Study on variations of major index properties of recent sediments along the course of the river ganga from rishikesh,Uttarakhand to Diamond harbour,West Bengal, India

Abstract

Recent sediment is considered as a thin crustal membrane, produced by a series of prolonged and complex natural processes. From the pre-historic time human inhabitation and subsequent civilization were mostly constricted along the river valley due to the fertility of alluvial sediment. In recent days, unplanned urbanization along the river course not only degrading its ecological health but also enhancing the threat of disaster like bank failure and recurring flood. Thus categorization of mechanical index properties of basin sediment is essential prior to plan a civil construction. In the Indian subcontinent the River Ganga constitute one of the important river systems responsible for the deposition of huge sedimentation and contributed a significant fertile land mass. In the present investigation an attempt has been made to study the variations of major index properties of recent soil along the course of the River Ganges from its foot hill flow to the down-stream end at the Bay of Bengal. Samples were collected from eleven locations, following the river flow. Detail analyses of the obtained results related to index properties were made to bring out a correlation between the soils geotechnical properties and related coefficients with the distance and over all conditions of its deposition.