Muhuri is a transnational river between

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

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 ...

. Rising in

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

, it flows into Bangladesh where it merges with the Feni near the latter's mouth to 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 ...

. The Muhuri is also known as the Little Feni.

Course of the river

The Muhuri rises in the Lushai Hills of

and flows west into Bangladesh which it enters through the Parshuram upazila of

Feni district Feni is a district located in southeastern Bangladesh. It was a part of the Greater Noakhali, Comilla, Chittagong and Tripura. , the district's estimated population stood at 1,437,371, making it the ninth-most populous district in Chittagong Divis ...

. In Bangladesh, the river separates the Feni and Chittagong districts before flowing out into the

Indo-Bangladesh border

The Muhuri acts as the border between India and Bangladesh in the Tripura-

Noakhali Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officia ...

sector. However, the frequently changing course of the river prevented the two nations from demarcating the boundary here with India insisting on the 1974 Accord with Bangladesh that calls for demarcation "along the mid-stream of the course of Muhuri river at the time of demarcation" while Bangladesh insisted on an 1893 map that would result in it gaining an extra 44 acres from India.

The Muhurichar

Muhurichar river island, a 140-acre island on the river and important for rice cultivation, was a source of tension between the two countries as both laid claim to it and it resulted in skirmishes between the border security agencies of

and

on several occasions. In 2011 during the visit of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh, both countries agreed to the demarcation of the land boundary between them. The two parties agreed on the demarcation of the boundary along the Muhuri and also agreed to construct embankments along the river within their borders to stabilise it and to undertake fencing along the 'zero line' in the sector.

Hydrology

The Muhuri has a total basin area of 839 km² in Tripura which accounts for 8% of the state's total geographical area. It has an annual flow of 76,247,000 cubic metres of water which amounts to 9.6% of Tripura's total river flows. In Bangladesh, the Muhuri basin covers an area of 40,080 hectares spread across the upazilas of

Feni Sadar Feni Sadar ( bn, ফেনী সদর) is an upazila of Feni District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. The district headquarters and all other administrative offices are located here. Geography Feni Sadar is located at . It has 57, ...

, Sonagazi, Chhagalnaiya and Parshuram in

and the Mirersarai Upazila of Chittagong district with a total irrigable area of a little over 23,000 hectares. The river is known for its wild nature and flash floods and its frequent changes in course. For the most part, the Muhuri has a width of 150 to 200 metres which increases as it nears the sea. As it nears the sea, it comes under the increasing influence of tidal action. The river is quite shallow and navigable by 4 tonne boats for only half the year and it is possible to

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

it during the lean season.

Waterworks

The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

built an impermeable

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

on the river before 1975 to protect the town of Belonia from riverine erosion. The

Joint River Commission The Joint River Commission'' was a bilateral working group established by India and Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the w ...

has since restrained either country from constructing them on the river. The Muhuri Irrigation Project, consisting a closure dam and a 20-vent regulator, was completed by Bangladesh in 1986 to provide irrigation facilities and to check the inflow of saline water into the river from the Bay of Bengal. The Muhuri empties into the Feni at the reservoir formed by the building of the closure dam from where water is taken out through irrigation canals. The project has helped develop inland fisheries, curbed incursion of saline water upriver and kept upstream areas safe from storm surges following cyclones.

References