he Padma (Bengali: পদ্মা Pôdda) is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for 120 kilometres (75 mi) to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the banks of the river.
The Padma, Sanskrit for lotus flower, is mentioned in Hindu mythology as a byname for the Goddess Lakshmi.
The name Padma is given to the lower part of the course of the Ganges (Ganga) below the point of the off-take of the Bhagirathi River (India), another Ganges River distributary also known as the Hooghly River. Padma had, most probably, flowed through a number of channels at different times. Some authors contend that each distributary of the Ganges in its deltaic part is a remnant of an old principal channel, and that starting from the western-most one, the Bhagirathi (in West Bengal, India), each distributary to the east marks a position of a newer channel than the one to the west of it.
The bed of the Padma is wide, and the river is split up into several channels flowing between constantly shifting sand banks and islands. During the rains the current is very strong and even steamers may find difficulty in making headway against it. It is navigable at all seasons of the year by steamers and country boats of all sizes and until recently ranked as one of the most frequented waterways in the world. It is spanned near Paksey by the great Hardinge Bridge over which runs one of the main lines of the Bangladesh Railway.
Rajshahi is the largest city among the cities which is situated on the bank of Padma river. It is the third largest city in Bangladesh. It is a major city in the north Bengal. Rajshahi has a beautifully decorated embankment of Padma. Rajshahi Collegiate School is one of the oldest schools in Indian Subcontinent, situated on Padma river bank. The school was endangered three times by the disintegration of the Padma river. Padma Food Garden, A.H.M. Kamaruzzaman Central Park and Zoo, Barokuthi Nandan Park, Muktamancha, and 'T' shaped embankment are best tourist spot in Rajshahi which are situared on the bank of Padma river.