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 MOH 501 The town is said to derive its name from a pious Gosháin named Mohan Gir, who cut a passage for the Ganges, and gathering his desciples around him passed his time in prayer. But it probably possesses more history than this, or it would not have become Muhammadan, and the centre of admin- istration for the pargana. Near the bridge already mentioned is a high mound which seems to have been the site of a fort. It is not certainly natural, a well has been sunk through its centre, and at several places on its steep side may. be seen the remains of pipes in a good state of preserva- tion through which water was apparently drawn from a reservoir supplied from the river. The piping is the work of potters, the separate pipes are some twenty inches in diameter, four inches in depth, and curved to enable one to lap over the other. The workmanship is of no mean order, and they doubtless belong to a time when the dih (deserted site) was inhabited; but no one knows its history. On the summit is an old tomb raised to one Shah Modan, a reputed saint. The town is now of no importance for trade, and not even a market is held here, but it is the seat of the tahsil from which the parganas of Mohán Aurás, Asíwan Rasúlabad, Jhalotar Ajgain, Gorinda Parsandan, are administered. Of the population 1,766 are Musalmans and 3,054 are Hindus. MOHAN-District KHERI.-A river which separates the district of Kheri from Naipal. It is originally a rivulet flowing from swamps; its channel is much below the surface of the country; it receives, however, a number of tributaries, among which may be mentioned the Katni and Gandhra; the latter a mountain stream. The river's volume increases, and below Chan- dan Chauki it is a considerable stream; the minimum discharge is 140 cubic feet per second"; the depth in the centre about two feet on the average; the breadth about 90 feet; the banks are steep, and from 20 to 30 feet above the water. It joins the Kauriála immediately above Rámnagar, district Kheri. It is one of the few streams in Oudh in which good Mahsir fishing can be got. MOHXN AURAS Pargana-Tahsil MOHAN-District LUCKNOW.—This pargana is bounded on the north by the districts of Lucknow and Hardoi, on the east by Lucknow, on the south by the pargana of Jhalotar Ajgain, and on the west by the Asíwan Rasúlabad pargana of the Unao district. It lies north-west by south-east across the meridian. Its shape is oblong, its length from end to end being about 22 miles and breadth from 8 to 9; latitude 26°70' and longitude 80°45' would about cross at the centre of pargana. The area of the pargana is 196 square miles. The number of villages is 205, with an average of 611 acres to a village. The river Sai runs through the pargana from north-west to south-east passing under the town of Mohán. The bed of this river lies low, and the land on either side is generally poor, but in many parts of its course the country slopes gently down towards the stream, and more cultivation is carried on on its banks, and more irrigation is derived from it than is usual from rivers. The river itself is narrow, shallow during the dry months of the year, and never used for navigation, On the north side of the river the country is crossed by extensive usar (barren) plains, which are completely bare of trees and all vegetation,
 * Sarda Canal Report page 20.