GENERAL

GEOGRAPHY

[The Section on Geography is contributed by Prof. B Arunachalam, Department of Geography, University of Bombay, Bombay.]

Situation.— THE DISTRICT OF BHANDARA IN THE NORTH-EASTERN EXTREME OF THE NAGPUR DIVISION OF MAHARASHTRA STATE lies between 20° 39' and 21° 38' north latitudes and 79° 27' and 80° 42' east longitudes.

Geographically, the district lies entirely within the Wainganga basin. Three major tributaries of the Wainganga—the Bagh, the Bawanthari and the Chulband drain the district. The district has considerable geological variety in its rock formations, that mostly belong to the archaean and the 'Dharwar' formations. The district is traversed west to east in the middle by the Nagpur-Calcutta (South-Eastern) broad gauge railway line and the Nagpur-Raipur National Highway.

As stated in the old Bhandara district gazetteer, published in 1908, Bhandara is a corruption of Bhanara a name by which the people still call the town. Bhanara is mentioned in an inscription at Ratanpur about 1100 A.D. The current derivation from bhana, a brass dish is based on the fact that the town has a large brass-working industry.

The district covers an area of 9280.0 km²; it had, according to the 1971 Census a population of 15,85,580. In terms of area and population, the district constitutes 2.99 percent and 3.15 percent of the State, respectively. This population of the district is distributed among 5 towns and 1,500 inhabited villages. The urban population constitutes nearly 11.38 percent of the total as against the State average of 31.16 per cent.

Administrative Evolution.—Initially, the area at present forming the western and southern parts of Bhandara, was part of the Nagpur territory of the Bhosle kingdom. The northern and eastern parts of the district were then grouped together with parts of the adjoining Balaghat district as Prant Wainganga, also under the rule of the Bhosles. The administrative headquarters of the Prant Wainganga was at Lanji, now in Balaghat. In A.D. 1818, the area was put under Regency administration. In 1821, a new territorial region was defined under the control of the Regent, comprising the Lanji territory of Wainganga and the southern and eastern parts originally under the Nagpur territory. This new district, called Bhandara, had its administrative headquarters at Bhandara. In 1830, the Regency ended and the district was handed over to the Bhosles. In 1853, the district became British territory by lapse. In 1867, the Lanji and Hatta tracts were transferred from the Bhandara district to the newly formed district of Balaghat. In the same year, the headquarters of the southern tahsil was shifted from Sangadi to Sakoli.

In 1881, the district comprised only two tahsils, viz., Tirora in the north and Sakoli in the south. A third tahsil named as Bhandara, in the western parts of the district was constituted later. In 1914, the Tirora tahsil was renamed as Gondia, and the tahsil headquarters shifted to Gondia from Tirora.

With the States' Reorganisation in 1956, the district was transferred from Madhya Pradesh to the then Bombay State. It forms part of Maharashtra State since 1st May 1960.

Present Administrative Set-up: For administrative purposes, the district is at present divided into three tahsils. The area, number of inhabited villages and towns and the population as per 1971 Census are shown in the statement given below:—

