BASTI

city, southeastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It lies east of Faizabad on the Kuwana River. Located on a national highway and a major rail line, it is an agricultural trade centre with some industry at nearby villages. Basti consists of three sections-Old Basti, extending east-west between the railway and the provincial road; Pukka Bazar, a suburb just southwest with official and professional residences; and the "civil station," an administrative sector west of Pukka Bazar, on the Kuwana River. The city has a college affiliated with Gorakhpur University. Basti was small until 1865, when it became a district headquarters. Since then its population has greatly increased. Basti lies in a stretch of alluvial plain, poorly drained and containing a number of swamps and marshy lakes; grains, sugarcane, and other crops are grown, in some places under irrigation. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 87,512.