Adilabad District,1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Adilabad District,1908
District in the north of the Warangal Division of the Hyderabad State, formerly known as the subdistrict of Sirpur Tandur, before the changes made in 1905. It is bounded on the north and north-east by Berar and the Chanda District of the Central Pro- vinces ; on the east by Chanda ; on the south by Karimnagar and Nizamabad Districts ; and on the south-west by Nander and the Basim District of Berar. The river Penganga separates it from Berar on the west and north, and the Wardha and Pranhita from Chanda on the north-east and east. It has an area of 7,403 square miles. The Sahyadriparvat or Satmala range traverses the District from the north-west to the south-east, for about 175 miles. Hills of minor importance lie in the east
The most important river, which drains its southern portion, is the Godavari, separating it on the south from Nizamabad and partly from Karimnagar. The next in importance is the Penganga, which runs along the western and northern borders until it falls into the Wardha. The other rivers are the Wardha and the Pranhita, which run along the north-eastern and eastern borders of the District. The minor streams are the Peddavagu, the Kapnavarli, and the Amlun, the first an affluent of the Wardha, and the two latter of the Penganga.
The geological formations include the Archaean gneiss, the Cudda pah, Sullavai, and Gondwana series, and the Deccan trap.
The District is covered to a large extent by forests, in which teak, ebony, bilgu (Chloroxylon Swietenia), jittigi (Dalbergia latifolia), mango, tamarind, and bejasal (Pterocarpus Marsupium) grow to a great height.
The hills abound in large game, such as tigers, bears, leopards, hyenas, wolves, and wild dogs. In jungles on the plains, nilgai, sambar, and spotted deer are met with in large numbers.
The District is the most unhealthy in the State, owing to the large extent of forests. The temperature rises in May to 105 and falls in December to 56°. The annual rainfall of the District averages about 41 inches.
The population, according to the Census of 1901, is 477,848. In its present form the District comprises eight taluks : Adilabad (or Edlabad), Sirpur, Rajura, Nirmal, Kinwat, Chinnur, Lakhsetipet, and Jangaon. The towns are Adilabad, the District head-quarters, Nirmal, and Chin- nur. About 80 per cent, of the population are Hindus, more than 10 percent, being Gonds, and about 6 per cent, are Musalmans. The revenue demand is about 6.5 lakhs. For further details see Sirpur Tandur.
The District is divided into three subdivisions for administrative pur- poses : one consisting of the Adilabad (or Edlabad), Sirpur, and Rajura taluks, placed under a Second Talukdar, while the second, comprising Lakhsetipet, Chinnur, and Jangaon, and the third, consisting of Nirmal and Kinwat, are each under a Third Talukdar.
The First Talukdar is the Chief Magistrate as well as the Civil Judge of the District, having a judicial assistant, called the Adalat Madadgar, who is also a Joint Magistrate, exercising powers during the absence of the First Talukdar from head-quarters. The Second and Third Talukdars and the tahsildars exercise second and third-class magisterial powers. The Second and Third Talukdars have no civil jurisdiction, but the tahsildars preside over the tahsil civil courts.
Local boards have recently been established in the District.
