The present study assessed the potential of sediment loading in Beteni, Lauruk, Andheri, and Harpan sub-watersheds of Phewa Lake and estimated the sediment yield in the year 2020. Morphometry, land use/land cover, geology, climate, and human and development factors of the sub-watersheds were studied to assess the potential of sediment loading in the sub-watersheds. SRTM DEM was used for the computation of morphometric parameters and land use/land cover maps were prepared by using Landsat imagery. Geology, rainfall data, census data, and road maps were collected from various secondary sources. The sediment yields of the four sub-watersheds in the year 2020 were estimated by measuring the sediment volume deposited in the sediment retention ponds at the outlet of each sub-watershed. Results indicated that Beteni had the highest potential for sediment loading, while Harpan had the lowest. Likewise, the sediment yields for Beteni, Lauruk, Andheri, and Harpan sub-watersheds in 2020 were estimated at 1,420.67 m³/km²/year, 2,280.14 m³/km²/year, 1,666.77 m³/km²/year, and 766.42 m³/km²/year, respectively. To reduce sedimentation in Phewa Lake, it is recommended to regularly maintain siltation dams and construct check dams along the drainage slopes, alongside other soil conservation measures and appropriate land use practices in the upstream areas of the sub-watersheds.

Land use or land cover (LU/LC) mapping serves as a kind of basic information for land resource study. Detecting and analyzing the quantitative changes along the earth’s surface has become necessary and advantageous because it can result in proper planning, which would ultimately result in improvement in infrastructure development, economic and industrial growth. The LU/LC pattern in Madurai City, Tamil Nadu, has undergone a significant change over the past two decades due to accelerated urbanization. In this study, LU/LC change dynamics were investigated by the combined use of satellite remote sensing and geographical information system. To understand the LU/LC change in Madurai City, different land use categories and their spatial as well as temporal variability have been studied over a period of seven years (1999-2006), by analyzing Landsat images for the years 1999 and 2006 respectively with the help of ArcGIS 9.3 and ERDAS Imagine 9.1 software. This results show that geospatial technology is able to effectively capture the spatio-temporal trend of the landscape patterns associated with urbanization in this region.