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{{Short description|River in Nepal and Bihar}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Kamala River
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| image = Kamala river near Hatpate-5, Sindhuli, Nepal.png
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| image_caption = Kamala river near Hatpate-5, Sindhuli, Nepal
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| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = [[Nepal]], [[India]]
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = [[Bihar]]
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| length_km = 328
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| source1 =
| source1_location = near Maithan, [[Sindhuli Gadhi|Sindhuligadhi]], [[Sindhuli District]], [[Churia Range]], [[Nepal]]
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|27|15|N|85|57|E|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation = {{convert|1200|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth = [[Bagmati]]
| mouth_location = Badlaghat, Khagaria district, Jhanjharpur (Madhubani), [[Bihar]], [[India]]
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|25|33|54|N|86|35|06|E|display=inline,title}}
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The '''Kamala River''' ([[Hindi]] and {{langx|ne|कमला नदी}}; [[Devanagari transliteration|romanized]]: Kamalā nadī) originates in [[Nepal]] and flows through the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Bihar]].

==Course==
The Kamala originates from the Churia Range near Maithan which is near Sindhuli Gadhi in [[Sindhuli District]] of [[Nepal]] at an elevation of {{convert|1200|m}}.<ref name=govt>{{cite web|url =http://fmis.bih.nic.in/Riverbasin.html| title = River Basin |publisher =Flood Management Information System, Water Resource Department, Bihar |access-date = 2010-05-05 }}</ref><ref name=jain>{{cite book|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=ZKs1gBhJSWIC&q=Kamala+Balan+Hydrology+and+Water+Resources+of+India&pg=PA359 | title = Hydrology and Water Resources of India | work = P. 359|author1=Sharad K. Jain |author2=Pushpendra K. Agarwal |author3=Vijay P. Singh | date = 16 May 2007 | publisher = Springer | isbn = 9781402051807 |access-date = 2010-05-05 }}</ref> It flows in a southerly direction crossing the Kamala Khoj area and, after passing through a gorge above Chauphat, flows into the [[Terai]] area of Nepal at [[Chisapani, Ramechhap|Chisapani]].<ref name=jain/> The Kamala forms the border between [[Siraha District|Siraha]] and [[Dhanusa District|Dhanusa]] districts in the Terai. During the monsoon, the river swells up and causes devastating riverbank erosion.<ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.deprosc.org.np/index_files/Projects.htm |title =Projects |work =River Basin Programme, Sindhuli 2007 |publisher =Development Project Service Centre, DEPROSC Nepal |access-date =2010-05-05 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090107045845/http://www.deprosc.org.np/index_files/Projects.htm |archive-date =2009-01-07 |url-status =dead }}</ref> The Tao and Baijnath Khola rivers merge with the Kamala at Maini<ref name=india9>{{cite web|url = http://www.india9.com/i9show/Kamala-River-64787.htm| title =Kamala River |access-date = 2010-05-05 }}</ref>

It enters Indian territory in [[Madhubani district]] in Bihar, {{convert|3.5|km}} upstream of [[Jainagar, Bihar|Jainagar]]. A barrage known as Kamala barrage has been constructed by the State Government near Jainagar. It joins the river Kareh (Bagmati) at Badlaghat in [[Khagaria district]]<ref name=govt/> and the combined stream flows into the [[Koshi River|Koshi]] nearby. While one of its branches leads to the [[Bagmati River|Bagmati]] another leads to the Kosi.<ref name=india9/>

In the lower reaches it follows the course of the Balan and is therefore also known as Kamala-Balan.<ref name=jain/>

===Tributaries===
The main tributaries of the Kamala River are the Tao, Baijnath Khola,<ref name=india9/> Mainawati, Dhauri, Soni, Balan, Trisula, and Chadaha.<ref name=govt/>

==River and basin data==
The total length of the Kamala is {{convert|328|km}} of which {{convert|208|km}} is in Nepal and the remaining {{convert|120|km}} is in India. The river drains a total catchment area of {{convert|7232|km2}} out of which {{convert|4488|km2}} lies in Bihar in India and the rest {{convert|2744|km2}} in Nepal. Average annual rainfall is {{convert|1018|mm}}. Cropped area in Bihar is {{convert|2744|km2}}. Population of the Kamala basin in Bihar is 3.9 million.<ref name=govt/>

==Floods==
The extent of flood impact can be gauged from the fact that about one million people were affected by floods in the Kamala and other rivers in the region in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/07/13/stories/2003071300521100.htm |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110523033522/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/07/13/stories/2003071300521100.htm |url-status =usurped |archive-date =May 23, 2011 | title = Flood situation worsens in Bihar, Assam
|publisher =The Hindu 13 July 2003 |access-date = 2010-05-05 }}</ref>

While 16.5 per cent of the total flood affected area in India is in Bihar, 57 per cent of India's flood affected population live in Bihar, out of which 76 per cent are in northern Bihar.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.ssvk.org/north_bihar_flood/bagmati_flood_2009.pdf | title =Bihar, a State of Self-induced Tragedy |access-date = 2010-05-05 }}</ref> About {{convert|68800|km2}} out of total area of {{convert|94160|km2}} or about 73.06 percent of the total area of Bihar is flood affected. Over 70 per cent of the population of North Bihar lives under recurring threat of floods.<ref name=floods>{{cite web|url=http://fmis.bih.nic.in/history.html |title=History of Flood in Bihar |publisher=Flood Management Information System, Water Resource Department, Bihar |access-date=2010-05-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419085617/http://fmis.bih.nic.in/history.html |archive-date=2010-04-19 }}</ref>

