The Burhi Gandak River is a tributary of the Ganges. It is also known as the Sikrahna river. The Burhi (“Old”) Gandak flows parallel to and east of the Gandak River in an old channel.

Course

The Burhi Gandak originates from Chautarwa Chaur near Bisambharpur in the district of West Champaran in Bihar. It initially flows through the East Champaran district. After flowing for a distance of about 56 km, the river takes a southerly turn where two rivers - the Dubhara and the Tour – join it. Thereafter, the river flows in a south-easterly direction through the Muzaffarpur district for about 32 km. In this portion, the river spills over its banks and a number of spill channels take off and rejoin it later. The Burhi Gandak runs a zig-zag course through the districts of Samastipur and Begusarai before covering a short distance in Khagaria district, running by the side of the town of Khagaria, and flows into the Ganges near Gogri and near Bairarpur in Munger. It forms the western boundary of the Khagaria town and a protection embankment built along the eastern side of this river, protects Khagaria town from the floods of Burhi Gandak. The total length of the river is 320 km. The drainage area of the river is 10150 km2.

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the Burhi Gandak are - Masan, Balor, Pandai, Sikta, Tilawe, Tiur, Dhanauti, Kohra, Anjankote, Danda and lauriya,.