Assessment of recent changes in planform of river Ganga from Mirapur Khadar to Narora barrage, Uttar Pradesh, India

Present study was undertaken to assess the vast changes in the behavior of the course of the Ganga river by the identification of recent changes in planform and dynamic fluvial characteristics of the river and quantification of the meandering indices as well as braiding index for the region Mirapur Khadar to Narora, Uttar Pradesh. Narora barrage is located on the banks of river Ganga and its construction was completed in 1966. After its construction, the braiding index was increased from 0.17 to 0.41 from 1975 to 2015. Meandering indices were observed to be increased from 1.26 to 1.36 within a chronological period from 1975 to 2015. This shows that streams are exhibiting braiding as well as meandering pattern. The construction of Bijnor as well as Narora barrages has affected the planform geometry of river Ganga. The study reveals that the natural as well as anthropogenic factors are responsible for the oscillating nature of river Ganga. The study further reveals that Landsat images can be successfully used to identify the meandering indices, braiding index and planform change.