Boundaries.— Almost squarish in shape, the district is bounded by the Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh in the north, the Rajnandgaon district of Madhya Pradesh in the east, Chandrapur district in the south and Nagpur district in the west. Starting from the tri-junction between Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra State and the Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh, near the village Sitekasa in Bhandara tahsil, the State boundary can be traced running east following the course of the bed of the river Bawanthari downstream till its confluence with the Wainganga. Thereafter, the boundary continues towards east, now following the Wainganga upstream till the place where a left bank tributary, the Bagh, empties into it. At this confluence, the Wainganga turns sharply north, but the State boundary continues south-eastwards, along the Bagh nadi upstream till reaching the village Amgaon, whereafter the boundary turns to run east and north for about 3 km. till reaching a right bank tributary of the Bagh, also called by the same name (or can be called the Balaghat or lesser Bagh to distinguish it from the main Bhandara Bagh), to follow it upstream almost to its source to reach the tri-junction between Balaghat and Rajnandgaon districts of Madhya Pradesh and Bhandara. Then, the boundary turns south-west and runs through a hilly country at an average elevation of 400 m. for about fifty kilometres till once again reaching the main Bagh and following it for about 13 km., crossing the Great Eastern Highway (No. 6) from Nagpur to Raipur near the 149th km. stone from Nagpur. Once again, the boundary leaves the river and runs cross-countrywise, generally southwards, through a forest-clad plateau at a height of about 400 m. Near the village Kosabi Budruk in Sakoli tahsil, it turns east and runs for about 10 km., then turns south and runs for about 15 km. till reaching the hamlet Japkasa in the extreme south-east of Sakoli tahsil. Thereafter, the boundary turns west, once again to run through a forest-clad rolling plateau-country belonging to the Chichgarh and Rajoli Reserved Forest divisions, generally westwards till falling to the floor-levels of the Garhvi river-valley, crossing it, and again running westwards to descend into the valley of the Wainganga through a gently sloping country. The boundary reaches the Wainganga just south of the village Soni in Sakoli tahsil, and follows the river westwards till the village of Itan. Then, it runs for some distance west of the river through the Bedurtal Reserved Forest area, crosses the Nagpur - Nagbhir - Chandrapur road near the Pauni Road Railway Station, and once again turns north to join the Wainganga south of the village Gosi in Bhandara tahsil. It follows the river upstream till its confluence with a right bank tributary, the Kanhan river, near the village Tiddi. Thereafter, the boundary follows the Kanban upstream for a short distance —about 10 km. till reaching the village Chicholi. Then it turns north and runs across a southwards sloping undulating country till reaching the Bawanthari river.

Physical Features.—The entire district of Bhandara falls within the drainage of the Wainganga river and one of its principal affluents, the Bagh. The whole country is rolling and open, at average elevations of 250 m. to 300 m., with higher elevations to the north-west and the east, the broad central depression being occupied by the Wainganga. Only in a few places, the country is broken by isolated ranges of low hills that rise to low heights above the adjoining floor-level of the country.

Ambagad Hills: The lowest and most northerly of these hill ranges is the Ambagad range. It is an extreme outlier of the Satpudas running with a WNW-ESE trend in the extreme northwest of the district area to the north and west of the Wainganga. It separates the valley of the Bawanthari river from that of the Wainganga. Rising about 200 m. above the general level of the valley floor through steep slopes and escarpments, the Ambagad range is well defined with an average breadth of about 3 km. and a length of about 30 km. It presents cliffy precipices on the southern side and attains the highest elevation of 534 m. in its mid-sections overlooking the Wainganga plains to the south. Close to this greatest height, at the end of a spur, crowning the ridge is the Ambagad fort, built by a Pathan governor of Seoni about 1700 A.D. The fort walls stand on the brink of a cliff-face that drops by a sheer hundred metres to lesser levels. The view from the fort southwards of the Wainganga plains is indeed panoramic and fascinating. The fort was for some time used as a prison by the Bhosle rulers.

The range extends as far as the Bawanthari river, and in its eastern parts presents steep and cliff-slopes to the north, overlooking the Bawanthari river. At its foot, in a fine amphitheatre-like depression lies the Chandpur tank, while at the crest is the ruined fort of Chandpur.

There is a wide gap, with a width of about 3 km. wide in the Ambagad range, just east of the spur of the Ambagad fort; it is drained by the Ambagad nadi, and is used by the Tumsar-Katangi road and railway.

In spite of its moderate elevation, the Ambagad range is remarkable for the beauty and ruggedness of its scenery. The range represents a residual remnant of a tongue of the Deccan trap basalts that overlie the archaean crystalline rock formations.

