Question

On which river’s banks was the first English factory set up in 1651?
1. Barak
2. Narmada
3. Hugli
4. Mahanadi

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Hugli

The correct answer is Hugli.

•  Hugli River (sometimes spelled “Hooghly”) is a Ganges River distributary, one of the many branches of the river that are collectively known as the “Mouths of the Ganges.” 

• The first English factory was set up on the banks of the river Hugli in 1651. 
• The factory had a warehouse where goods for export were stored, and it had offices where Company officials sat.
• By 1696 it began building a fort around the settlement. 
• Two years later it bribed Mughal officials into giving the Company zamindari rights over three villages. 
• One of these was Kalikata, which later grew into the city of Calcutta or Kolkata as it is known today.
• It also persuaded the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to issue a 'Farman' granting the Company the right to trade duty-free.
• 'Farman' means A royal edict or royal order.

• Barak River:
  • ​It rises in the Manipur hills and enters the plains near Lakhipur.
  • 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.
  • The principal tributaries of Barak are the Jiri, the Dhaleswari, the Singla, the Longai, the Sonai, and the Katakhal.
• Narmada:
  • ​It is the largest west flowing river of the Peninsula.
  • It rises near the Amarkantak range of mountains in Madhya Pradesh.
  • It is the fifth-largest river in the country and the largest one in Gujarat.
  • It traverses Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat and meets the Gulf of Cambay.
  • The total length of the river from source to sea is 1312 kilometers (815 miles) while the length up to the dam site is 1163 kilometers(723 miles). 
  • The total basin area of the river is 97,410 square kilometers comprising 85,858 square kilometers in Madhya Pradesh, 1658 square kilometers in Maharashtra, and 9894 square kilometers in Gujarat.
• Mahanadi:
  • ​It originates at an elevation of about 422 meters above mean sea level near Pharsiya village near Nagri town in the Raipur district of Chhattisgarh. 
  • It is one of the major inter-state east-flowing rivers.
  • The total length of the river from its origin to the confluence of the Bay of Bengal is about 851 Km, of which, 357 Km lies in Chhattisgarh and the balance 494 Km in Odisha. 
  • There are 14 major tributaries of which join the river upstream of Hirakud reservoir and 2 nos. join downstream of Hirakud.
  • Mahanadi is one of the most flood-causing rivers of India.