KARNAPHULI RIVER

major watercourse of the Chittagong region, Bangladesh. Rising in the Lushai Hills of Mizoram state, India, it flows 170 miles (270 km) south and southwest through the southeastern arm of Bangladesh to empty into the Bay of Bengal, 12 miles (19 km) below the city of Chittagong. In the Chittagong Hill Tracts area it is known as the Kynsa Khyoung. The river is navigable by steamer to Rangamati and is extensively used for transporting cotton and forest products. The river's Karnaphuli hydroelectric project provides power for tea-, jute-, tobacco-, and cotton-processing industries; the reservoir irrigates a vast agricultural area.