Ballahi range: About 10 km WSW., and 9 km south-west of Bhandara town, there lie two isolated hill ranges, each about 5 km long in a south-west-north-east direction and about 2 km wide; these hills together may be termed as the Ballahi range. These hills resing to about 400 m. above mean sea-level and 150 m. above the valley floor, overhang the Great Eastern Highway on either side and form prominent features of the landscape that can be seen for quite some distance along the road. These hills are underlain by sandstones, quartzites and granulites; the rock boulders are used in the surrounding areas as excellent slabs for building purposes. The hills are practically bare of vegetation, barring poor scrubs and coarse grass that constitute rough pastures for cattle.

Pauni Hills : Just west of the Wainganga river, and the township of Pauni in the south-western extremes of the district are a clump of hills called the Gaidongri and Nishti hills rising to about 300 km. above sea-level, and barely 50 to 100 m. above the adjoining plains. The main hill mass, surrounded by a number of elongated dyke ridges running south-east-north-west as well as south-west-north-east that rise only slightly above the general floor level, is a residual erosional remnant of more resistant quartzites of the Sakoli series of Dharwar age standing up in relief over an archaean gneissic terrain. These hills abut along their southern edge, on a rolling country underlain by Vindhyan sandstones, and grits that are reddish in colour and dipping 10°.

Gaikhuri range: In the central parts of the district, running from the banks of the Wainganga, a few kilometres south of Bhandara town, with a south-west-north-east trend, almost right up to the township of Gondia is the Gaikhuri range. This is a cluster of elongated knolls set in a broken hill and undulating country that is fairly well - wooded. The whole region lies above 300 m., individual knolls forming peaks rising to greater heights: Rawanwai (459 m.) in Mahaka reserved forest; Jhanda (454 m.); Chandi (486 m.); Tatekasa (526 m.); Ladhari (460 m.); Sitatondi (428 m.); Khaira (611 m.) near Gondia; and Jamri (523 m.), etc.

The Gaikhuri range runs as a series of double ridges with a longitudinal depression in between, and progressively opening southwards; the two ridges coalesce in the north to form a continuous tangle of hill country. A few outliers of the main range dot the country north of the railway running east of Nagpur towards Gondia. This section of the range acts as a water-parting between the Wainganga and Bagh drainages.

The rock formations underlying the Gaikhuri range represent the Sakoli series of the Dharwar age that were laid as sediments in synclines within the archaean basement of gneisses and schists. They have been laid bare by a long period of circumdenudation, as a result of which the more resistant Sakoli beds stand up as a hill range in contrast to the adjoining low ground underlain by the softer gneisses and schists reduced to a lower level.

The predominant rocks of the region are muscovite-schists, chlorite-schists, phyllites and slates passing vertically and marginally into quartzites; the northern boundary of the main exposure is in most places a ridge of brecciated quartzites. The foliation strike in these rocks in general is north-east-south-west, but eastwards, along the eastern margin of the Gaikhuri range, the strike is north - south; the rocks here are folded in a synclinorium. The smaller outcrops of the rock beds on the archaean gneissic terrain particularly in the south, are believed to be the tips of the Sakoli synclinorium. Faulting is quite commonly met with within the main exposure, and is oriented in two or three sets of fractures usually indicated by fault-breccias.

It is with the muscovite-chlorite-schists of the Gaikhuri range that are associated the kyanite-bearing and sillimanite bearing rocks of Bhandara district and these occasionally contain topaz and corundum as important accessories. Around Pohra and Girola in Sakoli tahsil, about 25 km. east of Bhandara along the Eastern Highway, there occur extensive beds of massive sillimanite—about a hundred metres thick—in a tourmaline rock that is exploited in a small way at present. Jaspilite bands occur in association with phyllites and so too occur hæmative bearing rocks.

Darekasa hills : In the extreme eastern part of the district, around Darekasa, there occur a group of hills, forming a water parting between the Bhandara Bagh and Balaghat (Lesser) Bagh rivers. These hills are densely forested. The average elevation of these hills is somewhat greater than those of the hills further west. These hills are underlain by muscovite — biotite granites.

