| Hooghly River Bhagirathi | |
|---|---|
 The Hooghly flowing through Bally | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | India |
| State | West Bengal |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Ganges |
| • coordinates | 24°30′18″N 88°05′05″E / 24.50500°N 88.08472°E |
| Mouth | Bay of Bengal |
• coordinates | 21°40′50″N 87°57′23″E / 21.68056°N 87.95639°E |
| Length | 260 kilometres |
| Depth | |
| • maximum | 117 m |
| Basin features | |
| Bridges | Vidyasagar Setu (Second Hooghly Bridge) Rabindra Setu (Howrah Bridge) Nivedita Setu Vivekananda Setu (Bally bridge) Sampreeti Bridge Jubilee Bridge Ishwar Gupta Setu Gourango Setu Nashipur Rail Bridge Ramendra Sundar Tribedi Setu Jangipur Bhagirathi Bridge |
The Hooghly River (also spelled Hoogli or Hugli) is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the Ganges at Giria. A short distance west, it meets the man-made Farakka Feeder Canal, which massively increases its flow. The river then flows south to join the Jalangi at Nabadwip, where it becomes the Hooghly proper.[1] The Hooghly continues southwards, passing through the metropolis of Kolkata. Thereafter, it empties into the Bay of Bengal. Its tributaries include the Ajay, Damodar, Rupnarayan, and Haldi.
The Hooghly has religious significance as Hindus consider the river sacred. It also plays a major role in the agriculture, industry, and climate of the state.