Sangu River Explained

Sangu River
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:Bangladesh
Source1 Location:North Arakan Hills
Mouth Location:Bay of Bengal
Length:270km (170miles)

The Sangu River is a river in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Its source is in the North Arakan Hills of Myanmar, located at 21°13´N 92°37´E. The Arakan Hills form the boundary between Arakan and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. It follows a northerly circuitous course in the hill tracts[1] and then enters Bangladesh near Remaikri, Thanchi Upazila, Bandarban District, from the east. It flows north through Thanchi, Rowangchhari and Bandarban Sadar Upazilas of Bandarban district. It then flows west through Satkania and Banshkhali Upazilas in Chittagong district and flows into the Bay of Bengal near Chittagong, at 22°6´N 91°51´E, or about south of the mouth of the Karnafuli River. The length of the river is of which are located within Bangladesh.

The major tributaries of the river are the Chand Khali Nadi and Dolukhal. The Chand Khali Nadi flows through the Patiya Plains, and the Dolukhal drains into the Satkania Plains. Another tributary is the Kumira Khali, which drains into the Kutubdia Channel. It has a connection with the Karnafuli River through the Chand Khali River.

Its estimated annual flow is 4.5 million acre-feet.

The Sangu River drainage basin has a total area of .[2] The river drains Banshkhali, Satkania, and Patiya Upazilas.

In 1876, William Wilson Hunter described the river as shallow, but navigable year round by large cargo boats for a distance of 30miles. He also mentioned considerable river traffic at Bandarban.[3] A century later the Bangladesh District Gazetteer for the area said the river is not navigable late in the dry season.[4]

In its upper course there are two waterfalls and several rapids.[5]

The offshore Sangu Gas Field is located in the Bay of Bengal about southwest of Chittagong at a depth of .

Ecology

Finfish in the Sangu River include 106 native species, among them several species of carp and gobies. Three non-native species have been found in the river: bighead carp, silver carp, and Nile tilapia. In addition to finfish, the river supports 16 species of prawns and 2 species of crabs.[6]

Ganges river dolphins are found in the river, especially below the Dohazari Bridge.[7]

See also

External links

22.0642°N 92.3594°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sangu River . Banglapedia.
  2. Adnan . Mohammed Sarfaraz Gani . Dewan . Ashraf . Zannat . Khatun E. . Abdullah . Abu Yousuf Md . The use of watershed geomorphic data in flash flood susceptibility zoning: a case study of the Karnaphuli and Sangu river basins of Bangladesh . Natural Hazards . October 2019 . 99 . 1 . 427 . 10.1007/s11069-019-03749-3.
  3. Book: Hunter, William Wilson . William Wilson Hunter . A Statistical Account of Bengal. 1876 . VI . Trübner & Company . 27, 126.
  4. Book: Ishaq . Muhammad . Bangladesh District Gazetteers: Chittagong Hill Tracts. 1971 . Bangladesh Government Press . Dhaka . 147.
  5. Book: Harun Er Rashid . Geography of Bangladesh . 1977 . Boulder, Colorado . Westview Press . 0-89158-356-4 . 82.
  6. Book: Azadi . M. A. . Arshad-Ul-Alam . M. . Khan . Mohammad Ali Reza . Mohammad Ali Reza Khan . Biodiversity and conservation of fin and shellfishes of the River Sangu, Bangladesh . The Festschrift on the 50th Anniversary of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014 . IUCN Bangladesh Country Office . 978-984-33-8364-8 . 68–69.
  7. Smith . Brian D. . Ahmed . Benazir . Ali . Muhammad Edrise . Braulik . Gill . Status of the Ganges river dolphin or shushuk Platanista gangetica in Kaptai Lake and the southern rivers of Bangladesh . Oryx . January 2001 . 35 . 1 . 63 . 10.1046/j.1365-3008.2001.00153.x.