Nawegaon, Palasgaon and Pratapgad hills: The south-eastern parts of the district, in Sakoli tahsil, rise to the highest elevations within the district. These hills in the north and west are known as the Nawegaon, Palasgaon and Pratapgad hills. Under lain by the Sakoli schists and quartzites, these hills have a north south strike and are skirted by the Gondia - Nagbhir railway. The individual ridges are hogback-like, the higher elevations close to the crest rising through sheer cliff-faces. These ridges are also underlain by the Sakoli schists and quartzites.

A number of high peaks are recorded: Chakalipat (530 m.); Dalli (460 m.); Palasgaon (613 m.); Jhanda Dongar (714m.); Anjanjhari (534 m.); Ambajhari (688 m.); Umarjhari (591m.); Pratapgad (544 m.) and others. These hills rise about 200 to 300 m. above the general level of the uplands. In general, higher elevations are associated with the northern, Nawegaon and Palasgaon hills. The Gond fort of Pratapgad, on a crestal plateau, overlooking the Pratapgad peak, is located at the southern end of a spur that runs southwards from the Nawegaon hills. The Nawegaon lake lies in a large natural depression that is developed in a breach in these hills.

Chichgarh hills: To the east of Pratapgad hills and south of Palasgaon hills lie the Chichgarh hills that virtually represent the scarp edge of a plateau still further east, with isolated knolls rising to relatively higher elevations. Mostly made of muscovite-granites and felsite rocks with veins of tourmaline and quartz and granite-pegmatites, the Chichgarh hills have a more regular and rounded appearance, with peaks at uniform summit levels. The Chichgarh plateau peneplaned to an erosional level at about 400 m. is dotted with many residual knolls.

Sangadi, Adyal and Purkabin hills: To the west of the Gondia-Nagbhir railway, on either side of the Chulband river valley, there are a number of detached hill ridges. The Sangadi hills running parallel to the railway, about 4 km. to its west rise only slightly above the general level of the country and represent the narrow bands of the more resistant Sakoli beds or rocks at the edge of the upturned syncline set in the gneissic terrain. Their general strike is north to south and they are rarely more than a kilometre wide.

Further west, on the opposite bank of the Chulband river, is the Purkabin hills rising to the maximum elevation of 449 m. This hill with a north-east-south-west elongation also appears to be an erosional remnant of the Sakoli rock beds.

Still further west, on the eastern banks of the Wainganga, just north of the village Adyal in Bhandara tahsil, there is a hillock about 4 km. long north-west-south-east and a kilometre wide rising a hundred metres above the valley floor.

In the extreme south, near the village Lakhandur, also occurs a hillock, which resembles the Sangadi hills.

Plain Country: The lowlands of Bhandara district lie mainly along the valleys of the rivers Wainganga, Bagh, Chulband and Bawanthari; the most extensive of them occur along the first two rivers. The other two river valleys have a rolling topography dotted with a number of residual hills. It is noteworthy that long periods of circumdenudation have resulted in the river valleys being carved out over the archaean gneisses and schists; while the Sausar rock beds west of the Wainganga and the Sakoli rock beds to the east and south stand up boldly in relief as resistant hill-masses. A veneer of river-borne alluvium covers the gneissic floor in the valleys, and attains a fair depth and recognisable dimension in the southern parts of the district along the Wainganga before it leaves the district.

The low lands of the district on the whole lie between 200 m. and 300 m. levels.

Drainage: The entire district falls within the Wainganga drainage. The major rivers of the district are the Wainganga and its tributaries, viz., Bagh, Bawanthari and Chulband. The Kanhan, just before its confluence with the Wainganga and the Garhvi in its upper reaches flow through the district for short distances.

