STUDY OF DRAINAGE SYSTEM AND ITS HYDROLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS USING GEO-SPATIAL TECHNIQUES: A MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS IN MOHAL KHAD WATERSHED OF KULLU DISTRICT, HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

Understanding the behavior of surface drainage network is one of the important prerequisite condition for effective planning and management of water resources within the watershed. Morphometric analysis of a watershed is a crucial step in watershed development and management to understand and interpret the dynamics of drainage system of the watershed and is useful for interpretation of silent features of drainage network. A morphometric analysis was carried out to evaluate the drainage characteristics of Mohalkhad watershed which covers an area about 54 km2 in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh in Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). Geospatial technique/tool such as Remote Sensing (RS) and GIS was used to evaluate the linear, areal and relief aspects of morphometric parameters. RS and GIS technique is very helpful over the conventional methods that are too laborious and cumbersome. To carry out this study, Survey of India (SOI) toposheet of 1:50,000 scale and ASTER DEM (30 m resolution) data were used and analysis was carried out in ArcGIS 10.5 software. Total 21 morphometric parameters of Mohalkhad watershed were evaluated considering the linear, areal and relief aspects. The significance of each morphometric parameter with the hydrological behavior of the watershed is discussed in this study. This exercise provide detailed insight into drainage system of the Mohalkhad watershed, which is useful for the development and management of water conservation measures in the area.