Mahananda
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Overview
The Mahananda rises in the Darjeeling hills and joins the Ganga in Bangladesh. It is the easternmost of the Ganga's left-bank tributaries.
It rises in the Darjeeling hills near Mahaldiram and flows past Siliguri into Bihar.
It turns south and re-enters West Bengal near Malda before joining the Ganga (Padma) in Bangladesh.
The Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary near Siliguri is named after it.
English Bazar (Malda town) stands near its banks in West Bengal.
It floods frequently in north Bihar and north Bengal.
The Mahananda barrage near Siliguri diverts water for irrigation.
It is one of the Ganga's left-bank tributaries in the east.
Geography and key facts
- Darjeeling hills
- Joins Ganga in Bangladesh
- Rises in Darjeeling hills
- Siliguri; Malda
- Joins Padma in Bangladesh
Why it matters for UPSC
Asked on tributary order.
Note for UPSC
Rises in the Darjeeling hills and joins the Ganga in Bangladesh.
Prelims asks about tributaries, the states a river flows through, its basin and the projects on it, so trace the course on the map.
Asked in PYQs
No question in our Prelims bank names Mahananda yet.
Key facts
- Type
- River
- States / UTs on its course
- Bihar, West Bengal
- River system
- Himalayan
- Basin
- Ganga
- Extent on map
- 25.8°–26.9°N, 87.8°–88.4°E
From the Map Explorer data; positions are for orientation.