Rivers.—Wainganga: The source streams of the Wainganga rise in the Chhindwara and Seoni plateaus of Madhya Pradesh; the river flows south through the Balaghat district before entering Bhandara district at its northern extreme. It initially flows west along the northern boundary, then turns south-west and gradually southwards through the Bhandara tahsil. Before leaving the district to enter Chandrapur, the river runs south-east. Thus, the Wainganga drains mainly the western parts of the district.

It is the main stream of the district having an overall length of about 200 km. within the district. The bed of the river is generally broad and sandy, interspersed with occasional rock barriers and boulders. Between the confluence of the Bagh with it and the Bawanthari downstream, in the northern parts of the district, the bed is not too wide—about 100 metres. Downstream of the Bawanthari confluence, the river widens to almost a kilometre off Bhandara and to almost two kilmetres close to the southern limits of the district. However, just downstream of the confluence of the Kanhan with the main stream near the village Tiddi, the course of the river gets suddenly constricted, where it cuts through a ridge belonging to the Gaikhuri range.

In the hot weather, the river dwindles to trickles and shallow pools, but during the rains, especially in August and September, the swollen river with its rapidly flooding water is a fascinating sight to watch. During the rainy season, the river is navigable for light canoes.

The river through most of its flow in the district is considerably overloaded with silt, sands and alluvium, and as a result the channel is braided with numerous islands of sands in between. The channel of the river swings by graceful meanders, now left, now right, resulting in steep eroded banks on the outer side and shallow shelving and depositional inner banks. During the hot weather, the flow of the channel is confined to the eroded outer bank. Over most of its course, the river has developed high banks, 15 to 20 m. high; on the inner, less high banks, with alluvial flats, gullying is quite prominent and liability to flooding is also greater; as a consequence, villages avoid the inner banks and stick to the higher outer banks.

The river is normally fordable during the dry weather at a number of places; where the river is deeper, ferries too operate to connect villages on opposite banks. The river is crossed by the railway over a bridge on the Nagpur-Raipur section, just east of Tumsar Road R. S. Two seasonal pontoon bridges, one off Bhandara and another off Pauni, submersible during the floods, and a third bridge near Madagi, close to Tumsar Road -R. S. are the only road links across the river.

Bagh: Of the principal affluents of the river Wainganga, the Bagh is the most important. It joins the Wainganga on its left bank as the latter enters the district near the village Birsola. The Bagh rises in the Chichgarh plateau, just west of the Chichgarh village and flows north through a well-wooded granitic territory, its course being controlled by the joint planes in the bed rock. The overall length of the river is about 166 km, and the river for a considerable distance, except in its upper reaches forms the State boundary. Most of its tributaries are on the right bank, outside the district, but of them the Balaghat Bagh, rising in the hills of Khairagarh, and joining the main Bagh east of the market village Sarkartola. and the Kuadhas nadi rising in the Darekasa hills and tumbling over a fall, 46 m. high west of Darekasa village have a part of their courses within the district area. On the left bank, the tributaries are of lesser importance; of these, the Satbahini nadi rises in Chichewada hills and flows past Deori, and the Pangoli river rises in the Tumsar hills (not to be confused with Tumsar town in Bhandara tahsil) of Gondia and having its confluence with the main stream north of the large market village, Kamtha. The main river downstream of the confluence with the Pangoli, is perennial but floods only during the monsoon season. Except in its lower reaches, the Bagh flows in a narrow rocky bed with pools of stagnant water in between. An irrigation project over this river near the village Sirpur is well underway and irrigate about 24,000 hectares of cultivable lands in Gondia tahsil.

The Bagh is crossed by the Great Eastern Highway at Sirpur. The narrow gauge railway connecting Balaghat with Gondia on the main line crosses it over a bridge, just before its confluence with the Wainganga near the village Birsola.

