Kheri

Kheri, a district of British India, in the Lucknow division of the United Provinces, which takes its name from a small town with a railway station 81 m. N.W. of Lucknow. The area of the district is 2963 sq. m., and its population in 1901 was 905,138. It consists of a series of fairly elevated plateaus, separated by rivers flowing from the north-west, each bordered by alluvial land. North of the river Ul, the country is considered very unhealthy. Through this tract, probably the bed of a lake, flow two rivers, the Kauriala and Chauka, changing their courses constantly, so that the surface is seamed with deserted river beds much below the level of the surrounding country. The vegetation is very dense, and the stagnant waters are the cause of endemic fevers. The people reside in the neighbourhood of the low ground, as the soil is more fertile and less expensive to cultivate than the forest-covered uplands. South of the Ul, the scene changes. Between every two rivers or tributaries stretches a plain, considerably less elevated than the tract to the north. There is very little slope in any of these plains for many miles, and marshes are formed, from which emerge the headwaters of many secondary streams, which in the rains become dangerous torrents, and frequently cause devastating floods. The general drainage of the country is from north-west to south-east. Several large lakes exist, some formed by the ancient channels of the northern rivers, being fine sheets of water, from 10 to 20 ft. deep and from 3 to 4 m. long; in places they are fringed with magnificent groves. The whole north of the district is covered with vast forests, of which a considerable portion are government reserves. Sāl occupies about two-thirds of the forest area. The district is traversed by a branch of the Oudh & Rohilkhand railway from Lucknow to Bareilly.