Matla River forms a wide estuary in and around the

Sundarbans Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal ...

South 24 Parganas district South 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS (S)), or sometimes South Twenty Four Parganas and Dakshin 24 Parganas, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore previously, with its Zilla Parishad now in ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. The main stream of the Matla River is divided into two arms near Purandar. One passes through Kultali-Garanbose and then passes through the Sundarbans. The other passes through Basanti, Pathankhali, Surjyaberia, Masjidbati and then meets

Bidyadhari River Bidyadhari River (also spelt Bidyadhari or simply called Bidya), is a river in the Indian state of West Bengal. It originates near Haringhata in Nadia district and then flows through Deganga, Habra and Barasat areas of North 24 Parganas before ...

. Lateral connections of the Matla system on the west are Belladonna River, Kultala River, the Piyali-Nabipukur River, the Bainchapi Khal, the Kaikalmari River, the Suia River, the Dulibhasani Gang, and the Gokhaltali Gang, On the eastern side the main connections with the Gosaba and Raimangal systems are more intricate and many of the channels are yet to be named. The important channels in this belt are Rupkhali Khal, Pathankhali Nadi, Pirkhali Nadi, Gazikhali Khal, Panchmukhani Khal, Mayanadi Khal, Mayadip River, Bhangaduni River,

Kalindi River Kalindi River () is a tidal estuarine river in and around the Sundarbans in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal, bordering on Satkhira District of Bangladesh. The Ichamati breaks up into several distributaries below ...

, Kalgachia River,

Raimangal River Raimangal River () is a tidal estuarine river in and around the Sundarbans in South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal and Satkhira District in Bangladesh. The Ichamati breaks up into several distributaries below Hingalganj ...

, Jhilla River, Gonna River, and the Harinbhanga River. An abortive attempt was made to establish Port Canning on the Matla in 1860s. Bridge_on_matla

About 300,000 pilgrims take a dip at the confluence of the

Adi Ganga ''Adi Ganga'' (also known as the ''Gobindapur Creek'' and ''Tolly's Canal''), is a stream that was part of the Hooghly River in the Kolkata area of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the Li ...

and Matla rivers at South Bishnupur village on

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankrānti (), () also referred to as Uttarāyana, Makara, or simply Sankrānti, is a Hinduism, Hindu observance and a mid-winter harvest festival in India and Nepal. It is typically celebrated on 14 January annually (15 January on a ...

day. During the monsoons the Matla becomes so turbulent that it becomes impossible for boats to ferry people. At the same time, the Matla has become so silted that during the dry season boats cannot come near the jetties and have to be stationed from the jetty. Long stretches of the Matla have embankments to protect villages in the surrounding areas from flooding. A

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

across the Matla, was inaugurated by

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (1 March 1944 – 8 August 2024) was an Indian Communism, communist politician and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who served as the 7th List of Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Chief M ...

, former Chief Minister of West Bengal, in January 2011. It links Canning with Basanti. The bridge is located at .

References

Gallery

File:Matla River 1.jpg, Matla River (Canning) File:Matla River 2.jpg, Matla River (Canning) File:Bridge On Matla River.jpg, Bridge on Matla River File:Matla River Full View..JPG, Matla River Full View

External links

{{Coord, 22.1903300, N, 88.6589100, E, source:yahoomap_region:IN, format=dms, display=title Rivers of West Bengal Geography of South 24 Parganas district Sundarbans