Kutch district

Kutch district (), is a district of Gujarat state in western India, with its headquarters (capital) at Bhuj. Covering an area of 45,674 km2, Kutch is the largest district of India. The area of Kutch is larger than the entire area of other Indian states like Haryana (44,212 km2) and Kerala (38,863 km2), as well as the country of Estonia (45,335 km2). The population of Kutch is about 2,092,371. It has 10 talukas, 939 villages, and 6 municipalities. Motor vehicles registered in Kutch district have a registration number starting with GJ-12. The district is well connected by road, rail and air. There are four airports in the district: Nalia, Anjar, Mundra, and Bhuj. Bhuj and Anjar are well connected with Mumbai airport. Being a border district, Kutch has both an army and an air force base.

History

thumb|left|Maharao Khengarji III of Cutch -

The history of Kutch can be traced back to prehistoric times. There are several sites related to the Indus Valley Civilization in the region, and it is mentioned in Hindu mythology. The region is also mentioned in Greek writings during the reign of Alexander the Great. For a time, it was ruled by Menander I of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, which was then overthrown by Indo-Scythians. The region was later ruled by the Maurya Empire and Sakas. In the first century CE, it was under the Western Satraps, followed by the Gupta Empire. By the fifth century, the Maitraka dynasty of Valabhi took over from which its close association with the ruling clans of Gujarat started.

Hieun Tsang refers to Kutch as Kiecha in his writings. In the seventh century, Kutch was being ruled by Charans, Kathis, and Chavdas. The Chavdas ruled the eastern and central parts by the seventh century, but Kutch came under the rule of the Chaulukya dynasty by the tenth century. After the fall of Chaulukya, the Vaghelas ruled the state. By the thirteenth century, the Vaghelas controlled the whole of Kutch and adopted a new dynastic identity, Jadeja.

For three centuries, Kutch was divided and ruled by three different branches of the Jadeja brothers. In the sixteenth century, Kutch was unified under one rule by Rao Khengarji I of these branches, and his direct descendants ruled for two centuries and had a good relationship with the Gujarat Sultanate and Mughals. One of his descendants, Rayadhan II, left three sons, of whom two died, and a third son, Pragmalji I took over the state and founded the current lineage of rulers at the start of the seventeenth century. The descendants of the other brothers founded states in Kathiawar. After turbulent periods and battles with the armies of Sindh, the state was stabilized in the middle of the eighteenth century by a council known as Bar Bhayat ni Jamat who placed Rao as a titular head and ruled independently. The state accepted the sovereignty of the British East India Company in 1819, when Kutch was defeated in battle. That same year, the state was devastated by an earthquake. The state stabilized and flourished in business under subsequent rulers.

Upon the independence of India in 1947, Kutch acceded unto the dominion of India and was constituted an independent commissionaire. It was made a state within the union of India in 1950. The state witnessed an earthquake in 1956. On 1 November 1956, Kutch State was merged with Bombay state, which in 1960 was divided into the new linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, with Kutch becoming part of Gujarat as Kutch district. The district was affected by a tropical cyclone in 1998 and the earthquake in 2001. The state saw rapid industrialization and growth in tourism in subsequent years.

DHOLAVIRA SITE (24).jpg|Dholavira, one of the largest cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation, with stepwell steps to reach the water level in artificially constructed reservoirs.

The 'Ten Indus Scripts' discovered near the northern gateway of the Dholavira citadel.jpg|Ten Indus characters from the northern gate of Dholavira, dubbed the Dholavira Signboard.

CoA Kutch 1893.png|Coat of Arms of Princely State of Cutch dating back to 1893 CE.

Kachchhflag.png|Flag of the Princely State of Cutch

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Topography

Kutch District, at , is the largest district in India. The administrative headquarters is the city of Bhuj which is geographically in the center of the district. Gandhidham is the largest city and Financial centre of Kutch. Other main towns are Rapar, Nakhatrana, Anjar, Mandvi, Madhapar, Mundra and Bhachau. Kutch has 969 villages. Kala Dungar (Black Hill) is the highest point in Kutch at .

thumb|A state highway through the Rann of Kutch

Kutch is virtually an island, as it is surrounded by the Arabian Sea in the west; the Gulf of Kutch in south and southeast and Rann of Kutch in north and northeast. The border with Pakistan lies along the northern edge of the Rann of Kutch, of the Sir Creek. The Kutch peninsula is an example of active fold and thrust tectonism. In Central Kutch there are four major east-west hill ranges characterized by fault propagation folds with steeply dipping northern limbs and gently dipping southern limbs. From the gradual increasing dimension of the linear chain of hillocks towards the west along the Kutch mainland fault and the epicentre of the earthquake of 2001 lying at the eastern extreme of Kutch mainland fault, it is suggested that the eastern part of the Kutch mainland fault is progressively emerging upward. It can be suggested from the absence of distinct surface rupture both during the 1956 Anjar earthquake and 2001 Bhuj earthquake, that movements have taken place along a blind thrust. Villages situated on the blind thrust in the eastern part of the Kutch mainland hill range (viz. Jawaharnagar, Khirsara, Devisar, Amarsar and Bandhdi) were completely erased during the 2001 earthquake.

