| Muhuri River | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | India, Bangladesh |
| State | Tripura |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Lushai Hills |
| • location | Tripura |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Noakhali |
The Muhuri is a transnational river between India and Bangladesh. Rising in Tripura, it flows into Bangladesh where it merges with the Feni near the latter's mouth to the Bay of Bengal. The Muhuri is also known as the Little Feni. [1]
The Muhuri rises in the Lushai Hills of Tripura and flows west into Bangladesh which it enters through the Parshuram upazila of Feni district. In Bangladesh, the river separates the Feni and Chittagong districts before flowing out into the Bay of Bengal. [2]
The Muhuri acts as part of the border between India and Bangladesh in the Tripura-Noakhali 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. [3]
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 Bangladesh and India on several occasions. [4] [5] In 2011 during the visit of Prime Minister 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 stabilize it and to undertake fencing along the 'zero line' in the sector. [6] [7]
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 meters of water which amounts to 9.6% of Tripura's total river flows. [8] In Bangladesh, the Muhuri basin covers an area of 40,080 hectares spread across the upazilas of Feni Sadar, Sonagazi, Chhagalnaiya and Parshuram in Feni district and the Mirersarai Upazila of Chittagong district with a total irrigable area of a little over 23,000 hectares. [9] 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 meters 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 it during the lean season. [1] [10]
The Government of India built an impermeable spur on the river before 1975 to protect the town of Belonia from riverine erosion. The Joint River Commission has since restrained either country from constructing them on the river. [2] The Muhuri Irrigation Project, consisting of 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. [11] The project has helped develop inland fisheries, the curbed incursion of saline water upriver and kept upstream areas safe from storm surges following cyclones. [9]
Bangladesh is a densely populated, low-lying, mainly riverine country located in South Asia with a coastline of 580 km (360 mi) on the northern littoral of the Bay of Bengal. The delta plain of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna), and Meghna Rivers and their tributaries occupy 79 percent of the country. Four uplifted blocks occupy 9 percent and steep hill ranges up to approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) high occupy 12 percent in the southeast and in the northeast. Straddling the Tropic of Cancer, Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate characterised by heavy seasonal rainfall, high temperatures, and high humidity. Natural disasters such as floods and cyclones accompanied by storm surges periodically affect the country. Most of the country is intensively farmed, with rice the main crop, grown in three seasons. Rapid urbanisation is taking place with associated industrial and commercial development. Exports of garments and shrimp plus remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad provide the country's three main sources of foreign exchange income.
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet (China), Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese,Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali and Jamuna River in Bengali. It is the 9th largest river in the world by discharge, and the 15th longest.
Feni is a district situated in the southeast of Bangladesh. Historically, it was part of the larger regions of Noakhali, Comilla, Chittagong, and Tripura, and separated from Pakistan's control on December 6, 1971. As of 2022, the estimated population of the district was about 1,648,896, with the density of 1451 people .The administrative hub of the district is in Feni City, which also serves as the headquarters of Feni Sadar Upazila in the central section of the district. The original name of the district was Shamshernagar, which served as a mahakuma under the district of Noakhali, Comilla and Chittagong District until 6 December 1984. It is the 64th Number Districts of Bangladesh. The district consists of six sub-districts: Sonagazi, Fulgazi, Parshuram, Daganbhuiyan, Chhagalnaiya and Feni Sadar.
Comilla District, officially known as Cumilla District, is a district of Bangladesh located about 100 kilometres south east of Dhaka. Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj districts to the north, Noakhali and Feni districts to the south, Tripura of India to the east and Munshiganj and Chandpur districts to the west. Comilla district is located in the southeastern part of Bangladesh.
Noakhali, historically known as Bhulua, is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officially named Noakhali in 1868. Its headquarters lie in the town of Maijdee, therefore Noakhali is the only district of Bangladesh that is not named after its main town.
The Feni is a river in southeastern Bangladesh and Tripura state of India. It is a trans-boundary river that is the subject of an ongoing dispute about water rights. The Feni River originates in South Tripura district and flows through Sabroom town and then enters Bangladesh. Muhuri River, also called Little Feni, from Noakhali District joins it near its mouth. The river is navigable by small boats as far as Ramgarh, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) upstream.