The plains of Bihar, adjoining Nepal, are drained by a number of rivers that have their catchments in the steep and geologically nascent Himalayas. The [[Koshi River|Kosi]], the [[Gandaki River|Gandak]], the [[Burhi Gandak River|Burhi Gandak]], the [[Bagmati]], the Kamala Balan and the Adhwara group of rivers originate in Nepal, carry high discharge and very high sediment load and drop it down in the plains of Bihar.<ref name=floods/>

Bihar witnessed high magnitudes of flood in 1978, 1987, 1998, 2004 and 2007. The flood of 2004 demonstrated the severity of flood problem when a vast area of {{convert|23490|km2}} was badly affected by the floods of [[Bagmati]], Kamala and the Adhwara groups of rivers causing loss of about 800 human lives.<ref name=floods/>

Three dams have been proposed as solutions to north Bihar's flood problems. Among the three one is across the Kamala at Chisapani, but a report claims that there is no flood cushion in the proposed Chisapani reservoir.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2007/07/1034 |title = Flooded with wrong ideas |access-date = 2010-05-05 |archive-date = 2011-05-28 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110528195302/http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2007/07/1034 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

.External link: [http://fmis.bih.nic.in/Gallery%20Pic/Flood/flood.html Glimpses of the flood in Northern Bihar in 2007] (Source: Water Resource Department, Govt. of Bihar)

==Kamala Multipurpose Project==
The Kamala Multipurpose Project would involve the construction of storage dam on the Kamala River in the districts of [[Dhanusa District|Dhanusa]] and [[Siraha District|Siraha]] in Nepal. The project would provide year-round irrigation facilities and generate hydropower with an installed capacity of 30 MW. This scheme forms part of the Sunkosi Storage-cum-Diversion Scheme which involves diverting water from the Sunkosi River to the Kamala River to augment lean season flow.<ref>{{cite book|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=cgYwDW13ILoC&q=Kamala+River&pg=PA91 | title =The Nepal-India Water Relationship: Challenges | work = p. 91|author1=Dwarika N. Dhungel |author2=Santa B. Pun | date =18 January 2009 | publisher =Springer | isbn =9781402084034 |access-date = 2010-05-05 }}</ref>

However, there is a cause for worry. North Bihar is an earthquake prone area. In 1998, earthquake zone was [[Darbhanga]] that is only {{convert|60|km}} from the borders of Nepal where big dams are being proposed. In 1988, Kamala River embankment in [[Madhubani district]] breached due to earthquake cracks.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.developednation.org/interviews/deepakbharti.htm|title = Interview : Deepak Bharti - SSVK, Bihar|publisher = DevelopedNation.org|access-date = 2010-05-05|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100308222238/http://www.developednation.org/interviews/deepakbharti.htm|archive-date = 2010-03-08|url-status = dead}}</ref>

==Kamala Valley==
The [[Kamala Valley]], also called Udayapur Valley, is in [[Udayapur district]] in southeastern Nepal. It is about {{cvt|30|km}} long and between {{cvt|2|km}} and {{cvt|4|km}} wide. It is drained by the Triyuga river flowing east to join the great [[Koshi River]]. This valley lies between the Mahabharat Range to the north and the Sivalik Hills to the south, with an average elevation of about {{cvt|430|m}}.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Darsie, R. F. Jr |name-list-style=amp |author2=Pradhan, S. P. |author3=Vaidya, R. G. |year=1992 |title=Notes on the mosquitoes of Nepal: II. New species records from 1991 collections |journal=Mosquito Systematics |volume=24 |pages=23–28 |url=http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/pdfs/MS24N01P023.Pdf |access-date=2008-10-13 |archive-date=2008-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219183024/http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/pdfs/MS24N01P023.Pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The mouth of the valley opens onto a {{cvt|175|km}} rectangle of land where the Triyuga meets the Koshi river above the [[Kosi embankment|Koshi Barrage]]. It was designated the [[Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve]] in 1976, and is home to the last remaining population of [[wild Asian water buffalo]] in Nepal. The reserve is mostly wetlands, subject to seasonal flooding, but also includes some grasslands and small patches of riverine forest. It is a [[Ramsar Site]].<ref name=nbrb2007>{{Cite book|author=Bhuju, U. R., Shakya, P. R., Basnet, T. B., Shrestha, S. |title=Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites |place=Kathmandu |publisher=International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development; Government of Nepal, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology; United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific |year=2007 |url=http://books.icimod.org/demo/uploads/ftp/Nepal%20Biodiversity%20Resource%20Book.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726170342/http://books.icimod.org/demo/uploads/ftp/Nepal%20Biodiversity%20Resource%20Book.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-26}}</ref>

Imagery of Kamala valley:
[https://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center%3D26.8,86.85&zoom%3D10&size%3D640x640&maptype%3Dterrain&markers%3Dcolor:blue%7Clabel:K%7C26.7824,86.7947&sensor%3Dfalse terrain]
[https://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center%3D26.8,86.85&zoom%3D10&size%3D480x480&maptype%3Dsatellite&markers%3Dcolor:blue%7Clabel:K%7C26.7824,86.7947&sensor%3Dfalse satellite]

Traditionally, the Kamala Valley was primarily inhabited by the [[Dhanwar Rai language|Dhanwar]] people (or Danuwar),<ref>Khatry, P. (1995). [http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/contributions/CNAS_22_01_04.pdf The Manjani System of the Danuwar State of the Kamala Valley: A Brief Study of an Egalitarian Judiciary]. Contributions to Nepalese Studies 22 (1): 43–55.</ref> but there is a fast-growing population of migrants from the Nepali hills and from India.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Hydrography of Nepal}}
{{Rivers in Bihar}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rivers of Madhesh Province]]
[[Category:Rivers of Bihar]]
[[Category:International rivers of Asia]]

Kamala River - Revision history

FaustinoRicks4 at 00:51, 4 September 2025