Basti District, Uttar Pradesh

Geography of Basti, Uttar Pradesh

Basti district lies between the parallels of 26° 23' and 27° 30' North and Latitude and 82° 17' and 83° 20' East longitude. Its maximum length from north to south is about 75 km. and breadth from east to west about 70 km. The district lies between newly created district Sant Kabir Nagar on the east and Gonda on the west On the south, the Ghaghra river separates it from the Faizabad and newly created district named Ambedkar Nagar. While on the North it is bounded by district Sidharth Nagar. The district lies entirely in the submontane plain, with no natural elevations to diversify its surface. It lies on gangetic plain and is one of the best place for agriculture in country.

Basti District Urban Population 2011   
Out of the total Basti population for 2011 census, 5.61 percent lives in urban regions of district. In total 138,117 people lives in urban areas of which males are 72,492 and females are 65,625. Sex Ratio in urban region of Basti district is 905 as per 2011 census data. Similarly child sex ratio in Basti district was 916 in 2011 census. Child population (0-6) in urban region was 15,347 of which males and females were 8,009 and 7,338. This child population figure of Basti district is 11.05 % of total urban population. Average literacy rate in Basti district as per census 2011 is 84.44 % of which males and females are 89.94 % and 78.35 % literates respectively. In actual number 103,662 people are literate in urban region of which males and females are 57,996 and 45,666 respectively. 

   Basti District Rural Population 2011
As per 2011 census, 94.39 % population of Basti districts lives in rural areas of villages. The total Basti district population living in rural areas is 2,322,939 of which males and females are 1,183,666 and 1,139,273 respectively. In rural areas of Basti district, sex ratio is 962 females per 1000 males. If child sex ratio data of Basti district is considered, figure is 922 girls per 1000 boys. Child population in the age 0-6 is 356,968 in rural areas of which males were 185,731 and females were 171,237. The child population comprises 15.69 % of total rural population of Basti district. Literacy rate in rural areas of Basti district is 68.77 % as per census data 2011. Gender wise, male and female literacy stood at 80.05 and 57.14 percent respectively. In total, 1,351,994 people were literate of which males and females were 798,851 and 553,143 respectively.

Climate:-    Basti's climate is more equable than that of the adjoining districts to the south. The year may be divided into four seasons. Winter, from mid-November to February, is followed by summer, which lasts until approximately the middle of June. The period from mid-June to the end of September is the southwest monsoon season, and October to mid-November is the post-monsoon or transition period.

Cloudiness:- During the monsoon season, and for brief spells of a day or two in winter, heavily clouded or overcast skies prevail. During the rest of the year the skies are mostly clear or lightly clouded.
Rainfall:- The average annual rainfall of the district is 1166 mm.

Temperature:- During the winter season the mean minimum temperature is about 9°C and the mean maximum temperature 23°C. During the summer, the mean minimum is about 25°C and the mean maximum about 44°C.

Humidity:- In the southwest monsoon and post-monsoon seasons the relative humidity is above 70%. Thereafter the humidity decreases, and in the summer the air is very dry.

Winds:-  The winds are in general very light, with a slight increase during the late summer and monsoon seasons. The average annual wind speed ranges from 2.0 to 7.1 km/h.

Transportation -

By Rail:- The main line connecting Lucknow with Gorakhpur and places in Bihar and Assam in the East passes through the south of the district. The main line has 7 railway stations namely, from east to west Munderwa, Orwara, Basti, Govindnagar, Tinich, Gaur, and Babhnan within the district. There is a daily Intercity express between Gorakhpur, Basti, Gonda and Lucknow.

By Road:- Basti is chained into the East West Corridor project of Government of India and Nhai. The corridor runs from Gujrat to Assam. It is NH28 Highway. Hence there is a possibility of developement of Basti in the field of Agro based products as it is connected to all major cities by road now in 2011. At present 200 (approx.) buses of U.P. state Transport Corporation are plying on 27 routes within the district. Volvo Bus services are also provided by UPSTRC at nominal prices.

