Kangsabati River (Pron:) (also variously known as the Kãsai and Cossye) rises from the Chota Nagpur

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and passes through the districts of Purulia,

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word or (in Nagari: rāḍh) was introduced af ...

Paschim Medinipur Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba M ...

and

Purba Medinipur Purba Medinipur (English: ''East Medinipur'', alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative d ...

in West Bengal before draining in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...

Course

Kansai river flowing besides Deulghata in Purulia district

The river's

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

are on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in

Purulia district Purulia district (Pron: puruliːaː) is one of the twenty-three districts of West Bengal state in Eastern India. Purulia is the administrative headquarters of the district. Some of the other important towns of Purulia district are Raghunathpur- ...

, near the city of

Jhalda Jhalda is a city and a municipality in Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jhalda subdivision. Geography Location Jhalda is located at . It has an average elevation of . According to the ''Distr ...

, where the smaller rivers Saharjhor and Girgiri join together. From there, it passes through

Bankura district Bankura district (Pron: bãkuɽa) is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is part of Medinipur division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. Bankura district is surrounded by Purba Bardhaman distri ...

, passing the towns of Purulia, Khatra and Ranibandh. At Binpur it is joined by the Bhairabbanki, and at Keshpur the river splits into two. The northern branch flows through the Daspur area, where it is known as the Palarpai. This branch eventually flows into the

Rupnarayan River The Rupnarayan River is a river in India. It begins as the Dhaleswari (Dhalkisor) in the Chhota Nagpur plateau foothills northeast of the town of Purulia. It then follows a tortuous southeasterly course past the town of Bankura, where it is ...

. The other branch, still called the Kangsabati, flows in a south-easterly direction. Eventually, it meets the Keleghai River, and the junction of the two forms the Haldi River, which flows into the

at Haldia.

Kangsabati Project

In 1956, the Indian government launched the Kangsabati Irrigation Project (also called the Kangsabati Reservoir Project) to provide water for the irrigation of

, Hooghly, and Midnapore districts (the last now partitioned into

and

districts). To facilitate this, Mukutmanipur Dam was constructed at the border of Purulia and Bankura districts near

Mukutmanipur Mukutmanipur is a village in Bankura district of West Bengal, India. It is located at the confluence of the Kangsabati and Kumari rivers close to the Jharkhand border. Geography Area overview The map alongside shows the Khatra subdivision o ...

, creating a large reservoir. It is an earthen gravity dam with a concrete saddle

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

, standing high and long with a gross storage capacity of 1.04 cubic kms (36.73 tmcft). Prior to this project, an anicut dam built on the Kangsabati River near Midnapore in 1784 was the sole irrigational structure on the river. , the dam provided water to just under of land.

References

{{Coord, 22.922350, N, 86.779633, E, source:yahoomap_region:IN, format=dms, display=title Rivers of West Bengal Rivers of Jharkhand Rivers of India

Course

Kangsabati Project

See also

References