In the Context of Port of Haldia and Flood in Midnapore

Noticing that the Kolkata Port Trust is finding it very hard to maintain navigability in the estuary of the Hooghly and that the State Government is facing the problem of proper drainage of flood-water in the districts of Midnapore, it should occur to one who is acquainted with the name and fame of Tamralipti that the deviation of the river system from the ancient one in that region has been at the bottom of all the problems. The ancient kingdom of Tamralipti extended over the two districts of Midnapore and part of modern Orissa up to the sea at the least. The kingdom and its metropolis and international port had the same name.

One may get an idea of the ancient river system from the Map drawn by the great Greek geographer and astronomer Ptolemy in the middle of the 2nd century AD. As per accounts of the Greek geographer and historian Strabo, who was born about 63BC, that the Greeks had enough knowledge of our major waterways from Pataliputra (modern Patna) to the sea. It was that system which was instrumental in eliminating the problems of navigation and drainage and in maintaining prosperity of the kingdom of Tamralipti for hundreds of years. The ancients had solved all problems simultaneously.

The Map was drawn by Ptolemy sitting at Alexandria in Egypt and without visiting our country. Having not been drawn to scale, that has hitherto remained enigmatic to the historians as well as to the specialists on rivers. After bifurcation at the apex of the delta, the right hand branch of the Ganges, which was identified with the Bhagirathi, has been shown as discharging its water into the sea by three mouths. The most western mouth was named ‘Kambyson’, the central one Mega and the eastern one Kamberikhon in that Map. Traditionally, Tribeni was the place wherefrom the Bhagirathi trifurcated into three branches, the right hand one was known as the Saraswati. The Saraswati used to discharge its water into the Rupnarayan at the head of its wider portion. It appears from the configuration of the channels leading to those mouths that the division of the Saraswati was shown instead of the Bhagirathi. The Rupnarayan was known as the last part of the Ganges not only to the Greeks and the Romans, but to the foreigners who came to India in the medieval period as well. The map was drawn for the guidance of the fellow Greeks, not for the posterity.

The channel leading to Kamberikhon was obviously the present Rupnarayan. The estuary was that of the Rupnarayan at that time instead of that of the present Hooghli. The Rupnaryan may be looked upon as an inlet of the sea. The Hooghly from Kolkata to the Hooghly Point came into being following the eviction of the Portuguese from the town and port of Hooghly in 1632 by the Mughals, when the Adi Ganga was diverted to the Rupnarayan by digging a canal from Hastings to Sankrail. Having been dug by the ‘Yavanas’, water of this portion of the Ganges was not sacred to the Hindus.

In that Map emanation of two channels from the main channel, Rupnarayan, has been shown; the western one leading to the kambyson from the head of the wider portion and the central one leading to the Mega from a point a little below from that head. In this region there are only two rivers which debouch into the sea, one is the Subarnarekha and the Rasulpur is the other. The mouths of those two rivers were respectively known as Kambyson and Mega to the Greeks.

The Map drawn by Van Den Broucke, a Dutch by birth, in 1660 shows the Kansai falling into the Rupnarayan at the head of its wider portion from the right. Compared to the Saraswati, the Kansai was a minor river. When the former was extant, there was necessity of a channel leading to the Subarnarekha from the junction of the latter with the Rupnarayan to divert the flood-water of the latter to avoid backing up effect. The Map drawn by Joan De Barros, a Portuguese by birth, in the year 1552, shows the existence of such channel. The relics of the central channel leading to Mega exist in the form of segmented Khals or minor rivers up-to the Rasulpur River in the Map No. 5( Nadia to the sea)g of the Volume II of the “Rivers of Bengal.”

It stands out from the name and location of the Mega mouth that the central one was the principal navigation channel for the port of Tamralipti. The circuitous and hazardous route through the estuary was avoided. Even after deterioration of this channel, Hijili, which is situated on the bank of the Rasulpur River, served as an important port in the 16th century A.D. In Periplus Maris Erythraei (The Commerce and Navigation of the Indian Ocean), which was written by an unknown Egyptian Greek about the middle of the 2nd half of the first century A.D, mention has been made of piloting the ships upto the river port of Barygaza (modern Broach). But no such mention has been made for the port of Tamralipti / Gange, although it is stated therein : “there is on it (the Ganges) a mart called after it, Gange, through which passes a considerable traffic consisting of betel, the Gangetic spikenard, pearl, and the finest of all Muslins – those called the Gangetic…”

