Adi Ganga

Adi Ganga also known as Gobindapur creek, Surman’s Nullah and Tolly’s Nullah, was the main flow of the Hooghly River from the 15th to 17th century but has subsequently virtually dried up.
The earlier course of the lower Ganges as it flowed through the Bhaigirathi channel was somewhat different from what it is in the beginning of the 21st century. At Triveni, near Bandel, it branched into three streams. The Saraswati flowed in a south-westerly direction, past Saptagram. The Jamuna (not the same river as in north India or many streams of that name in eastern Bengal) flowed in a south-easterly direction. The Hooghly flowed in the middle. The Hooghly glided down to around the place where Kolkata now stands and then flowed through the Adi Ganga, past Kalighat, Baruipur and Magra to the sea.
In the 16th century, the main waters of the Bhagirathi, which earlier used to flow through the Saraswati, began to flow through the Hooghly. The upper Saraswati is a dead or dry river and the Hooghly has abandoned the Adi Ganga channel and adopted the lower course of the Saraswati to flow to the sea.
In his Manasamangal, Bipradas Pipilai has described the journey path of Chand Saudagor, the merchant, as going past Chitpur, Betore, Kalighat, Churaghat, Baruipur, Chhatrabhog, Badrikunda, Hathiagarh, Choumukhi, Satamukhi and Sagarsangam. The description of Bipradas Piplai tallies to a large extent with Van den Brouck’s map of 1660.
Some quarters ascribe the virtual drying up of Adi Ganga to its being artificially linked to the lower channel of the Saraswati, whereby that became the main channel for ocean going ships and the Adi Ganga became derelict. This feat is ascribed by some to Nawab Alivardi Khan. Others thinks that there was only a tidal creek connecting the Saraswati and the Hooghly, near the point where the Adi Ganga branched off. It is rumoured that the Dutch traders re-sectioned this tidal creek to let sea-going vessels come up the Bhagirathi.
It was known earlier as Gobindapur Creek and marked the southern boundary of Gobindapur village. It was excavated by Edward Surman and it bore his name for some time. Surman was leader of the eventful embassy to Delhi in 1717. The nullah was deepened by Colonel William Tolly in 1773 and connected to the Circular Canal. Thereafter, it bore his name. In 1775, Col. Tolly connected the Adi Ganga to the Vidyadhari.
Ever since Tolly’s renovation the Adi Ganga remained a navigable river. However, the neglect of waterways in general and other factors such as population pressure and unplanned urbanisation caused further silting of Adi Ganga. It ultimately turned into a sewer channel for the south-western part of Kolkata. The waterway is already gasping for life with the human usurpation of its flowing course. At some places the course has totally dried up.
The Kolkata Metro(underground railway system) stretch from Dum Dum to Tollygunj is a totally underground track, except the two terminal stations. A decision was taken to extend the southern end of the Metro by 8.5 km to Garia. The major difference for this extension is a totally over ground stretch running on an elevated track, quite contrary to the existing underground one. The Tollygunj-Garia section will run over the Adi Ganga. In 2007 the track work has completed and train started to ply. The railway track is laid over a row of concrete pillars on the bed of Adi Ganga. Six out of the seven stations on this new stretch will be elevated stations. Social activists opine that Metro railway’s construction activity will finally sound the death knell of the Adi Ganga.
When me (Biswendu) was working as a investigative journalist in a tv channel, made a series of documentaries and investigative reports how the blocking of channel can create a hell like situation in the monsoon season(till then the work has just started). And I am not happy today seeing my documentation spelling right oracle.

Saptagram

Saptagram (colloquially called Satgaon) was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is about 4 km from Bandel, a major rail junction. By the early twentieth century, the place had dwindled to a group of insignificant huts. The port had to be abandoned because of the silting up and consequent drying of the Saraswati River. It had an impact on the subsequent development and growth of Kolkata. H. E. A. Cotton writes, “Here then may be traced nucleus of the future city of Calcutta, and as time went on the silting up of the river opposite Satgaon still further favoured her fortunes.”
The word ‘Saptagram’ means seven villages. These are identified as Bansberia, Kristapur, Basudebpur, Nityanandapur, Sibpur, Sambachora and Baladghati.
There is an interesting mythological story attached to the name. King Priyabanta of Kannauj had seven sons – Agnitra, Medhatithi, Bapusman, Jyotisman, Dutisman, Saban and Bhabya. They were not happy with the royal life and so they set out in search of a place where they could carry out their meditation. When they came to the confluence of Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati, they liked the place and settled down in seven villages to a hermit’s life. Thus grew Saptagram around the seven villages.
Saraswati River, which used to take off from Hooghly River at Triveni, 50 km north of Kolkata, ran parallel to the Hooghly River on its west. It is believed that the Saraswati used to flow on the bed of the Rupnarayan River on which stood the port of Tamralipta.
Since the end of the 7th century, the Saraswati had begun to move towards the present course of the Hughli river. By the early twelfth century, the Saraswati had moved to a position when it flowed out of the Hooghly River at the Triveni junction (of the Ganges, the Saraswati and the Jamuna) and after a movement towards the west turned to the southeast to meet the Hooghly River again at Betore opposite present Garden Reach, thus forming a loop. Saptagram was situated on the upper part of the loop on the southern bank. Saraswati started drying up from the 17th century and ships, which navigated up the river, could no longer do so.
Once upon a time Saptagram was one of the tallest ports of eastern India. There were two brothers, Hiranya and Govardhan Mazumder, the owners of Saptagram. They use to pay twelve lakhs of Rupees as a tax to the Rular of Delhi every year. Both were very charifable and rich Brahmans, well-behaved, high-born, and foremost in piety, the support of the Brahmans of Navadwip, whom they helped with land and money. Their guru was Nilambar Chakravarti, who treated them like his brothers. As they had formerly served Purandar Mishra, they were well-known to the Master. Raghunath Das was the son of this Govardhan, and averse to the world from his childhood.