Gomti Basin//TRIBUTARIES OF GANGA

The Gomti River, an alluvial river of the Ganga Plain and one of the important tributaries of the Ganga, originates near Mainkot, from Gomat Taala lake also known as– ‘Fulhar Jheel’ in Madhotanda, about 30 km, 3 km east of the Pilibhit town in Uttar Pradesh at an elevation of 185 m. 

The river flows through an incised valley southwards through the districts of Sitapur, Lucknow, Barabanki, Sultanpur, and Jaunpur before meeting the Ganga river at Kaithi, District-Ghazipur, bordering Varanasi (at an elevation of 61 m.) after traversing 940 km, in south south-east direction. Various Tributaries of River Gomati are Gachai, the Sai, the Jomkai, the Barna, the Chuha, the Saryu, the Giri, the Kalyani, and the Kathna.

The geographical extent of the Gomti sub-basin lies between 79° 59' to 83° 14' east longitudes and 25° 25' to 28° 40' north latitudes of the country. 

The Gomti sub-basin of the Ganga basin has a total catchment area of 29,865 sq.km.

 Majority of the surface area of the Gomti Basin is generally flat, sloping towards South and South East with altitude varying from 200 m to 62 m above mean sea level.

 For about 450 km from the origin, the difference in the elevation is about 100 m and for the remaining stretch of 500 km, there is an elevation difference of 25 m. 

The characteristic of the river is perennial. 

The river is characterized by sluggish flow throughout the year, except during the monsoon season, when heavy rainfall causes a manifold increase in the runoff. 

Sai River is its major tributary having a drainage area of 12,900 sq. km., approximately 43% of the total catchment area of Gomti basin. 

Sitapur, Lucknow, Sultanpur and Jaunpur are the four major urban settlements on the banks of the river. 

The Gomti Basin lies between East longitudes 79°57’ and 83°11’ and North latitudes of 25°23’ and 28°42’. 

It is bounded by Ramganga Basin in North-West, Ghaghara Basin in North and North-East, and Ganga Basin in South-West, South and South-East. 

There are three Sub-basins defined in Gomti Basin namely Lower Gomti, Sai and Upper Gomti. The basin covers 17 districts (2 fully and 15 partial) and 161 blocks (90 fully and 71 partial) of Uttar Pradesh.

The climate of Gomti Basin is sub-tropical, monsoonal. Winters (October to February) are cool and dry with occasional fogs and light showers, summers (March to early June) are hot and dry, and the monsoon season (middle June to September) is warm and humid, with frequent heavy rainfall. 

The entire Gomti basin is underlain by thick alluvial sediments of the Quaternary age. 

The alluvial sediments consist of boulders, pebbles, gravels, sand, silt, clay and kankars.

 The unconsolidated unit may be further subdivided into younger alluvium and older alluvium.

 The younger alluvium occupies the present-day flood plains while the older group occupies elevated portions mainly the doab portions. 

The older alluvium is characterized by kankar nodules at depth otherwise it is similar to the younger alluvium. 

As per census 2011, the total population of Gomti Basin is 277.15 lakh out of which 51.27 lakh (18.5%) is urban and 225.89 lakh (81.5%) is rural. Out of the total population, 51.7% are male and 48.3% are female.