The Kangsabati River is known as the Kasai and Cossay, rises from the Chota Nagpur plateau in the state of Jharkhand , India and passes through the districts of Purulia , Bankura and Paschim Medinipur in West Bengal before draining in the Bay of Bengal .

After rising near Jhalda in the Chota Nagpur plateau in Purulia district , it passes by Khatra and Ranibandh in Bankura district , and then enters Paschim Medinipur in the Binpur area. It is joined by Bhairabbanki. At Keshpur the river splits into two. The northern branch flows through the Daspur area as Palarpai and joins the Rupnarayan River . The other branch f;ows in a south-easterly direction and on joining the Kaliaghai River forms the Haldi River, which flows in to the Hooghly River at Haldia .

Mukutmanipur , Midnapore , and Kharagpur are towns on or near the banks of this river.

Kangsabati Project

The Kangsabati Project was started in 1956 as part of the Indian Second Five-year Plan to provide water to 3,484.77 km² of land in the districts of Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur , Bankura , and Hooghly . It involves irrigation land using water from the Kangsabati River, as well as the Shilabati and the Bhoirobbanki rivers.

As part of the Project, a 38 m high and 10,098 m long dam was constructed at Khatra . A anicut dam built on the Kangsabati River near Midnapore in 1872 was also added to the operations of the project.