Introduction

Ballia District is in the easternmost part of Uttar Pradesh. The district lies between the parallels of 25 degree 33 minutes and 26 degree 11 minutes north latitudes and 83 degree 38 minutes and 84 degree 39 minutes east longitudes. Ballia District is bounded on the west by Azamgarh, on the north by Deoria, on the north-east and south-east by Bihar and on the south-west by Ghazipur. Total area covered by this district is around 3168 sq kms and it is in the 51st position in terms of area in the state.

History of Ballia District

The origin of the name of Ballia District has long been a matter of dispute. It is locally said to have been derived from the name of Indian sage Valmiki, author of Ramayana, who resided here. Another belief about the origin of the name is that it has been derived from the sandy nature of the land of the place, locally known as `ballua` (balu meaning sand). Ballia District was a part of Indus Valley Civilization.

History of Ballia District as an administrative unit begins with the year 1879. Asaf-ud-Daula, the nawab vizier of Awadh, made a formal cession of the sovereignty of the province of Benaras (Varanasi) to the East India Company in 1775. The tract remained in his possession till 1794, when Raja Mahip Narayan Singh surrendered its control to the Governor General. In 1818 the Pargana of Doaba, which had been a part of Bihia in district Shahabad of Bihar, was transferred to the revenue sub-division of Ghazipur which shortly afterwards was separated from Benaras (Varanasi) and became an independent district. It then comprised the whole of Ballia also.

Further, the history of Ballia District states that in 1832 a redistribution of territory was made and Pargana Sikandarpur and Bhadaon were assigned to Azamgarh. Again in 1837 portions of Kopachit and Kharid were assigned to the same district. For some time no further changes took place and the Ballia tehsil, comprising Ballia, Doaba and Kharid Parganas, formed a subdivisions of Ghazipur. On 1st of November, 1879, a new district that is Ballia District was created by adding to the old sub-division the Parganas of Lakhnesar and Kopachit from the Rasra tehsil and those of Bhadaon and Sikandarpur from tehsil Nagra of Azamgarh. These Parganas constituted a new tehsil with headquarters at Rasra.

On 10th April, 1882 a third tehsil, Bansdih, was formed out of Pargana Kharid and 225 villages of Sikandarpur, and it was named as Sikandarpur East. At the same time 212 villages of Kopachit were transferred to Ballia and made into the new Pargana of Kopachit East. The last important change took place on 9th March, 1892, when 168 villages of Garha Pargana, together with Saraikota of Muhammadabad, were included in the Ballia tehsil. In the same year the boundary of Garha was extended so as to include the large village of Narainpur and two others. On 9th June, 1892 Diara Khawaspur village was transferred from Bhojpur in Bihar to Ballia.

In 1931, 39 villages of Pargana Ballia were transferred from Ballia to Bhojpur District of Bihar, when 10 villages were also transferred from district Bhojpur to Ballia. History of Ballia District states that a further change took place in 1970, when 31 villages were added to tehsil Bansdih from district Saran of Bihar and 14 villages were transferred from tehsil Bansdih to Saran District.

Geography of Ballia District

Geography of Ballia District is spread over level plain, intersected by numerous streams. Though there are no hills, the level surface is varied because of the high banks of the major rivers. There are depressions of varying depth and extent in which the drainage water collects, prior to its draining into the main systems of the river. Geographically, Ballia District is divided into two natural divisions - the interior upland and the lowland tract. The upland has an average altitude of 64 metres above sea-level and comprises the western half of the district, including the whole of the Bhadaon, Lakhnesar and Kopachit Parganas and a narrow strip of land extending eastwards into the Kharid and Ballia Parganas.

The soil is for the most part a light loam with a fair mixture of sand. The proportion of sand increases on the higher ridges and the soil becomes very light, though not unfertile. In the depressions the soil is mostly clayey and in these tracts paddy is the chief crop. The lowland tract comprises the rest of Ballia District but is far from being of a uniform character. The surface of the lowland is usually very uneven. The level is about 4.5 meters below that of the upland, though it varies from place to place.

The climate of Ballia District is moist and relaxing except in the summer and cold seasons. The year may be divided into four seasons - winter season (which lasts from about the latter half of November to February) summer season (from March to mid June), south-west monsoon season (which constitutes the period from about the mid of June to the end of September) and the post-monsoon or transitional season (which covers October and the first half of November). Records of rainfall in the district are available for four stations for fairly long periods. The average annual rainfall in the district is 1,013.1 mm. About 88 per cent of the annual rainfall is received during the south-west monsoon months (June to September), August being the rainiest month. 

The relative humidity is generally high during the south-west monsoon season, being 70 per cent. Winds are generally light with some increase in force during the latter part of the summer and early part of the monsoon season. Some of the monsoon depressions from the Bay of Bengal move in a westerly to north-westerly direction and affect the weather of district causing widespread heavy rain and gusty winds. Dust storms and thunderstorms occur during the summer season. Rain in the monsoon season is often associated with thunder.

Geography of Ballia District includes three main rivers in the district - Ghaghara River, Ganga River and the Saryu River. Ghaghara River flows through the northern border of the district. It receives very little drainage in this district and so its tributaries are insignificant. Ganga first touches the boundary of the district in the extreme south. In the district, River Ganga flows in a north-easterly direction as far as the town of Ballia and from there it turns towards the south-east and after flowing for some distance it turns north-east. The chief tributary of Ganga in this district is the Saryu. 

Topography of Ballia District includes several lakes. The most important lake in the district is the great Suraha Tal which covers a large area. Among other lakes the largest is the Mundiari Dah. Others are Taliji Tal, Kawal Dah, Goka Tal and Reoti Dah.

The geology of Ballia District exposes nothing except the ordinary Gangetic alluvium. The mineral products are few being confined to the saline earth from which saltpeter and salt are produced. Ballia District is situated in the area where earthquakes of slight to moderate intensity have been experienced in the past. Further, there are no forests in the district but along the great rivers there are numerous expanses of sandy ground covered with jhau or tamarisk which afford cover to wide pig and other animals. Thus, the variety and number of wild animals is limited.