Rapti

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Rapti

[identified by Lassen with the Solomatis of Ainan = Skt, Saravati , by Pargiter with the Sadamra ( f evei -flowing ') of the epics , also called Irdvati ('lefreshmg ')] River which rises m the lowei ranges of Nepal (27 49' N, 82 44' E ), and joins the GOGRA in Gorakhpur District of the United Provinces Its course is first south and then north-west and west, after which it again turns south and crosses the bolder of Oudh in Bahraich District. It then flows south- east or south through Bahraich, Gonda, BastT, and Gorakhpur Dis- tricts, with a total couise of about 400 miles Its wide bed is confined within high banks, but the actual channel shifts considerably Floods are not uncommon, but do little damage, if they subside in time for spimg crops to be sown, as the silt deposited acts as a fertilizer The feeders of this river are chiefly small livers using m the tarai north of its course, the largest being the Dhamela, joined by the Ghunghi, and the Rohmi, m Gorakhpur. In Gonda and Bast! an old bed of the river, called the Burhi Rapti, some miles north of its present course, brings down a consideiable amount of watei in the rains. The BAKHIRA LAKE in Basti District and the Chilua lake in Gorakhpur dram into it. The Rapti is navigable for small boats as high as Bhinga in Bahraich, and for large boats to the town of Gorakhpur, which stands near its banks. Much timber and grain from Nepal and the British Districts which it traverses are earned down into the Gogra, and thence into the Ganges } but the traffic has fallen off since the extension of the Bengal and North-Western Railway. The RaptT is rarely used for irrigation.