The Mechi River is a

trans-boundary river A transboundary river is a river that crosses at least one political border, either a border within a state or an international boundary. Bangladesh has the highest number of these rivers, with at least 58 major rivers that enter the country from ...

flowing through

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and

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 ...

. It is a tributary of the

Mahananda River The Mahananda ( ) is a trans-boundary river that flows through the Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal before crossing into Bangladesh. It is an important tributary of the Ganges. Course The Mahananda river system consists of two streams- ...

Course

The Mechi originates in the

Mahabharat Range The Lower Himalayan Range, also called the Lesser Himalayas and Mahabharat Lekh or Himachal, is one of the four parallel sub-ranges of the Himalayas. It has the Great Himalayas to the north and the Sivalik Hills to the south. It extends from th ...

in Nepal. It flows through Nepal, forms the boundary between India and Nepal and then flows through the

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 ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

to join the Mahananda in

Kishanganj district Kishanganj district is the easternmost district of Bihar in India, and Kishanganj town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Kishanganj district is a part of Purnia division ( Seemanchal). It is one of the most socio-economic back ...

. The Mechi-Mahananda interfluve is a transitional area between the hills and the plains and exhibits a wide range of topographical variations. The rivers originating in the hills attain a braiding character and have well-developed alluvial fans. The Mahananda river system of which Mechi is a part has a catchment area of in Nepal and in India.

Embankments

Embankments exist of the left bank of the Mechi River for in

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 ...

. These need remodelling to prevent floods in the

Naxalbari Naxalbari ( Bengali: ''Nôkśālbāṛi'', ; also spelled Naksalbari) is a village in the Naxalbari CD block in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. Naxalbari is known for being the site of ...

area of Darjeeling district. There also is a need for new embankments. As the Mechi forms the international border, it was agreed at a meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Standing Technical Committee to take due care in aligning the embankments so that they would be at identified distance from the border and the top levels of the embankments should be kept same on both sides, as far as practicable.

River linking

There is a proposal to link the Mechi to the

Kosi KOSI (101.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado. KOSI is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International and airs an adult contemporary music format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. ...

. Kosi–Mechi interlinking is part of a

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

56000 billion River Interlinking Project proposed to

by India. The Kankai forms part of this project. Besides the High Dam, a barrage across Kosi river will also be constructed near village Chatra, below the proposed Kosi High Dam, to transfer water to the Mechi through the Kosi–Mechi link canal.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of West Bengal Rivers of Bihar International rivers of Asia Rivers of Koshi Province

Course

Embankments

River linking

See also

References