Rangamati Hill District is a district in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division, and the town of Rangamati serves as the headquarters of the district. By area, Rangamati is the largest district of the country.
Khagrachari is a district in the Chittagong Division of Southeastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region.
The Barak River flows 900 kilometres (560 mi) 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 converge again to become the Meghna river before forming the Ganges Delta with the Ganga and the Brahmaputra rivers and flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Of its total length, 524 km (326 mi) is in India, 31 km (19 mi) on the Indo–Bangladesh border and the rest in Bangladesh. The upper part of its navigable part is in India — 121 km (75 mi) between Lakhipur and Bhanga, declared as National Waterway 6, (NW-6) since the year 2016. It drains a basin of 52,000 km2 (20,000 sq mi), of which 41,723 km2 (16,109 sq mi) lies in India, 1.38% (rounded) of the country. The water and banks host or are visited by a wide variety of flora and fauna.
Fulgazi, also spelt Phulgazi, is an upazila of the Feni District, located in Bangladesh's Chittagong Division. It is best known as the home upazila of Khaleda Zia, a former Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Sitakunda is an upazila in the Chattogram District of Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. It includes one urban settlement, the Sitakunda Town, and 10 unions. Sitakunda is the home of the country's first eco-park, as well as alternative energy projects, specifically wind energy and geothermal power.
Sonagazi is an upazila (sub-district) of Feni District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.
A long-standing dispute exists between India and Bangladesh over the appropriate allocation, and development, of the water resources of the Ganges River, which flows from northern India into Bangladesh. The issue had remained a subject of conflict for almost 35 years, with several bilateral agreements and rounds of talks failing to produce results.
The Bangladesh–India border, known locally as the Radcliffe line (IB), is an international border running between the republics of Bangladesh and India that demarcates the eight divisions of Bangladesh and the Indian states.
Meghna Division is a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh for the north-western parts of the existing Chittagong Division, comprising Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni, and Laxmipur Districts of Chittagong Division. The headquarter of the division is in Comilla. It covers the south-easternmost areas of the country, with a total area of 12,848.53 km2 (4,960.85 sq mi) and a population at the 2011 census of 16,708,000.
Sabroom railway station, code SBRM, is a railhead railway station which serves Sabroom town in South Tripura district of Tripura state of India. It is located near Feni River which serves as Bangladesh–India border.
The Republic of India shares borders with several sovereign countries; it shares land borders with China, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Bangladesh and Pakistan share both land borders as well as maritime borders, while Sri Lanka shares only a maritime border through Ram Setu. India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
The Feni River is a trans-boundary river located in Bangladesh, and the water rights have been a source of dispute between India and Bangladesh. It originates in the South Tripura district and flows through Sabroom town, entering Bangladesh. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Bangladesh and India, allowing India to withdraw 1.82 cubic feet per second of water from the Feni River. These two countries have signed seven bilateral documents concerning the water disputes.
The Greater Noakhali region predominantly includes the districts of Noakhali, Feni and Lakshmipur in Bangladesh, though it has historically also included Bhola, Sandwip and some southern parts of Tripura in India and southern Comilla. The history of the Noakhali region begins with the existence of civilisation in the villages of Shilua and Bhulua. Bhulua became a focal point during the Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of Pundra, Harikela and Samatata leading it to become the initial name of the region as a whole. The medieval Kingdom of Bhulua enjoyed autonomy under the Twipra Kingdom and Bengal Sultanate before being conquered by the Mughal Empire. At the beginning of the 17th century, Portuguese pirates led by Sebastian Gonzales took control of the ara but were later defeated by Governor Shaista Khan. Affected by floodwaters, the capital of the region was swiftly moved to a new place known as Noakhali, from which the region presently takes its name. By 1756, the British East India Company had dominated and started to establish several factories in the region. The headquarters was once again moved in 1951, to Maijdee, as a result of Noakhali town vanishing due to fluvial erosion.