Rivers and dams

There are ninety-seven small rivers in Kutch District, most of which flow into the Arabian Sea, but some of which feed the Rann of Kutch. Twenty major dams, and numerous smaller dams, capture the rainy season runoff. While most of these dams do not affect the Ranns, as they are on rivers that feed directly into the Arabian Sea, storage of rainy season water upstream from Kutch and its use in irrigation has resulted in less fresh water coming into the Ranns of Kutch during the rainy season. This is true of the Great Rann, but particularly true of the Little Rann which is fed by the Luni, Rupen, the Bambhan, the Malwan, the Kankawati, and the Saraswati rivers. However sea water from the Arabian Sea still continues to be driven into the Great Rann by storm tides aided by high winds. Water remains a serious issue in Kutch. Kutch's thirst for water is satisfied by Narmada river flowing from Sardar Sarovar dam.

thumb|Rudramata Dam. A rain water reservoir that supplies water to deserted areas around capital city of Bhuj

thumb|Rukmavati River, Mandvi

thumb|Kalo dunger

{| border="1" cellpadding="2" align="center" class=wikitable

|+ Dams in Kutch District

! style="background: #efefef;" | Dam

! style="background: #efefef;" | Reservoir

! style="background: #efefef;" | River

! style="background: #efefef;" | depth in meters when full

! style="background: #efefef;" | near

| Bhukhi Dam || || Bhukhi || 72.78 ||

| Berachiya Dam || || Nyara || 70.40 ||

| Chang Dam || || || 18.00 ||

| Don Dam || || Kharod || 47.75 ||

| Fatehgadh Dam || || Malan || 22.70 ||

| Gajansar Dam || Gajansar || Panjora || 31.08 ||

| Gajod Dam || || Nagmati || 90.82 ||

| Godhatad Dam || || Mitiariwali || 23.00 ||

| Goyala Dam || Goyala || Sugandhi || 8.00 ||

| Jangadia Dam || Janghadia || Khari || 38.60 ||

| Kaila Dam || || Kaila || 79.25 ||

| Kalaghogha Dam || || Phot || 37.00 ||

| Kankawati Dam || || Kankawati || 131.67 ||

| Kaswati Dam || || Kaswati || 51.20 ||

| Mathal Dam || || Dhadodh || 82.78 ||

| Mitti Dam || Mitti || Mitti || 18.50 ||

| Nara Dam || || Nara || 27.43 ||

| Nirona Dam || || Bhurud || 43.58 ||

| Rudramata Dam || || Rudramati (Khari) || 66.44 ||

| Sanandro Dam || || Kali || 59.74 ||

| Suvi Dam || || Suvi || 42.67 || Lilpar

| Tappar (W.S) Dam || || Sakara || 40.85 ||

|Vijay sagar Dam

|33.00

Divisions

Kutch is divided into four zones:

Wagad (including Rapar, Bhachau taluka and Little Rann)
Kanthi (coastal area, derived from Gujarati:કાંઠો), comprising Mundra and half of Mandvi taluka.
Banni (with Pascham; includes Bhuj, Nakhatrana and surrounding areas)
Makpat (includes part of Nakhatrana and Lakhapat taluka).

thumb|[[Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur), or khur or ghodkhur in Gujarati language.]]

Under the Kutch princely state, Kutch was divided into Bani, Abdasa, Anjar, Banni, Bhuvad Chovisi, Garado, Halar Chovisi, Kand, Kantho, Khadir, Modaso, Pranthal, Prawar, and Vagad.

Kutch District is further divided into six subdistricts, each comprising one or two taluka:

Bhuj (Bhuj taluka)
Anjar (Anjar and Gandhidham)
Bhachau (Bhachau and Rapar)
Mundra (Mundra and Mandvi)
Nakhatrana (Nakhatrana and Lakhpat)
Naliya (Abdasa-Naliya)

Wildlife sanctuaries and reserves

From the city Bhuj various ecologically rich and wildlife conservation areas of the Kutch district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Kutch District has a population of 2,092,371, roughly equal to the nation of North Macedonia or the US state of New Mexico. This gives it a ranking of 217th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 32.16%. Kutch has a sex ratio of 908 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 71.58%. 34.81% of the population lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 12.37% and 1.05% of the population respectively.