HOOGHLY RIVER

also spelled Hugli, river in West Bengal state, northeastern India, an arm of the Ganges, providing access to Calcutta from the Bay of Bengal. It is formed by the junction of the Bhagirathi and Jalangi rivers at Nabadwip. From there the Hooghly flows generally south for about 160 miles (about 260 km) to the Bay of Bengal, through a heavily industrialized area with more than one-half of West Bengal's population. The river's lower reaches are fed by the Ajay, Damodar, Rupnarayan, and Haldi (Kasai) rivers, which rise to the northwest on the Chota Nagpur plateau. Although above Calcutta the river is silted up, it is navigable to the city by ocean liners. Navigation is facilitated by constant dredging and the scour of a tidal bore that rushes inland at high tide. Negotiations with Bangladesh have been held to divert waters in the Ganges River in such a way as to prevent silting at Calcutta. From Calcutta the Hooghly flows west and south to the Rupnarayan Estuary, then twists south and southwest, entering the Bay of Bengal through an estuary 3 to 20 miles wide. It is spanned by a cantilever bridge between Howrah and Calcutta and by Bally Bridge between Bally and Baranagar.