Discuss the origin and course of Barak River .

Ans :- Barak River System :- The Barak is the second largest river system in the North-East as well as in Assam. The Barak rises on the southern slope of the lofty Barail Range near the border of Manipur and Nagaland and forms a part of the northern boundary of the Manipur State with Nagaland where it is known as Kirong. From there it flows a westerly and southerly course to Tipaimukh, where it sharply turns to the north, and for a considerable distance, forms the boundary line between Cachar district of Assam and Manipur. Thereafter, it turns westward at Jirimukh and runs through the Cachar plain sluggishly. Near Karimganj, it bifurcates into the northern branh of Surma and the southern branch of Kushiyara. The river enters Bangladesh as Surma and Kushiyara. Later, the river is called the Meghna and receives the combined flow of the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers . The river with a total length of about 900 km from source to mouth drains an area of about 52,000 sq. km. In India, Barak river traverses a distance of about 532 km upto the IndoBangla border.
In Assam, the Barak river has a total length of about 225 km and it drains the southern part of the state which includes the districts of Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi and the southern part of the North Cachar Hills. The valley has a width of 25-30 km and it covers an area of about 6962 sq. km accounting for about 9% of the total geographical area of the state. The plain, usually known as “Cachar Plain” is a narrow, and slopes gently to the west. Through the plain,  the river flows sluggishly for a distance of 125 km and exhibits a highly meandering pattern. The important north bank tributaries of Barak river are Jiri, Siri, Madhura, Jatinga and Larang, while the important south bank tributaries include Sonai, Ghagra, Katakhal, Dhaleswari, Singla and Longai.

Conclusion :- Barak River is one of major rivers of Assam. The 900 km long river is a part of Surma-Meghna River System. The 121 km sixth(6th) national inland waterway of India is between Lakhipur(Cachar) and Bhanga(Karimganj) of the Barak river. The Barak is among the richest rivers in the world as to aquatic biodiversity, as it contains more than 2,000 species of fish. The biomes are extremely rich in wildlife and also very diverse in the entire stretch of the Barak river