To the Greeks the kingdom of Tamralipti was known as Gangaridai and its metropolis and port were called Gange by them. Probable location of the metropolis may be obtained with reference to the co-ordinates of those three mouths, which are as follows –

* Gange, the Royal residence – 146OE, 19O15’N
* The Kambyson mouth, the most western 144O30’E, 18O15’N
* The second mouth, called Mega – 145O45’E, 18O30’N
* The third called Kamberikhon – 146O30’E, 18O40’N

It transpires, therefore, that Gange, the metropolis, was definitely situated on the bank of the Rupnarayan and below modern Tamluk. The metropolis was only 10 Chinese ‘Li’ or about 2 miles or at the most 6 kms in circuit. It was unlikely that the metropolis and the port were situated at the same place. The port should have been near the emergence of the channel leading to the Mega and above modern Tamluk.

Relying upon the Sri Lankan Religious books ‘Dipavamsa’ and ‘Mahavamsa’, it can be said that the port was in operation since the pre-historic period. It maintained its operation even after the departure of the Chinese pilgrim I-tsing from this port in 693 A.D. It survived over a period of one thousand years from the dawn of history in the country and there flocked merchants from various parts of the globe for trade. It handled the then largest ships of ‘Kondalia’ class even at low water. There was no question of dredging for maintaining navigability at that time.

The name ‘Tamralipti’ was given by the Aryans for the highly developed copper-industry dating at least from 2000 B.C in that region. In the epic ‘Mahabharata’ mention of Tamralipti has been made several times. Both the Jainism and the Buddhism were firmly established in the Kingdom prior to the beginning of the Christian era. There were Stupas built by Emperor Asoka (272-235 B.C). There were 24 Buddhist monasteries in the Kingdom, when the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien stayed there for two years before embarking on a merchant vessel for sailing to Sri Lanka in 414 A.D. According to the account of the well-known Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang, who visited the kingdom about 638 A.D, the land was regularly cultivated and produced flowers and fruits in abundance; and the people were rich and prosperous owing to their trade, gems and wonderful articles of value being plentiful. Many Chinese and Korean pilgrims visited the Kingdom before the arrival of Fa-Hien, and after the departure of I-Tsing. It was a great seat of learning of the Buddhist text and literature upto the 11th century A.D. Thereafter it passed into oblivion.

The region is now merely a shadow of its past. Major portion of the two districts remain water-logged during the rainy season in spite of there being a maze of embankments of different types. Flood-water is not finding proper out-let to the sea owing to the man-made deviation of the courses of the major rivers and also to the silting up of the former channels leading to the Kambyson and the Mega.

The port of Haldia is now on the verge of abandonment due to the silting up of the Balari channel and to the acute problem of navigability in the Auckland, Jellingham and Haldia channels. Engaging almost all the running dredgers of the Dredging Corporation of India, partially loaded medium sized vessels are being brought to the port incurring much loss of revenue. The Central Government is paying subsidy amounting to Rs. Four hundred Crores every year to meet the expenses of dredging. The quantity of silt carried down by the Hooghly annually is approximately equal to a block of dry earth one mile square and about 69 feet thick. Besides that, the flood tide brings in enormous quantity of silt from the continental shelf twice daily. Moreover, the duration of the ebb tide is longer than that of the flood tide and the former does not follow the paths of the latter. The shape of the estuary is like a funnel, having width of about 1.8kms at the top and at the mouth that is about 30 kms. In the estuary the tidal action predominates. What was reported by Leonard in 1865 may be enough to point out that no permanent navigation channel can exist in the estuary of the Hooghly. The Port Trust is now opting for the Eden channel overlooking the vagaries of that channel, which have been stated in detail in the Volume II of the Rivers of the Bengal.

Van Den Broucke’s that Map shows connection between the Rupnarayan and the Hooghly from a point near Tribeni. That was, in fact, combination of the main Damodar and the Kunti Nadi. A straighter course connecting those two points has been shown as ‘Old Bhagirathi’ in the Map drawn by Major Rennell About 1783, which could not but be the course of the ancient Saraswati. The main Damodar was a tributary of that Sraswati, which, after silting up of the latter, used to discharge its water directly into the Rupnarayan appropriating the last part of the course of the latter. The old course of the Darokaswar has been shown in the aforesaid Map no. 5, which flowing past Arambag used to flow by the Kana Nadi into the main Damodor. The same Map shows the main Damodar falling into the Hooghly opposite Falta Point turning at right angles after flowing past Ampta and Gaighata. The silt carried down by this channel of the Damodar caused formation of the James & Mary shoal between the Falta and Hooghly points.

