the location of the Karnafuli Hydroelectric Power Station, constructed in Kaptai in 1962 and the only

hydro-electric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

power plant in the country. An earth-filled dam on the Karnaphuli River, the Kaptai Dam created the Kaptai Lake, which acts as the water reservoir for the hydropower station. The power plant produces a total of 230 megawatts of electricity. When then east Pakistan built the dam, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru didn't object even though it resulted in part of Indian side getting submerged and inflow of more than 40000 refugees.

Pollution

Like many rivers in Bangladesh, Karnaphuli is heavily polluted by agricultural runoff. Reducing the amount of oxygen available and harming aquatic life in the river. In 2015, a train carrying oil crashed over a tributary of the river. The spill caused environmental degradation.

Gallery

Boat on Karnafuli 001.JPG, Boat on Karnaphuli River Karnaphuli nodi (2586368687).jpg, View of the river Ships at Karnaphuli River (1).jpg, Ships at Karnaphuli River Karnaphuli River at night (01).jpg,

Port of Chittagong The Chittagong Port ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর) is the main seaport of Bangladesh. Located in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong and on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the port handles over 90 percent of Bangladesh's ...

and Karnaphuli River at night

References

{{coord, 22, 13, N, 91, 48, E, display=title, region:BD_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of Bangladesh Rivers of Mizoram Rivers of India Rivers of Chittagong Division International rivers of Asia