Ferozepur/ Firozpur
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From: The Punjab District Gazetteers
Contents |
History
Origin of the Name of the Firozpur District
The name Firozpur obviously means the town of Firoz. Probably the founder was Firoz Shah Tughlaq (A.D.) 1351-88), as the place must always have occupied an important position on the line of communication between Delhi and Lahore. Another tradition, however, ascribes its foundation to one of the Bhatti chief named Firoz Khan, in the middle of the sixteen century.
Location, General, Total Area and Population of the District
The Firozpur District lies between latitude 29-55’ and 31-09’ and between longitude 73-53 and 75-24’. Before 15 August 1973, this district was the southernmost of the seven districts of the Jalandhar Division of the Punjab State. On that date, the new Firozpur Division was formed and the Firozpur District was included in it. The boundary of the present Firozpur District on the east runs along the Faridkot District. On the north-east, the River Satluj generally separates it from the Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts. the united stream of the Satluj and the Beas generally separates it from the Amritsar District in the north-west, and farther down from the Pakistan, with the exception of some areas on each side of the river.
District comprises there tehsils/subdivisions, viz. Firozpur in the middle, Zira on the east, Fazilka on the south-west. All important places in the District are connected by rail or road. Almost 11 km from the Hussainiwala border on the west and 121 km from Ludhiana in the east lies the City of Firozpur, the headquarters of the District administration. By road, it is 116 km from Amritsar, 130 km from Jalandhar, 122 km from Ludhiana, 103 km from Bathinda (via Kot Kapura), and 86 km from Fazilka. The city lies on the Firozpur Cantonment—Ludhiana Branch Line of the Northern Railway.
According to the Director of Land Records, Punjab, Jalandhar, the area of the District during 1971-72 was 5864.06 sq. km. The tehsil-wise area is given below :-
According to the 1981 Census, the population of the Firozpur District was 13,07,804 comprising that of the Firozpur Tehsil--4,36,655, that of the Zira Tehsil --2,95,958 and that of the Fazilka-5,75,191.
History of the District as an Administrative Unit and the Changes in its Component Parts
The district came into being on the annexation of Firozpur by the British in 1836. As a result of the First Anglo-Sikh War, 1845-46, the ilaqas of Khai Mudki, etc. and certain other Lahore territories, east of the Satluj, were added to it. When the Badhni District (now called Badhni Kalan in the Faridkot District) was broken up in 1847, some of its parts were added to the Firozpur District.
The next addition compressed portions of the ilaqas of Muktsar and Kot Kapura in 1852. In 1856, the estates of the deposed Nawab of Mamdot were annexed. In 1958, village of Sibian was taken back from the Faridkot State. On the partition of the Sirsa District in 1884, its western half was included in the Firozpur District. In 1959, the Nathana Sub Tehsil (comprising 37 villages) of the Firozpur Tehsil was transferred to the Bathinda District.
On the exchange of enclaves between India and Pakistan on 17 January 1961, following an agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan on 11 January 1960, certain areas in the vicinity of the Suleimanki Headworks in the Fazilka Tehsil were transferred to Pakistan in exchange of the areas near the Hussaniwala Headworks. These areas were added to the Firozpur Tehsil.
On 17 March 1970, 3 villages of the Zira Tehsil of the Firozpur District were transferred to the Shahkot Sub-Tehsil of the Nakodar Tehsil of the Jalandhar District, Eighteen villages of the Nakodar Tehsil of the Jalandhar District were transferred to the Zira Tehsil of the Firozpur District. Nine villages of the Patti Tehsil of the Amritsar District were transferred to the Zira Tehsil of the Firozpur District.
The above-mentioned 9 village, transferred from the Patti Tehsil of the Amritsar District to the Zira Tehsil of the Firozpur District were further transferred to the Firozpur Tehsil on 15 September 1971. On 7 August 1972, two tehsils, namely Moga and Muktsar, of the Firozpur District were transferred to the Faridkot District, formed on the same date. The Firozpur District was, thus, left with only three tehsils, namely Firozpur, Zira and Fazilka, with a total number of 1,054 inhabited villages.
Subdivisions, Tehisils and Thanas==
The District is divided into three tehsils, namely Firozpur, Zira and Fazilka, all of which have been upgraded to subdivisions and are under the control of three subdivisional officers, The tehsil-wise list of police-stations and police posts, in the District is given in Chapter XII ‘Law and Order and Justice.
