Karnali River Basin
The Karnali River Basin lies between the mountain ranges of Dhaulagiri in Nepal and Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand. Dhaulagiri II (7,751m) is the highest point of the entire basin. In the north, it lies in the rain shadow of the Himalayas. The basin formed by the river has a total catchment area of 127,950 km2, of which 45% is in India. The population of the Basin districts in Nepal increased from 1.9 million in 1971 to 4.7 million people in 2001, almost a 250% increase over three decades. The average population density of the Basin area increased from 53 person/km2 in 1981 to 87 persons/km2 in 2001. There is a steady growth in the economically active population in the Basin districts. The average literacy rate has increased from a mere 7.5% in 1971 to 45% in 2001. The social status of the permanent households increased from 24% in 1991 to 31% in 2001. The Basin has a total road length of 2,640 km, but the pace of road development is slow.
Read more about this topic: Ghaghara River
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