Migration of the Ganga river and its implication on hydro-geological potential of Varanasi area, U.P., India |
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Authors: | U K Shukla N Janardhana Raju |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005, India |
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Abstract: | Borehole data reveals that during Late Quaternary, the Ganga river was non-existent in its present location near Varanasi.
Instead, it was flowing further south towards peripheral craton. Himalayan derived grey micaceous sands were being carried
by southward flowing rivers beyond the present day water divide of Ganga and mixed with pink arkosic sand brought by northward
flowing peninsular rivers. Subsequently, the Ganga shifted to its present position and got incised. Near Varanasi, the Ganga
river is flowing along a NW-SE tectonic lineament. The migration of Ganga river is believed to have been in response to basin
expansion caused due to Himalayan tectonics during Middle Pleistocene times.
Multi-storied sand bodies generated as a result of channel migration provide excellent aquifers confined by a thick zone of
muddy sediments near the surface. Good quality potable water is available at various levels below about 70 m depth in sandy
aquifers. Craton derived gravelly coarse-to-medium grained sand forms the main aquifer zones of tens of meter thickness with
enormous yield. In contrast, the shallow aquifers made up of recycled interfluve silt and sandy silt occur under unconfined
conditions and show water-level fluctuation of a few meters during pre-and post-monsoon periods. |
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Keywords: | Gangetic Plain Ganga river Quaternary channel migration hydrological potential Varanasi |
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