Topography: Firozpur District
Physiographically, the Firozpur District constitutes a part of the Punjab plain, which is largely flat and featureless and is formed of Pleistocene and Sub-recent alluvial deposits of the Indo-Gangetic system. Wind act has also played a part in shaping the relief of the District, located as it is in the vicinity of the Rajasthan Desert. That is why the alluvial surface of the District is strewn with sand-dunes in some parts.
The general elevation of the District ranges from 230 metres in the north-east to about 175 metres in the south-west, giving a north-east-to south-west gradient of one metre in 4km. Though the physiography of the District is apparently a homogeneous plain, in general, it displays significant variations, if examined at local levels. The following three torrain units can be indentified :
(i)The floodplain of the Satluj (ii)The sand-dune-infested tract (iii)The upland plain.
The Floodplain of the Satluj
The floodplain of the Satluj occupies the northern half of the Zira Tehsil, the northern and western sections of the Firozpur Tehsil and the north-western part of the Fazilka tehsil. This tract is locally known as the bet Satluj. It is a lowlying, uneven 10-15 -km-wide stretch of land along the Satluj River. It is covered with new alluvium and is separated from one sand-duen-infested tract to its south and east by a low cliff. Before the damming of the Satluj at Bhakra and the construction of barrages at Nagal and Harike, the River used to flood this tract during the rainy season.
This area is quite safe from floods at present, giving stability to its settlements and agriculture. At places, the tract contrains abandoned courses of the River, patches of marshy land, and pockets of thickly growing grasses. It is now being reclaimed or agriculture and other uses.
The Sand-Dune-Infested Tract
This tract, which runs parralles to the bet Satluj to it south and east and which covers the lower part of the Zira Tehsil, the eastern half of the Firozpur Teshil and the middle zone of the Fazilka Tehsil, is a linear stretch of numerous closely spaced sand-dunes. In fact, this tract coincides largely with the old course of the Satluj, through which the River used to flow about 400 years back, since when it has been drifting westwards. The base of the sand-dune-infested tract is formed of the alluvium deposited by the River.
The sand-dunes here have been deposited by strong winds, from south-west and north-west, picking up sand largely from the dry bed of the River during winter and the pre-monsoon periods when the discharge in the River is meagre. the sand-dunes are small, a few hundred metres long, and generally low, only 2 to 5 metres above the level of the surrounding ground. However, these sand-dunes are spaced close to one another, providing a distinct type of topography.
The Upland Plain
The upland plain, which includes the interior parts of the District, possesses a firm base of old alluvium, with sporadically distributed sand-dunes superimposed on it. Here, the soils are reddish brown sandy loam. Within the upland plain, however, there are differences in certain respects. the north-eastern part is higher (its elevation ranging from 215 to 230 metres) than the south-western part, the elevation of which is 175 to 200 metres. Moreover, the frequency of sand-dunes is more in the latter (which adjoins the Rajasthan Desert) than in the former.
It may be noted that many of the sand-dunes, both in the sand-dune-infested tract and in the upland plain, have been levelled by the farmers and brought under cultivation. This expansion in agricultural land has been made possible by the extension of irrigation, particularly by canals. This development has brought about considerable changes in the topograph of the District. In brief, the physiography of the District was originally designed by the depositional work of the Satluj. Later on, it was worked over by the action of the wind simultaneously with that of the River. Recently, man has been instrumental in smoothening out some of the irregularities in relief consequent upon the development of canal irrigation.
The River System and Water Resources
The Main River, Tributaries and Canals
The Satluj River
The Satluj is the main river of the Firozpur District. It forms the northern boundary between this District and the districts of Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Amritsar. It also separates this District from Pakistan in most parts. The physiography of the district owes its origin largely to the alluvium deposited by this River.
The Satluj performs a total journey of about 200 kilometers along the northern and western borders of the Firozpur District. It enters the District near the Village of Bhodiwala after passing through the Jalandhar and Ludhiana districts. From here it follows a north-westerly course for about 40 km till it reaches harike (situated in the Amritsar District to the other side of the River), where it is joined by the Beas River coming from the north-east. The Satluj flows towards west for about 15 km from Harike and then it turns south-west, a direction which it keeps through the rest of its journey in the District. It passes into Pakistan at Suleimanki.
The Satluj, like most of the rivers in northern India, ha undergone a westward drift during the recent historical times. There is ample evidence to show that it ran throughout the present sand-dune-infested tract about 400 years back. At that time, it did not meet the Beas at Harike, but made its confluence with it somewhere between Bahawalpur and Multan. The westward drift is perhaps explained by Ferrel’s law, according to which moving bodies in the Northern Hemisphere tend to drift to their right.
