Barmer district

This article is about Barmer district. For Barmer headquarter, see Barmer, Rajasthan.
Barmer district
बाडमेर जिला
District of Rajasthan
Country India
State Rajasthan
Administrative division Jodhpur Division
Headquarters Barmer, Rajasthan
Tehsils Barmer, Baytoo, Chohtan, Guda Malani, Pachpadra, Ramsar, Sheo, Siwana
Area
 • Total 28,387 km2 (10,960 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 2,603,751
 • Density 92/km2 (240/sq mi)
 • Urban 6.98%
Demographics
 • Literacy 56.53
 • Sex ratio 902
Major highways NH 15, NH 112
Website Official website
Religions in Barmer
Religion Percent
Hindus
  
 82%
Muslims
  
 12%
Jains
  
 4.7%
Others†
  
 1.3%
Distribution of religions
†Includes Sikhs (0.2%), Buddhists (<0.2%).
Location In Rajasthan

Barmer District (बाडमेर जिला) is a district in Rajasthan state of India. It is located in the western part of Rajasthan state forming a part of the Thar Desert.[1] Barmer is the third largest district by area in Rajasthan and fifth largest district in India.[2] District headquarters is in the town of Barmer. The other major towns in the district are: Balotra, Guda Malani, Baytoo, Siwana, Jasol and Chohatan. Recently, a large onshore oil field has been discovered and made functional in Barmer district.

In earlier times, the district was known by the name Mallinath (मल्लिनाथ). Mallinath was the son of Rao Salkha and Mallinath is a God who is still worshiped by Rajputs. The whole area around the river Luni was said to have Malani (मलानी), derived from the name Mallinath. In the 18th century the name Barmer or Balmer was adopted by the British rulers of India and is derived from the name of the earlier 13th century ruler Bahada Rao Parmar (Panwar) or Bar Rao Parmar (Panwar), it was named Bahadamer ("The Hill Fort of Bahada").[3]

Geography

Barmer is located in the western part of the state forming a part of the Thar Desert. The district borders Jaisalmer district in the north, Jalore district in the south, Pali district and Jodhpur district in the east, and Pakistan in the west.

The total area of the district is 28,387 square kilometres (10,960 sq mi).[1]After Jaisalmer district and Bikaner district, it is the third largest district of Rajasthan. It is also the fifth largest district in the country.

The district is located between 24,58' to 26, 32'N Latitudes and 70, 05' to 72, 52' E Longitudes.[1]

The longest river in the district is the Luni. It is 480 km in length and drain into the Gulf of Kutch passing through Jalore. The variation in temperature in various seasons is quite high. In summers the temperature soars to 46 °C to 51 °C. In winters it drops to 0 °C (41 °F). Primarily Barmer district is a desert where average rainfall in a year is 277 mm. However, extreme rainfall of 549 mm rain between 16 and 25 August 2006 left many dead and huge losses due to flood in a nearby town Kawas and whole town submerged. As many as twenty new lakes formed, with six covering an area of over 10 km².

Poorly planned and rapid urbanisation has increased Barmer’s vulnerability to flash flooding. The local ecology and soil type is not equipped to deal with sudden or excessive water accumulation, which causes short- and long-term damage. Other areas suffer the gradual effects of ‘invisible disasters’, which also threaten the lives and livelihoods of the locals.[4]

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Barmer one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[5] It is one of the twelve districts in Rajasthan currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[5]

People and culture

Sand dunes near barmer

Barmer district is part of the Great Indian Desert or Thar Desert. Like all other districts in the desert region, Barmer is known for its folk music and dance. The Bhopas (priest singers) are found in Barmer, who compose music in honour of the deities of the region and its war heroes. The other folk musicians come from a community called the Muslim Dholis (drummers) for most of whom this is the only means of livelihood. Langas and Manganiars are the some of these communities.

Barmer is known for its carved wooden furniture and hand block printing industry. The village folk have developed their desert life and their own decorative skills. The villagers have some of the most beautiful mud huts that are decorated with delicate folk motifs.

