Hooghly River
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Image:Hooghly River 1915.gif The Hooghly River (Bengali হুগলী, Huglī; Anglicized alternatively spelled Hoogli or Hugli) is an approximately 260 km long distributary of the Ganges River in India. It splits from the Ganges near the city of Baharampur, and runs south through the Indian state of West Bengal, past the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah, to empty into the Bay of Bengal. Two of its well known tributaries are Damodar and Rupnarayan.
It is an essential lifeline for the people of Kolkata. The fish from the river are important to the local economy. The river's presence is one of the reasons chosen by the British to settle there. The French colony at Chandannagar on the Hooghly was once the rival of British Calcutta, but was eclipsed by Calcutta in the colonial wars of the 18th century. The modern container port of Haldia, on the intersection of lower Hooghly and Haldi River, now carries much of the region's maritime trade.One new port will be built in the deep sea to reduce load on Kolkata port.
Hooghly river valley was the most important industrial area of erstwhile state of Bengal. Due to declining jute industry, the prime industry of this region, it lost its glory. But still it is one of the biggest industrial areas of India. Except Kolkata and Howrah it has number of small cities which forms the Greater Kolkata Agglomeration, the second biggest Indian city and former capital.
Several bridges run over the Hooghly at Kolkata; the Howrah Bridge, the Vidyasagar Setu and the Vivekananda Setu bridges.
The town of Hooghly is located on the river, in the district of the same name. The origins of the name are uncertain, whether the city or the river was named first.
The nexus formed by the Hooghly River (Ganga) and the Bay of Bengal, called ‘Ganga Sagar’. This is a sacred place for Hindus. A dip in the ocean, where the river drains into the sea is considered to be of great religious significance particularly on the Makara Sankranti day when the sun makes a transition to Capricorn from Sagittarius and this place becomes home to vast fairs, drawing visitors and recluses from all over the state.
