Padma River is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges. The Ganges originates in the Gangotri Glacier of the Himalaya and enters Bangladesh at Shibganj in the district of Chapai Nababganj. It flows southeast for 120 kilometres to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. According to the Hindus, it takes the sanctity of the Ganges. The Ganges-Padma hydrodynamic system has formed one of the world's largest delta complex covering a major portion of Bangladesh and West Bengal. The Padma is 4 to 8 km wide. The famous Goalandaghat-Chandpur steamer route is mostly on this river. The discharge of the Padma rises to 750,000 cumec in the monsoon. The low-level discharge of the river during the dry season is of the order of 15,000 cumec.
