system in the region with a large traffic flow. For a long time, the Calcutta Port was the biggest port of India. Although in the past its significance had gone down, recently it has reached the 3rd position in the list of Indian Ports. The modern container port of Haldia, on the intersection of lower Hooghly and Haldi River, now carries much of the region's maritime trade. One new port will be built in the deep sea to reduce the load on Calcutta port. Despite the river being polluted, the fish from it are important to the local economy. The Hooghly river valley was the most important industrial area of the state of Bengal. Despite a decline of the jute industry, the prime industry of this region, it is still one of the biggest industrial areas of India. It has a number of small cities which form the Greater Kolkata agglomeration, the second biggest Indian city and the former capital. In September 2015, the Government of West Bengal announced that renovation of the Hooghly riverfront in Kolkata will be completed with the help of World Bank funding under the National Ganga River Basin Project Scheme. Hooghly River in arts Literature Rudyard Kipling wrote an article, On the Banks of the Hugli (1888), and a short story set on the Hooghli, An Unqualified Pilot (1895). Cultural events The Silk River project aims at exploring the artistic relationship between Kolkata and London through artistic exchange from 10 locations each along the Hooghly River and the River Thames. The 10 places along the Hooghly River are Murshidabad, Krishnagar, Chandernagore, Barrackpore, Jorasanko, Bowbazar, Howrah, Kidderpore, Botanical Gardens and Batanagar. Ten scrolls, painted in the Patua tradition, depicting the 10 places will be carried along the Hooghly River. The event began at Murshidabad on 7 December 2017 and ended at the Victoria Memorial, Kolkata on 17 December. Gallery See also List of rivers of India Kolkata Eye References External links Hugli River at NASA Earth Observatory Hooghly District Information Distributaries of the Ganges Rivers of West Bengal Geography of Kolkata Howrah Sundarbans Tourism in West Bengal Rivers of India