The Satluj used to be a furious river during the rainy season and used to cause much destruction through its floods before it was dammed up at Bhakra. The diversion of the waters of the River into canals at Nangal, Rupnagar, Harike and Hussainiwala has been responsible for significantly reducing the mighty stream into a semi-dry bed. The River now contains only a small trickily of water during. most of the year.
The Sukar or Sukka Nala
Mention may be made of the Sukar or Sukka Nala (dry channel) which is small drainage channel marking its course between the new and the old beds of the Satluj River. In fact, this Nala occupies one of the abandoned courses of the Satluj. It originates near Tihara in the Ludhiana District, enters the Firozpur District near the Village of Jindra and traverses through the flood plain of the Satluj as the Sukka nala in the Zira Tehsil and later on as the Sukhbar Nala in the Firozpur and Fazilka tehsils. This Nala has characteristically serpentine course.
Canals
Apart from the natural drainage lines discussed above, the District possesses a fairly dense net work of canals. The Rajasthan and Bikaner canals pass through the District, but their waters are meant for use in Rajasthan only. The Eastern Canal System irrigates some areas of the District. Besides, the Sirhind Canal System serves the District. In sum, it is only in its north and east that the District is traversed by the Satluj River. Otherwise, it is devoid of any other large natural body of water. Of course, it possesses a dense network of canals which play a prominent role in the agriculture of the District.
Underground Water Resources
Groundwater in the District occurs both under the water-table and under confined conditions. Shallow phreatic aquifers are unconfined and are tapped by means of open wells and shallow tube-well. Systematic studies on groundwater in the District yet remain to be carried out. However, about 3,200 sq. km has been covered in connection with investigations into waterlogging.
The studies have shown two very different groundwater conditions occurring in juxtaposition in the District. A longitudinal strip, broadly 35 km wide and running parallel to the Satluj River (between the Satluj and the Bikaner Canal) in a south-west to north, east direction from Fazilka to Firozpur , and then taking a swing towards the east in conformity with the bed of the River, has been affected with waterlogging. Waterlogging or the rise of the water-table to the base of the root zone of the plants has been particularly sever in the regions which are characterized by a low topographic relief.
Waterlogging in this tract has been attributed chiefly to the high permeability, characteristics of the soil, to the rapid textural variation of the classic material at shallow depths, the relatively low acquifer transmissibility, salt accretion in the soil and excessive recharge over the discharge of ground-water in the canal-command area.
The water-table in this tract rests within three meters from the ground-level. Soil alkalinization has been observed in certain places within the affected area. Shallow tube-wells drilled in this tract to depths ranging from 30 to 60 metres from the ground-level and the tapping the water-table acquifers yield between 45-90 kilolitres of water per hour at economic drawdowns. The chemical quality of the groundwater from these shallow tube-wells is generally fresh and potable and has been found suitable for domestic consumption and irrigation.
The area in the south and south-east of the waterlogged tract (i.e south-east of the Bikaner Canal) suffers from acute scarcity of fresh potable groundwater. the water-table is generally deep and rests between 6 and 40 metres from the ground-level. The drop in the water-table outside the waterlogged areas generally conforms to the topographic rise. The water in the formation, by and large, is brackish to saline.
It has been observed that the mineralization of groundwater increases with the depth of salinity, in general, and is chiefly attributed to aridity in this area. In addition, the low permeability of the water-bearing formations which progressively decrease with depth owning to overburden transits of great length from areas of recharge in the case of deep aquifers and a prolonged contract of water with the formation material may also raise the level of sodium chloride in the water at various depths.
However, in certain localized areas, particularly in the canal-command areas, freshwater lenses resting over saline groundwater have been generally encountered. The formation of such freshwater lenses has chiefly resulted from the infiltration of canal water which effects (1) a dilution of the mineralized groundwater in the upper stratum of the zone of saturation, and (2) the accumulation of fresh recharged water over the saline groundwater in the area.
Such freshwater lenses are, however, limited in thickness, and have been generally observed to occur down to depths ranging from 20 to 50 metres from the ground-level. Any increase in the pumping of fresh water or the deepening of wells in such areas may lead to the intrusion of saline water from the deeper levels. Electrical resistivity surveys undertaken in the Abohar Sub-Tehsil for the delineation of the zones of fresh and saline water have generally indicated the presence of fresh-water lenses of varying thickness resting over saline groundwater in the area. Appreciable, or often abrupt, variations in the thickness of the freshwater columns have been recorded.