Jasol, Juna Burmer, Khed, Kiradu, Mallonath Fair (cattle fair), Meva Nagar (Nakoda), Bheemgoda,

People speak mostly the Rajasthani Language, while Hindi is the official language here. English is a second or third language for many in the district, both for education and in developing tourism.

Points of interest

Siwana fort, in Siwana Tehsil, is a very old fort, estimated at over a thousand years old. In local language its name is Gadh Siwana.. Jogmaya Gadh Mandir, in Barmer is a very old temple of Devi Jogmaya and is popular temple specially for Navratri. Sujeshwar Hanuman Tekri, Shiv Mandir, Jasedar Dham, Indroi Temple, Safed Aakda, Nakodaji, Juna Keeradu, Barmer Desert, Nimbdi are some other attractions in Barmer City.

Viratra mata temple near Chohtan is a good place to go. Asotra (Lord Bhramha Temple), Bheemgoda, Aashapura Mata Mandir, Hinglaj Maata Mandir near Siwana, Khed Temple, temples in Chohtan are good places to visit.

Administration

Barmer is the Headquarter of the district, which is the principal town also, for the administrative purposes. The district is divided into 4 sub-division viz, Barmer, Balotra, Sheo and Guda Malani. The Barmer sub-division as per Census 2011 has 8 tehsils, viz. Barmer, Baytoo, Chohtan, Guda Malani, Pachpadra, Ramsar, Sheo and Siwana.

The total of 2,160 villages[6] in Barmer District come under Seventeen Panchayat Samitis.

Oil in Thar

In 2009, the Barmer district came in news due to its large Oil basin. The British exploration company Cairn Energy is going to start the production soon in the year 2009 on the large scale. Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya are the major oil fields in the district. This is India's biggest oil discovery in 22 years. Cairn works in partnership with state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).[7] Cairn holds 70% in the field, while state-run ONGC holds the remaining 30%. In March 2010, Cairn increased oil potential from this field to 6.5 billion barrels of oil – from an earlier estimate of 4 billion barrels.[8]

Underground airbase

Uttarlai military airbase is situated in Barmer district, Uttarlai is India's first under ground airbase. India can counter any insurgency into India by Pakistan. The Battle of Longewala (4 December 1971 – 5 December 1971) was one of the first major engagements in the Western Sector during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, fought between assaulting Pakistani forces and Indian defenders at the Indian border post of Longewala, in the Thar Desert of the Rajasthan state in India.

The Indian infantry company (reinforced) was left with the choices of either attempting to hold out until reinforced, or fleeing on foot from a mechanised infantry Pakistani force, choosing the former. The company officer commanding ensured that all his assets were correctly employed, and made the most use of his strong defensive position, and weaknesses created by errors in enemy tactics. He was also fortunate in that an Indian Air Force forward air controller was able to secure and direct aircraft in support of the post's defence until reinforcements arrived six hours later.

The Pakistani commanders made several bad decisions, including failure of strategic intelligence to foresee availability of Indian strike aircraft in the Longewala area from Uttarlai air-force base as Barmer is a border town.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "District Profile: Barmer". Government of Rajasthan.
  2. ↑ "Largest Districts of India by Total Area".
  3. ↑ History, Barmer. "History of Barmer". Government of Rajasthan.
  4. ↑ Local approaches to harmonising climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction: Lessons from India, Anshu Sharma, Sahba Chauhan and Sunny Kumar, SEEDS India, 2014
  5. 1 2 Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  6. ↑ Administration of Barmer District, Barmer. "Administration".
  7. ↑ "PM to unveil Cairn India's Barmer oilfield soon". Economic Times. 13 Aug 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "Cairn revises Barmer oil field upwards to 6.5 bn barrels". 23 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012.

External links

 Jaisalmer Jodhpur
Pakistan Pali
   Barmer district  
Jalor

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