The Kushiyara River is a distributary river in

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 mo ...

and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, India. It forms on the India-Bangladesh border as a branch of the

Barak River The Barak River flows through the states of Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam in India. Further it enters Bangladesh where it bifurcates into the Surma river and the Kushiyara river which converges again to become the Meghna river before f ...

, when the Barak separates into the Kushiyara and Surma. The waters that eventually form the Kushiyara originate in the uplands of the state of Assam and pick up tributaries from

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

and

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

. From its origin at the mouth of the Barak, also known as the Amlshid bifurcation point, the Kushiyara flows westward forming the boundary between

, India, and the

Sylhet District Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division. History Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pr ...

of Bangladesh. It flows between the towns of Zakigonj, Sylhet, and Karīmganj, Assam, and after the village of Pānjipuri enters entirely into the Beanibazar Upazila of Bangladesh. It then flows southwestward past the village of Deulgrām in

Kurar Bazar Union Kurar is the pseudonym of a French artist whose work often addresses complex social issues such as post-urbanization, climate change, terrorism, and violence in local and global terms. In his practice, the artist highlights the important ideas and ...

where the river turns southward passing the village of Badepasha, Uttar Bade Pasha Union, Golapganj Upazila, where it again turns southwestward. It is joined from the left (east) by the

Juri River The Juri River is a trans-boundary river in India and Bangladesh. It rises in the Jampui Hills of the Indian state of Tripura. It enters Kulaura Upazila of Maulvi Bazar District of Bangladesh. The Juri Upazila is named after this river. See als ...

Fenchuganj Fenchuganj ( bn, ফেঞ্চুগঞ্জ) is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Etymology There are many theories behind the naming of the upazila. Some say that Fenchuganj is named after Penchu (or Fenchui ...

Bazar. At Beel Pond (Pukhuri Beel) the river turns westward where it flows past the village of Balaganj Bazar in

Balaganj Upazila Balaganj ( bn, বালাগঞ্জ) is an upazila of Sylhet District in Sylhet Division, Bangladesh. Etymology The name Balaganj is derived from the Bengali word ''bala'' meaning 'strength' and the Persian/Bengali word ''ganj'' that mean ...

, then southwestward past the villages of Hamjāpur, Abdullāpur and Manumukh. The river, after being joined from the left (south) by the Manu River (Monu River), flows northwest past the villages of Aorangapur, Tajpur, and Pāilgaon, where it is joined by the small Itakhola River and assumes a westward direction. After the village of Mārkuli the river heads southwest past the village of Pāhārpur to the village of Ajmiriganj Bazar. After that the river forms several braided streams and heads south where it is joined by the

Khowai River Khowai River is a trans-boundary river that originates in the eastern part of the Atharamura Hills of Tripura in India. Geography Flowing north-north-west, it leaves India at Khowai, and enters Bangladesh at Balla in Habiganj District. The ...

from the left (east) and heads southwest where it is rejoined by the Surma (locally known as the Danu River) from the right (north) and becomes the

Meghna River The Meghna River ( bn, মেঘনা নদী) is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, ...

, just north of the town of

Bhairab Bazar Bhairab ( bn, ভৈরব) is a upazila of Kishoreganj District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Joanshahi was another name of Bhairab. The city centre of this upazila is Bhairab Bazaar. About 118,992 people live in Bhairab municipality whi ...

. Altogether, the Kushiyara runs about 160 kilometers. At its deepest during the rainy season the Kushiyara can reach a depth of 10 meters. During the dry season it can appear to dry up almost completely in a few places with the bulk of the load being carried subsurface, such as in the braided stream area south of Ajmiriganj Bazar. In 2022 India and Bangldesh signed an interim water sharing pact with regard to the Kushiyara River.

Notes and references

International rivers of Asia Rivers of Bangladesh Rivers of Nagaland Rivers of Assam Bay of Bengal Sylhet District Distributaries of the Ganges Fenchuganj Upazila Rivers of India Rivers of Sylhet Division {{India-river-stub

See also

Notes and references