The thickness of this column has been found to vary, on an average, from two to forty metres, being greatest along the canals, where the interface of fresh and saline water has been invariably pushed down owing to continuous infiltration and owing to canal water. Resistivity have indicated that the areas to the north of the branch of the Abohar Canal appear to have very limited thickness of the layers of fresh water. But the area on the east and south-west of Abohar shows an appreciable thickness of the freshwater column and is found to the favourable to the development of groundwater by shallow tube-wells.
The shallow tube-wells drilled in the areas around Abohar to depths ranging from 9 to 24 metres from the ground-level yield fresh potable water. The yield of the tube-wells varies from 20 to 140 kilolitres of water per hour. The exploitation of groundwater from shallow depths is also done through open wells. Deep tube-wells which have been attempted in this area have invariably yielded brackish to saline water.
Water-table
An analysis of the water-table in the Firozpur District makes an interesting study. Parts of the floodplain of the Satluj area waterlogged, the water-table being within one or two metres from the surface. thus whereas the parts of the floodplain of the Satluj suffer from waterlogging, most of the other areas of the District have deep water-tables, and the underground water is brackish only at places.
Geology
Geological Formation
The area forms a part of Indo-Gangetic alluvium. It is practically flat except for occurrence of small scattered sand-dunes. The geological formations identified in the area are : sandy clay with saltpetre encrustations at places, clay with sporadic sandy nodules, coarse sand, a water-bearing sand horizon. and impervious clay. The formations which have been encountered from a bore-hole drilled for oil, are the middle and upper Shiwaliks (between 195 and 700 metres).
Mineral Resources
Except saltpetre, other mineral occurrences in the Firozpur District are rather rare. The seepage of natural gas and the occurrences of groundwater have also been reported from this area.
Natural Gas
The seepage of natural gas has been reported from Zira. The details of the seepage are not known.
Saltpetre
Saltpetre is essentially a nitrate of potassium and sodium, with minor amounts of chloride, sulphate and carbonate redicals. It occurs as a thin, white encrustation on the surface. The efflorescence appears during the hot months, viz. May and June and even during July in the absence of adequate rains.
The soil, containing this salt, becomes loose and is different from the soil beneath it. Nearly a 2-Centimetre-thick layer is scraped and is loosely stacked in a kachcha pond, 50 cm deep. A sufficient amount of water is spread over it and the percolating water takes into solution the salt content of the heaped soil. This solution is then led into a first set of pans and allowed to evaporate there. After a few days, it is transferred to another set of pans where it is kept for another five or six days. From there, it is known as crude saltpetre. The product is then taken to factories and is subjected to filtration and heating to obtain pure saltpetre.
Saltpetre is used primarily in the production of nitrates and potash which are extracted indigenously from the soil in two different stages. the refined product is used in the manufacture of gunpowder. It is also of some use of enamel and fireworks industries. Potash is used in the manufacturing of soap, matches, explosives and in the glass and ceramic industries.
Firozpur is an important saltpetre-producing district of the Punjab. A majority of the occurrences are confined to the deserted villages lying between the Satluj River and the Firozpur-Fazilka road.
Seismicity
Seismically, the Firozpur District is situated in a region which is liable to slight to moderate damage due to earthquakes. Although no major epicentral track has been located near Firozpur, a number of earthquake shocks, originating in the Hindukush, the Himalayan Boundary fault zone and the Karakoram regions, are occasionally experienced at Firozpur, with slight to moderate intensity.
From the records, it is seen that the maximum seismic intensity experienced at Firozpur was between VI and VII on the Modified Mercalli Scale-1931^5 during the Kangra earthquake of 1905 its proximity to the Himalayan Boundary fault zone. Firozpur has been placed in zone III of the earthquake zoning map of India. In this zone the maximum earthquake intensity may reach VII M.M.
In order that engineering structures at Firozpur may not suffer damage or consequently result in the loss of life owing to earthquakes, the civil engineering structures may be provided with safety factors. For ordinary structures, the following factors have been suggested in the Indian Standard Institution Code, Criteria for the Earthquake-Resistant Design of Structures.
Type of foundations hard medium soft
Earthquake factor .. 04 g .05 g .06
For important structures, the earthquake factor has to be suitably increased.
Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale of 1931 Scale Specifications
Felt quite noticeably indoors, especially on the upper floors of building, but many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motorcars may rock lightly. Vibrations like passing of lorry. Duration estimated.
Felt by all; many frightened and run out doors. Some heavy furniture moved a few instances of fallen plaster or damaged chimneys. Damage slight.
Every body runs outdoors. Damage negligible broken in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considering in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimeneys brocken. Noticed by person driving motor-cars.
(Source : Director-General of Observation, New Delhi).
