River Description

The Ganges, also known as Ganga, is a trans-boundary river which flows through India and Bangladesh. The Ganges River originates from the Gangotri glacier located at the south slope of the Himalayas. This place is about 7010 meter high above mean sea level. Running through Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal the river enters Bangladesh through Durlovpur union of Shibganj upazila under Chapai-Nababganj district.

The river flows along the border of Bangladesh and India for a distance of 83 km. After entering Bangladesh it flows 216 km to meet Brahmaputra-Jamuna River at Goalando. From this confluence the Ganges changes its name to Padma and travels 100 km further down to join the Upper Meghna near Chandpur, where all waters of the three big river systems surge into a colossal waterways, known as the Lower Meghna and eventually discharges into the Bay of Bengal. In Bangladesh, several distributaries of the Ganges such as, the Gorai, the Kumar, the Mathabhanga among others feed the Sundarban, one of the largest mangrove forests in the world.

Type of the River

The Ganges is a perennial having braiding characteristics.

Length of the River

The total length of the River is about 2525 km, out of which about 230 km is in Bangladesh.

Width of the River

The maximum and minimum width of the river is 14 km and 1.30 km respectively. The average width of the river is 5.0 km.

(Source: Final Report by CEGIS on Preparation of Position Paper showing Sustainable Water Sharing Options of the Ganges River between Bangladesh and India., Rivers Beyond Borders: India Bangladesh Transboudary River ATLAS by IUCN)