Piddington in his report of 1854 referred to the then frequently expressed opinion that the diversion of the Damodar into the Rupnarayan would lead to the amelioration of the James & Mary Reach, which was reiterated by Longridge in 1864. The present Rupnarayan is formed at Bunder near Ghatal by the confluence of the Darakeswar and Selai. The Rupnarayan upto Kolaghat is not wide and deep enough to accommodate flood-water of those two rivers and the Mundeswari, the last one coming from the left falls into the Rupnarayan below Bunder. The portion of the present Rupnarayan below kolaghat, where it flows west to east upto the head of its wider portion, is actually the last part of the old Kansai. If the Darakeswar and Damodar are diverted to their former destination, there will be hardly any water-logging in the Ghatal area and in the Buxi basin, and that will simultaneously ameliorate the channel of the Rupnarayan and the navigable channels in the estuary of the Hooghly.

According to the Midnapore Gazetteer of 1911, the Kansai was bifurcated above Panskura in the early part of the 19th century AD. The smaller branch was led to the Selai near Ghatal and the major one was joined with the Keliaghai River to form the Haldi River, which flowing past Haldia debouches into the estuary of the Hooghly. The Haldi carries down huge quantity of silt brought by those two rivers, which has caused formation of the ‘Nayachar’ island in the estuary of the Hooghly. Diversion of that major branch of the Kansai to its silted up old course leading to the Kambyson mouth will cause weakening of the trouble makers, the keliaghai and Kapaleswari and other rivers coming from the north-west, on one hand and on the other that will reduce the Haldi to a minor river. On account of that diversion, much water will be available for irrigation and also for maintaining navigability in the silted up Rasulpur River. The Central Government has given sanction for the construction of a barrage across the Subarnarekha in the district of West Midnapore.

It is not desirable to resuscitate the channel leading to the Mega mouth owing to the difficulty in getting up-land water all the year round. Nearly one hundred and fifty years ago connection between the Rupnarayan and the Haldi was suggested in order to prevent obstruction of flow in the Hooghly above its junction with the Rupnarayan, which is caused by the damming back action of the latter at the junction. The same Map no.5 shows the existence of a tidal creek connecting the Haldi with the Rupnarayan below Geonkhali and opposite Hooghly point. An alternative navigation channel may be created by digging a canal along the course of that creek upto the Haldi and then extending the canal upto the Rasulpur river. Connection with the latter river may be made at that point where turning to the south it flows southwards upto the sea. Ships may be brought to the ports of Haldia and Kolkata by this route conveniently.

The Rasulpur River is now in a badly silted up state owing to the construction of cross-dams in the Khals leading to it and to the reclamation of the Jalpai lands. It may be ascertained from the Map no.11 of the same Volume II of the ‘Rivers of Bengal’, which was drawn in 1780, that the river had depth of at least 2 fathoms at low water and the depth at the entrance from the sea was between 3 and 5 fathoms at low water. The depth at low water was obviously more previously. Hijili, which is situated on the left bank of this River close to the sea, having been the chief seaport of lower Bengal, larger English vessels began to load and unload their cargoes here by 1679. It was an important emporium in the 16th century A.D. In the account of Ralph Fitch, written in 1586, it is said: “To this haven of Angeli (Hijili) come every year many ships out of India, Negapatam, Sumatra, Malacca, and divers other places, and lade from thence great store of rice and much cloth of cotton wool, much sugar and long pepper, great store of butter, and other victuals for India.” The Government is opting for Kalpi setting aside Hijili as the location of a future port in this region, which is highly regrettable.

The Rasulpur River has no influence on the Hooghly’s navigation channels at present, though formerly it helped to maintain the Western channel approach to the estuary of the Hooghly from the Sea. Ships have been using the Eastern one for entry to the estuary for many years. Institution of dredging operation in the Rasulpur River and in the adjoining portion of the estuary, which was known as Hijili Flat, will enable the suggested canal to become tidal. Beside that, there will be entry of more tidal water into the estuary by the Western one, which improving the condition of the Haldia channel may facilitate movement of the ships to the port of Haldia by that channel also.

In order to get rid of the present problems of navigation and drainage in the districts of Midnapore, it is of utmost importance to take resort to the ancient river system as far as possible. Wisdom of the ancients cannot be kept out of reckoning.

Sources :


1. Rivers of Bengal – Publication of W.B.D.G, Higher Education Dept, Govt. of West Bengal.
2. Gazatteer of Medinipore (1911) - - do –
3. The Classical Accounts of India - Dr. R. C. Majumder.