Karnaphuli River

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Karnaphuli (Bangla: কর্ণফুলি Kôrnophuli) (also spelt Karnafuli) is a 667 m wide river in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh. Originating from the Lushai hills in Mizoram, India, it flows 270 km (170 miles) southwest through Chittagong Hill Tracts and Chittagong into the Bay of Bengal. A large hydroelectric power plant using Karnaphuli river was built at Kaptai during the 1960s. The mouth of the river hosts Chittagong sea port, the main port of Bangladesh.

[edit] Legend

Legend has it that a princess from neighboring Arakan (now in Myanmar) fell in love with a tribal prince of Chittagong. The lovers were once enjoying a moonlit boatride on the river. While admiring the reflection of the moon dancing on the rippled water surface, the princess leaned slightly and a flower tucked in the hair over her ear by the prince suddenly fell into the river. The princess was grief-stricken at losing the flower, which she held very dear as a present from her charming prince. She immediately jumped into the river to retrieve the flower but could not. Instead she was carried away by the fast-flowing current and vanished in the river. The prince dove into the river to rescue the princess but his attempt was in vain. Out of sorrow he drowned himself in the river to unite with the princess after death. This tragedy gave the river its name Karnafuli from the word 'karnaphul' meaning 'flower adorning the ear'. The river is known to the Marma tribe as the Kynsa Khyong.

[edit] Kaptai dam

The Karnaphuli Hydro-power station, the only hydro-electric power plant in Bangladesh, was constructed in Kaptai in 1962. An earth-filled dam on the Karnaphuli River created the Kaptai Lake, which acts as the water reservoir for the hydropower station. The power plant produces a total of 230 megawatts of electricity.

[edit] See also

• List of rivers in Bangladesh