Gonda

Gonda, city, east-central Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It lies about 60 miles (95 km) northeast of Lucknow, on a tributary of the Ghaghara River.

Gonda is situated at the junction of several roads and rail lines and is a trade centre for agricultural products. Gonda’s main industries are rice and sugar milling. The area in which Gonda is situated is drained by the Rapti River and other Ghaghara tributaries and has forests of sal (Shorea robusta, a nonconiferous evergreen tree) in the north. Parts of the locality suffer from frequent flooding. Crops include grains, oilseeds, and sugarcane; oilseed crushing is important to the economy, and alcohol is produced.

Northeast of Gonda is Balrampur, which houses a college of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University (formerly Gorakhpur University) in Gorakhpur. Saheth-Maheth, northwest, was the site of Shravasti, an ancient Buddhist monastic estate. Pop. (2001) 120,301; (2011) 114,046.