Buriganga River

The Buriganga River flows past the southwest outskirts of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh. Its average depth is 25ft and its maximum depth is 58ft.HistoryIn the distant past, a course of the Ganges river used to reach the Bay of Bengal through the Dhaleshwari river. When this course gradually shifted and ultimately lost its link with the main channel of the Ganges it was renamed the Buriganga. It is said that the water levels during high and very high tides in this river astonished the Mughals. In the 20th century the water table and river became polluted by polythenes and other hazardous substances from demolished buildings near the river banks.The course of the Padma, as the main course of the Ganges is known in Bangladesh, changed considerably during the period 1600 to 2000 AD. It is difficult to trace accurately the various channels through which it flowed, but the probability is that it flowed past Rampur Boalia, through Chalan Beel, the Dhaleshwari and Buriganga rivers, past Dhaka into the Meghna estuary. In the 18th century, the lower course of the river flowed further south. About the middle of the 19th century the main volume of the channel flowed through this southern channel, which came to be known as Kirtinasa. Gradually the Padma adopted its present course.PollutionThe Buriganga is economically very important to Dhaka. Launches and country boats provide connection to other parts of Bangladesh, a largely riverine country. When the Mughals made Dhaka their capital in 1610, the banks of the Buriganga were already a prime location for trade. The river was also the city's main source of drinking water.