LEONISA: EXPORTACIÓN DEL CONCEPTO DE “MUJER LATINA”

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is surrounded by six rivers: Balu in the east, Tongi (locally known as Tongi khal) in the north, Turag in the west, Buriganga in the west and south, Shitalakha in the south, and Dhaleswari in the east, as shown in Map 2.4.

The Buriganga River system is located in the southern part of the North Central Region of Bangladesh, close to the confluence of the Padma (Ganges) and Upper Meghna Rivers (see Map 2.4). Hydrologically, the Buriganga River is not an isolated river – many other rivers are connected with the Buriganga and influence its flow. It is hydrologically connected with Balu, Dhaleswari, Kaliganga, Karnatali, Shitalakhya, Tongi Khal and Turag. The surface water system of Dhaka, comprised of several

Map 2.4

depression storages (e.g. roads, lakes and submerged low-lying lands) and khals (canals), is linked to these surrounding rivers. The city rainfall is accumulated in the depression storage and discharges to the surrounding rivers through the khals. The monsoon flood in the periphery of the city is liable for the back water flow from these rivers. These rivers contribute to the groundwater recharge to the city aquifers. Therefore, the hydrology of Dhaka City is heavily influenced by the surrounding rivers. The network of the river system hydrologically connected with the Buriganga is shown in Map 2.5.

The influence of the Buriganga River on groundwater levels is an important component of the overall water balance of Dhaka City. The fact that, with comparable abstractions, piezometric decline is less in old Dhaka (close to the river) than in areas further from the river, such as Motijheel, indicates that much of the volume abstracted by tubewells close to the river originates from the Buriganga River (Shahabuddin, 1996). The ground water level of Dhaka City also exhibits large fluctuations between monsoon and dry seasons (ibid). Therefore, the distinct seasonal fluctuations of the water level in piezometers located near the river and the fact that there are almost no seasonal fluctuations in central Dhaka City indicate that the Buriganga River system surrounding Dhaka City is a vital source of ground water.

The Buriganga River encompasses the south-western periphery of Dhaka City (see Map 2.3). It originates from Dhaleswari from north of Dhaka and meets it again south of Dhaka City16_{. The Turag River falls into the Buriganga after Amin Bazar} Bridge at Mirpur. The upstream of the Buriganga above the confluence of Turag used to contribute substantially to the flow in the Buriganga River. In recent years, this portion of the river has silted up and during the lean period, the flow at Turag is the main source of discharge through the Buriganga. The Buriganga is a tributary to the Dhaleswari River, which, after the Old Brahmaputra River, is the largest river in the north Central

16 _{In fact, the origin of the Buriganga River is from Brahamaputra-Jamuna. The Lohajang River branches off from the} Jamuna north-west of the Tangail district and the Dhaleswari River branches off seven kilometres to the south-west. These two join near Ealashin and flow south-east as the Dhaleswari River. The Dhaleswari bifurcates and the southern arm flows south of Manikganj and joins the main stream, which flows north of Manikganj 48 km to the south-east. This southern arm, named the Kaliganga River, now carries more water than the Dhaleswari. Just north of their confluence the river again bifurcates, the southern arm retaining the name, while the northern is called the Buriganga River (Rashid, 1991).

Region of the country. The Shitalakhya (or Lakhya) River joins the Dhaleswari, 11 km downstream of the Buriganga confluence. The Dhaleswari drains into the Meghna River, just upstream of the Padma confluence. All these rivers except the Dhaleswari and Turag are very small. The length of the rivers is shown in Table 2.2.

Table 2.2: Length of surrounding rivers in Dhaka City

Name of rivers Length (km) Balu Buriganga Dhaleswari Shitalakhya Tangi Turag 13 17 58 23 14 75 Total 200

Source: Rahman and Rana, 1994: 65.

The upstream end of the Buriganga is 11 km down from the Mirpur Bridge and the downstream end is at Hariharpara. The total length of the Buriganga River is 17 km and its average width around Dhaka City is nearly 500 m. The average flow during the wet season (June to October) is about 700 cubic metres and during the dry season (November to May) about 140 cubic metres (Rahman and Rana, 1996).

The Buriganga is fed mainly by the Turag River, which receives flows from local rainfall and spill flows from the left bank of the Jamuna River. The Shitalakhya River drains a large catchment lying between the central forested areas and the Old Brahmaputra. Additional inflows to the system originate from the Balu, which drains a small catchment to the west of the Shitalakhya, and from the Ichamati and Karnatali Rivers, which mainly carry spills from the Padma and Jamuna Rivers respectively (Kamal et al., 1999).

Generally, the flow of the Buriganga River is non-tidal during the wet season and tidal during the dry season. If the backwater effect is strong and upstream flow small, then sometimes in the wet season, the flow in the Buriganga becomes tidal. The tidal range, however, is not high; between 6.0 and 8.0 m.

The drainage of the City mostly depends on the water levels of the peripheral rivers. The major drainage channels (locally known as khal) in the City are Dholai khal, Gerani khal, Segunbagicha khal and Begunbari khal, which collect catchment runoff as well as wastewater and drain to the peripheral rivers, mainly to the Buriganga. The

Buriganga River is also important as the only source of surface water supply at Chadnighat and the wastewater treatment plant at Pagla, both on its bank.