Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924024153987).pdf/371

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

BHU

293

low, generally where a back-water or sota joins the main stream, and sweeps off in a new direction down the back-water, entirely forsaking the old bed in this case, however, though the waters may for a time rise over the banks of its new channel and inundate the neighbouring country to the depth of a few feet, they are generally brought back after a winding course of a few miles into their old bed by the same channel by which they left it, and the country flooded is benefited rather than injured.

Both these processes have recently been going on at Bharguda in Bhur on the south the river is cutting away the high bank, and on the north it has suddenly turned off and wandered away into a new channel in pargana Nighasan, to the north of village Dhundela and part of the jungle grant No. 12, and now rejoins its old bed opposite Kardheya, five miles to the south-east of Bharguda.

Another and very important change in the river course occurred many years ago at Basaha, two miles above Kardheya, which has been noticed under pargana Srinagar.

The ganjar country or low plain to the south of the Chauka rises by the high bank above noticed into a comparatively high plain with a generally level surface, which occupies the rest of the area of the pargana. Numerous streams water this plain. They all rise in the sal forests in the south and west sides of the pargana, and flow in a parallel or almost parallel direction to the Chauka, i. e., in a course almost due south-east, and eventually they ail join it. The first is the Barauncha, a shallow river rising in the forests opposite Sixteen miles to the south-east of that village it trickles ankleBhira. deep over the high ridge at Daryabad, but immediately on reaching the low plain it becomes a wide and deep river, unfordable by elephants and after a further course of four miles flows into the Chauka at Belha Siktaha. About three miles south-west of the Barauncha is the Junai, and four miles south of the Junai is the Kandwa, and between these streams about the centre of the old pargana of Aliganj, is a large forest consisting prinNo part of cipally of sal trees and comprising perhaps six square miles. it has been appropriated by Government, and it was all apportioned among the neighbouring villages. The Junai has a course of only 1.5 miles, the the Kandwa has first 8 of which are in Bhur and the last 7 in Srinagar a course of 21 miles, the first 12 being in Bhiir, and the last 9 in Srinagar. These streams, but especially the Kandwa, are notorious for the badness they are each about 15 yards in width, they rise greatly of their water in the rains, the lands bordering them become swamps of black mud, and the villages on their banks suffer greatly from malarious fevers. On the south of the Barauncha and again on the south of the Junai the land rises very slightly, but on the south of the Kandwa it rises about 12 or 15 feet into a flat broad plain, with a good loam soil and an average width of 6 miles. This plain extends to the river Ul on the southern boundary of the pargana, and sinks into the terrace of the river, which is generally about a mile in width. The fourth river in the higher part of the pargana is the Ul. This forms the boundary of the pargana for about 38 miles ; it is a deep stream, very seldom fordable on horseback ;

,