Kushiyara River

Kushiyara River one of the trans-boundary rivers of Bangladesh. The barak of India originates from the northern hills of Assam in India and then it flows further creating the border between Nagaland and Manipur states. The river enters Bangladesh along 24°53' north latitudes and 92°32' east longitudes after flowing westward from Milchar in Kachar district (India). The Barak separates into two branches at Amalshid in the northeast border of Zakiganj upazila of Sylhet district. The northwest arm is the surma and the southwestern arm is the Kushiyara. The Kushiyara rejoins with the Surma at Markuli in Ajmiriganj upazila and flows south upto Bhairab Bazar receiving the name Kalni. The Kalni meets with the Dhanu, a branch of the Surma and renamed as the meghna. In the upstream from Markuli, partly the course of the Kushiyara is known as the Bibiyana.

At Amalshid, the bed of the Surma has to a large extent dried up and as a result, about 85 percent flow of the Barak runs through the Kushiyara. The total length of the Kushiyara is about 161 km. The average width of the river is 250m and in the rainy season the mean depth of the Kushiyara reaches upto 10m. The river carries a huge amount of water as well as sediments from Karimganj of Assam and the hilly areas of Hill Tripura. The highest and lowest discharges have been measured at Sherpur amounting to 3,700 cumecs and 33 cumecs respectively.

The river crosses over Zakiganj, Golabganj, Fenchuganj, Balaganj, Rajnagar, Maulvi Bazar, Nabiganj. The Fenchuganj Fertiliser Factory stands on the bank of the Kushiyara. [Tahmina Ahmed]