Gandak River Basin An international river which source is at the border with Tibet at an elevation of 6,268 metres (20,564 ft) at the Nhubine Himal Glacier in the Mustang region of Nepal. Basin Extent: From 83° 41' to 87° 44' east longitudes and 24° 0' to 27° 23' north latitudes. States in the basin: Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Area of the basin: 45.731 Sq. km, 5.687 sq. km is in Tibet,30.882 sq.km in Nepal, 1874 sq.Km in U.P. and 7.288 sq. Km in Bihar. 6.96% of total Ganga Basin. Important Towns across Gandak: Valmikinagar -location of Gandak Barrage, Bagaha, Bettia, Harinagar (Ramnagar),Hajipu and Sonepur . Water Resources: The Gandak and others sub-basin has largest number of barrages/weirs/anicuts in the Ganga basin. The Gandak system is one of the major water resource project of the basin with an agreement between the Government of Nepal and Government of India lies in this sub-basin. The Gandak system comprises of three major projects namely Western Gandak Canal Project in Uttar Pradesh (India & Nepal), Eastern Gandak Canal Project in Bihar and Tribeni & Dhaka Canal project in Bihar. The main associated structure with this project is Gandak barrage across the Gandak river at Valmiki Nagar about 760 m below the Tribeni head regulator. The barrage is situated on the border of India and Nepal and is about 739 m long and 9.81 m above the bed level of the river. Power Projects in Gandak basin is present in total 266 MW, only on Nepal side. Gandak basin has 30 dams, 5 barrages, 36 weirs. Interstate Water resource project: Gandak Irriogation Project, with cost/benifit sharing. Gandak-Ganga Link: The 639 km long link canal, which would start from the right side of the proposed dam across Gandak river in Nepal, will fall in Ganga river near Mustafabad in Rai Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh. It will run through Nepal and various districts of Uttar Pradesh. Agriculture: Besides paddy, this tract produces a wide variety of crops including wheat, jowar, bajra, small millets, pulses of different kinds, maize, cotton, jute and many other food and commercial crops. Ecological Significance: Chitwan National Park of Nepal and Valmiki National Park of India are adjacent to each other in the vicinity of Valmikinagar around the Gandak Barrage Issues associated with Gandak river basin: The Gandaki river basin is reported to contain 1025 glaciers and 338 lakes. These contribute substantially to the lean season flows of the river .