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Carrying Capacity Study of Teesta Basin in Sikkim - Affected ...

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These landforms and dra<strong>in</strong>age patterns <strong>in</strong>clude ma<strong>in</strong>ly the four tier<br />

terraces, canyons or gorge-valley at different altitudes, asymmetric<br />

valleys, polypr<strong>of</strong>ilic U-shaped valleys and steps or troughs, lakes, alluvial<br />

cones, truncated ridge-spurs, soil pr<strong>of</strong>iles, terracettes (soil landscape<br />

systems), rectangular-barbed-parallel-trellised-radial –sub-dendritic, etc.<br />

dra<strong>in</strong>age patterns, straight meander<strong>in</strong>g braided etc, channels and others.<br />

Huge amount <strong>of</strong> water enters <strong>in</strong>to the <strong>Teesta</strong> catchment <strong>in</strong> the<br />

form <strong>of</strong> ra<strong>in</strong> and snow which is dra<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>of</strong>f as the discharge <strong>of</strong> water by a<br />

system <strong>of</strong> dra<strong>in</strong>s <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Teesta</strong> and its tributary streams. Primarily the<br />

<strong>Teesta</strong> dra<strong>in</strong>age bas<strong>in</strong> is constituted by this system <strong>of</strong> dra<strong>in</strong>s or channels<br />

(straight, s<strong>in</strong>uous or meander<strong>in</strong>g, braided etc.) both <strong>of</strong> natural and<br />

artificial, relat<strong>in</strong>g to the action <strong>of</strong> dra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the higher mounta<strong>in</strong>s and<br />

piedmonts <strong>in</strong> <strong>Sikkim</strong>. In an <strong>in</strong>terpretative sense, the <strong>Teesta</strong> dra<strong>in</strong>age<br />

catchment is found to have been occupied by a complex hydrographic<br />

net works <strong>of</strong> branch<strong>in</strong>g streams <strong>in</strong> hierarchical order from its smallest<br />

tributary like Andherijhora etc. to the trunk stream <strong>Teesta</strong>, the ma<strong>in</strong><br />

channel for dra<strong>in</strong>age. This hierarchy and other characteristics <strong>of</strong> the<br />

hydrographic net works <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Teesta</strong> dra<strong>in</strong>age may be expressed <strong>in</strong><br />

terms <strong>of</strong> morphometric attributes (dra<strong>in</strong>age texture, orders, bifurcation<br />

ratio, texture ratio <strong>in</strong>dex, stream length ratio etc.).<br />

The <strong>Teesta</strong> bas<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>cludes (a) surface bodies like rivers or lakes, <strong>in</strong><br />

the superjacent air, and (b) underground dra<strong>in</strong>age <strong>of</strong> various types and<br />

orig<strong>in</strong>s. Hence, three types <strong>of</strong> surface dra<strong>in</strong>age have been dist<strong>in</strong>guished<br />

<strong>in</strong> the bas<strong>in</strong> area. Primarily, surface dra<strong>in</strong>age relates to (i) precipitation <strong>of</strong><br />

moisture or ra<strong>in</strong>fall and flow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> accordance with the varied<br />

17<br />

CISMHE

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