West Rapti River

Coordinates: 26°17′20″N 83°40′08″E / 26.289°N 83.669°E / 26.289; 83.669
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with East Rapti River.
For other uses, see Rapti.

West Rapti
Kuwano
West Rapti river at Bhalubang
Location
CountryNepal, India
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationRapti Zone, Nepal south of border of Rukum District with Rolpa District
 • coordinates28°28′33″N 82°52′44″E / 28.4757°N 82.8788°E / 28.4757; 82.8788
 • elevation3,500 m (11,500 ft)
Ghaghara River
 • coordinates
26°17′20″N 83°40′08″E / 26.289°N 83.669°E / 26.289; 83.669
 • elevation
60 m (200 ft)
Basin size23,900 km2 (9,200 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • average136 m3/s (4,800 cu ft/s)
Basin features
River systemGanges
Tributaries 
 • leftLungri Khola, Jhimruk Khola, Ami River, Rohini River
 • rightArun Khola,

The West Rapti, also known as the Kuwano, is a river which drains Rapti Zone in Mid-Western Region, Nepal, then Awadh and Bhojpur-Purvanchal regions of Uttar Pradesh state, and finally India before joining the Ghaghara. It is a major left bank tributary of the Ganges, and is also known as the Karnali in Nepal.

The West Rapti is notable for janajati ethnic groups – Kham Magar among its highland sources and then Tharu in Inner Terai Deukhuri Valley, for its irrigation and hydroelectric potential, and for recurrent floods that led to its nickname "Gorakhpur's Sorrow".

Max depth 8.50

Min depth 10.7

History

As ancient Airavati river

See also:
Sarayu river

Aciravati, Achirvati or Airavati is the ancient name for a river has been identified with the modern Rapti, flowing through what is now Nepal and the northern portion of Uttar Pradesh.[1][2] The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang knew it as A-chi-lo. Jain texts mention it as Eravai.[2]

The ancient city of

Sarayu. It was one of the five great rivers that constituted the Ganges group of rivers and one of the sacred rivers of the Buddhist midland.[2][3]

Geography

The Rapti rises south of a prominent E-W ridgeline midway between the western

Karnali and Gandaki basins are adjacent; south of it the Rapti and similar but smaller Babai River (Nepali
: बबई नदी; Babaī Nadī) separate the two larger basins. After crossing into India, the Babai and Rapti separately join the Karnali's continuation called Ghaghara. The Ghaghara ultimately joins the Ganges.

Hydrology

The Rapti's headwaters descend south from rugged highlands populated by

Mahabharat Range
.

Jhimruk Kholā (

paddy fields. At Cherneta, Pyuthan the Jhimruk approaches within 1.5 km of the Mardi and a 12 megawatt hydroelectric
plant exploits the Jhimruk being 200 meters higher.

Below Cherneta the Jhimruk loops east, becoming the border between Pyuthan and

Siwalik Hills and Dang District. At Bhalubang Bazaar Nepal's east-west Mahendra Highway
bridges the river.

Below Bhalubang,

Dudhwa Ranges, both sub ranges of the Siwaliks. Valley, following the WNW trend of the Siwalik hills for 100 km. Although the land is fertile, before DDT came into use in the 1950s Deukhuri was so malarial that only the Tharu people
who had genetic resistance could be confident of surviving the warmer months.

The river crosses from Dang into

Maharajganj District and Gorakhpur, passing Gorakhpur city at about 135 air miles (215 km) from Nepal.[citation needed
]

Just west of the city it is joined by the smaller

Maharajganj District in India. 60 km beyond Gorakhpur the Rapti joins the Ghaghara (Karnali) at Rajpur. About 120 km further on at Chhapra, the Ghaghara reaches the Ganges.[4][5][6][7]

Resource utilisation

The Rapti's flow has great seasonal variation because the river lacks sources in high elevation glaciers and snowfields to buffer pre-monsoon drought. Average monthly flows at Jalkundi (27°58'N, 82°14'E) in Deukhuri Valley vary from 17.6 m3/s in pre-monsoon April to 451 m3/s at the peak of the monsoon in August. Maximum recorded flood was 7,390 m3/s on 10 September 1981. 100-year flood flows are predicted at 10,100 m3/s. Every year, floods threaten over 700,000 acres (280,000 ha) in Uttar Pradesh.[citation needed]

Flood control projects under study include a dam at Jalkundi that would inundate 71,000 acres (29,000 ha) of farmland in Deukhuri Valley. An alternative dam site is upstream at Naumure on the Pyuthan-Dang district border (27°53'N, 82°48'E). This would be an earthen dam 169 m high with 351 million cubic meters live storage capacity, storing excess monsoon flows for irrigation use during the following dry season and generating up to 207 megawatts. Impoundment would mainly be in gorges through the Mahabharat Range, inundating less farmland than the Jalkundi alternative. Plans are also underway for three irrigation sub-projects – Kapilvastu District 30,500 hectares (75,000 acres) involving interbasin water transfer to the southeast, Deukhuri Valley 9,500 hectares (23,000 acres), and Banke District 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres).[8]

References

  1. S2CID 161844172
    . Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  2. ^
    ISBN 9788177552980. Retrieved 18 August 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
  3. ^ W. Hoey. "The Five Rivers of the Buddhists". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1907, pp. 41-46. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Rapti River". india9. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  5. ^ "Basti". Basti district administration. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  6. ^ "Sant Kabir Nagar district". Sant Kabir Nagar district administration. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  7. ISBN 9788185182612. Retrieved 28 May 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
  8. ISBN 9781402084034. Retrieved 28 May 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )

External links
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