Decline of Bhagirathi-Hooghly Channel - The Ganga: Water Use in the Indian Subcontinent - page 62

itself. Lastly, the change of the Ganga course near Gour mentioned by Major Hirst,
by bringing the Padma more in a direct line of flow, enabled it draw the Ganga flow.
As the natural tendency was also in its favour - the western part of the delta having
been built more than the eastern - it began to develop rapidly at the expense of the
Bhagirathi and other western branches (Fig. 6.1).
J. M. Coleman, studying the formation processes of river channels and sedi-
mentation of the Brahmaputra in 1969 observed that it showed a fairly continuous

N

COOCHBIHAR

JALPAIGURI

RANGPUR

DINAJPUR

R. GANGA

RAJMAHAL

MALDAH

SURI

KATWA

KRISNA
NAGAR

HUGLI

CHITTAGANJ

MIDNAPUR

CALCUTTA

R. KASAI

Fig. 6.1 Bengal rivers in 1764-1776 (Rennel's map) (See also Plate 6 on page 369 in the Colour
Plate Section)