Culture of Basti, Uttar Pradesh

Mahatma Kabir, the well-known poet and philosopher used to live at Maghar in Basti district. The inhabitants of the district celebrate festivals like Nav Durga, Ramnaumi, Krishna Janmasthmi, Shivratri, Deepawali, Id-ul-Fitar, Id-uz-Zuha, Moharram, Dashara and Holi. The festival Nav Durga puja celebrated for 15 days All street of the city decorated with fancy electric light and beautiful nav durga murti. The people of the city celebrated this occasion with worm and happiness, the rural people also participate in this fair. The district administration make all preventive arrangement during this period.          
Language: Vernaculars spoken in Basti include Awadhi in Basti West areas & Bhojpuri in Basti East Side.Most of the people read and write in Hindi.

Cloths: In rural area, most of the men wear Kurta, Dhoti and women wear sari and blowuse and in urbon area men wear shirt and pants , girls wear salwar shute and women wear sari and blowuse.

Cuisine of Basti, Uttar Pradesh

Food: Main food of the people are Roti (wheat), rice, Dal (arhar) and seasonal vegetables and fruits.

Places of interest in Basti, Uttar Pradesh

Pakke Bazar, Ahmath Pull, Kutiwa, Ganeshpur, Makhauda, Chawni Bazar, Nagar, Chando Tal, Barah, Jama Masjid, Kateshwar park, Van Vihar, Bhadeshwar Nath, Paida, Mahua dabar, Bhuila taal, pakari bikhy, dihwa(jaitapur)and Agauna are the major tourist attractions.

Vikramjot -
Vikramjot  is a small market of Basti district 46 km away from the headquarters of Basti district. The last police station of Basti is there. The Ghaghara River adjoins the market. It is also a block of district it has an electric power station, a hospital with 50 beds, an animal hospital, two inter colleges (Shri Valmiki Inter College mainly), a ganna sumit, a post office and a police station near from village Chhatouna.

Gandhi Nagar -
Gandhi Nagar is a market town in the heart of Basti District. Many items are sold in the market, including cloths, machinery, books, shoes, shocks, bicycles, tractors, hand pumps, etc. Educational institutions include APN Degree College and Sakseria Inter College.

Chawni Bazar -
Chawni Bazar is situated at a distance of 40 km from the district headquarters. It was the main shelter for Indian fighters during the 1857 mutiny, and is noted for a Pipal Trees where about 250 martyrs were hanged by the British Government in action after the murder of General Fort.

Nagar -
Nagar: In the 14th century Nagar became the headquarters of the Guatam Rajas, and it has the remains of their castle. The village is situated at a distance of about 8 km from the district headquarters.

Chando -
Chando Tal is situated at about 8 km from the district headquarters on the way to Kalwari. It is a stretch of water about 5 km long and 4 km. wide. Historical artifacts are sometimes found in this area.

Sant Ravi Dass Van Vihar -
Rashtriya Van Chetna Kendra (Sant Ravi Dass Van Vihar): Van Vihar is established on the bank of river Kuwana on the way to Ganeshpur village at a distance of about 1 km from the district headquarters. This was started to increase awareness about forests.

Barah temple -
Barah is situated at a distance of about 15 km on the bank of the Kuwana River, west of the district headquarters. This place is noted for Barah temple.

Bhadeshwar Nath temple -
Bhadeshwar Nath, situated at a distance of about 5–6 km from the district headquarters on the bank of the river Kuwana, is noted for a Shiva temple.

Paida -
Paida, situated at a distance of about 14 km from the district headquarters on the way to Siddharth Nagar, is noted for an independence movement monument and a horticulture centre.

Agauna -
Agauna is the birthplace of Hindi author Sri Ram Chandra Shukla.

Ganeshpur -
Ganeshpur, a large village, was the headquarters of a large permanently settled estate known as Pindari Jagir. And about Pindaris there is a legend that when the were running from East India company they took shelter in this village.And they broke some old temples around there and forciblly converted the religion of some localites.

Pakke Bazar - Pakke Bazar is the central market of Basti district.

Harraiya - Harraiya is one of the tehsils in Basti district. And there is an Epic story about its name that Lord Ram with Sita And Lakshman Went by this way in Ramayan era.So it was then called as Harirahiya in Awadhi which later turned into Harraiya.It is also a legislative assembly

Ahmath Pull - Ahmath Pull is a bridge over the River Kuwano on the outskirts of Basti city.

Bhuila Taal - Bhuila Taal is a small lake situated 27 km from Basti town in the village of Jaitapur. The lake is noted for migratory birds during the winter.

Events in Basti, Uttar Pradesh