MULTI-DECADAL FLUVIO-GEOMORPHOLOGICAL AND BANKLINE CHANGES OF THE GANGA RIVER AROUND BALLIA AND RUDRAPUR USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS TECHNIQUES

Abstract. Fluvial landforms are developed due to river action and these processes help in understanding the development of various landforms on the earth's surface. Gangetic plain is vast alluvial tract made up of sand, silt and clay. This region receives heavy rainfall causing flash floods which results in bank-line shifting as well as various fluvio-geomorphological changes. Fluvial processes such as erosion and deposition not only play an important role in shaping of different fluvial landscapes but also contribute towards the braiding and meandering pattern which causes change in the flow pattern of the river channel. Transportation and deposition of the suspended load also contributes towards such changes. The present work describes various fluvio-geomorphological features and their changes during different time intervals in and around Ballia and Rudrapur. The paper also deals in understanding the problems like bank-line shifting, erosion and deposition caused by the continuous change in the fluvial patterns, bank erosion and sedimentation in this region over past 8 decades.