The Chhoti Gandak River: Parinirvan Place of Gautam Buddha

Chhoti Gandak is a meandering groundwater-fed river which originates in the terai area of Ganga Plain in the Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh. After travelling a distance of about 250 km, it drains into the Ghaghara River near Gothani in Siwan district of Bihar. It is one of the best studied river basins of India. The drainage basin parameters of this river were carried out for the mitigation of flood and groundwater recharge. The characteristics of the drainage basin, discharge of the river and sediment load are in direct response to the climate and tectonics which evolve the fluvial landforms. The morphometric indices indicate active tectonics in this river basin. The analysis explains that the management and development of water resource and its planning should be done in the light of drainage basin characteristics and morphometric parameters. This paper describes the multiproxy analysis of the Chhoti Gandak River which are important for better planning and mitigation of the fluvial hazards in the Chhoti Gandak River Basin which have both academic and social implications.