
478 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. (September, 1908. 
allowed for important streams (Chota Kosi, Boro, Barundi and 
Kosi), and these can be eliminated since they are not exits for 
Ganges water spilling to the north, we find that only just over 
ment appears to be a “ band” of the most dangerous type, name- 
ly, one which interferes unnecessarily with the work of Nature. 
ws a ee ney made very recently from the west by the 
B. & N. W. Ry. I noticed the following points which, I hope, will 
show that the statement made above regarding . he danger of the 
embankment is not without foundation; for some distance, before 
reaching the bridge, I noticed several depressions, on the north of 
the embankment, which were obviously beds of small streams. On 
reaching these I found that they were stopped altogether by the 
embankment, with the result that they could not, as they ob- 
viously did before the building of the embankment, carry their 
water to the Ganges; on the south of the embankmen , in on 
case, there was absolutely no visible trace of the old bed, and in 
several other cases, although the old beds could be seen, they 
were very much less marked than on the north side of the em- 
bankment; this result is not due to the south side being cultivated 
land is being r 
little or no deposit is, in the place of which I speak, being given to 
the areas on the north, obviously legitimately within the sphere 
of the Ganges, but excluded from it by the railway embankment. 
Let us turn to the south side of the Ganges. I have on 
several occasions searched that line for acest such as those just 
quoted, but so far without success; the reason is that although 
the E. I. Ry. was built at least 30 years ‘before the B.& N. W. Ry., 
it was considered then that sufficient waterway! to admit flood 
water through the embankments was saaaiteel in looking for the 
final result we find the south bank of the Ganges being raised as 
originally intended by nature, and the north bank suffering from 
a lack of deposit except along a narrow strip on the south of its 
railway embankment. Aftera pore number of years, a breach in 
the B. & N. W. R.y embankment may very possibly result in 
damage being done to others rine “these interested in the railway 
itself; the future can but give an increasing flood level to the 
Ganges at this point, and it seems quite probable that the action 
now going on will result in deterioration of the navigable channel 
of the Ganges further up stream. 

1 Exel uding rivers, the linear blest m8 mile between Mokameh i 
7 fe I 
Bhagalpur is about et. Iam hat sectional comparisons, 
Waterway, are Fes sf preferable to awe comparisons, bnt, since the E. T. 
Ry. embankments are higher than those the B. & N. W. Ry., it is not 
necessary vig give sectional areas of waterway when comparing the two 
Bee Re ee ae 