Bawanthari: The Bawanthari river rises in the Kurai plateau of Seoni district (Madhya Pradesh), flows south, enters the district at the north-western limit of the boundary, and runs east forming the northern boundary for a distance of 48 km. before falling into the Wainganga. Though small and seasonal in its upper course, the river after entering this district, is fed by numerous hill torrents and is perennial. It drains the north-western parts of the district around Ambagad and Chandpur. The river has low banks and hence, in floods, overflows the banks. Quicksands occur in many parts of the river bed.

The river is crossed by the Tumsar-Tirodi railway over a bridge, north of Dongri budrukh village, and over two temporary submersible bridges by the roads leading from Tumsar to Katangi and Warseoni in Madhya Pradesh.

The Bodalkasa nadi and the Tonda nadi draining the northern slopes of the Ambagad range are its seasonal tributaries within the district.

Ambagad: The Ambagad nadi rises in the foothills to the north of the Ambagad range, flows south through a wide breach in the Ambagad hills to join the Wainganga on its right bank east of Tumsar. The gap through which the river flows appears to be too wide to have been carved out by the river; probably, in the past, the Bawanthari used to follow this valley into the Wainganga.

The valley of this river is used by the Tumsar-Tirodi railway and road to gain an easy access from the Wainganga valley to the Bawanthari valley.

Sur: The Sur nadi draining the Ramtek tank in Nagpur district at its southern end enters the district as a narrow channel near the village Khamari in Bhandara tahsil to flow eastward with a perennial channel. The Gaimukh nadi draining southwards the southern slopes of the Ambagad range is its main tributary; the Gaimukh joins it near the village Rohana close to the Bhandara-Tumsar road bridge on it. After the confluence, the river turns sharply south at a distance of 6 km. from the Wainganga in the alluvium of the main valley to follow a course subparallel to the Wainganga for about 13 km. before emptying into it to the north-east of Bhandara town.

Bodalkasa: The Bodalkasa nadi drains the overflow of the Bodalkasa tank westwards to join the Wainganga on its left bank just downstream of the confluence of the Ambagad nadi. Just before its confluence with the main stream, it is met by an affluent, the Chorkhamara nadi draining the overflow of the Chorkhamara tank.

Kanhan: The Kanhan, an important right bank tributary of the Wainganga rising in the Chhindwara plateau and flowing through the northern parts of Nagpur district has only a small stretch of its course in this district before it flows into the Wainganga about 10 km. south of Bhandara town. It forms the boundary between Nagpur and Bhandara for about 10 km. before its confluence. Its banks in the district are high and deeply eroded.

Chulband: The source streams of the Chulband nadi rise in the Salegaon Dalli and Palasgaon hill complex and drain the amphitheatre-like basin on the southern slopes of the Gaikhuri range; the Chulband flows generally southwards with a subparallel valley to that of the Wainganga to its east and joins it at the southern limits of the district near the village Soni. The river has an overall length of 114 km. which is entirely within the district. It also drains the overflow of the Nawegaon and Seoni tanks. In its upper section through the hills the river bed narrows and widens on and off, depending upon the resistance of the rocks over which it flows; thus, east of Sakoli, the bed is wider than immediately downstream, but the valley opens widely.

The river is crossed by the Great Eastern Highway near Sawangi over a bridge and by the Gondia-Nagbhir railway near Gond Umri.

Garhvi: The Garhvi nadi, also known as the Itiadoh nadi, rises in the granitic plateau of Chichgarh in the south-eastern part of Sakoli tahsil and flows west in a deep and narrow valley. As it flows past the village Palasgaon, the valley opens out, but about 15 km. downstream, it cuts through a quartzite spur of the Nawegaon hills in a deep gorge; the panorama from the Pratapgad fort eastwards as the river rushes out from the gorge is a pleasant sight to watch. The river continues further south, opening out into a wide valley with shallow banks to enter into the Chandrapur district before joining the Wainganga. The river has a flow of 60 km. through this district.

The irrigation project, named the Itiadoh project, is under construction, where the river comes out of the gorge; it is expected to irrigate nearly 20,000 hectares of land in the southern parts of Sakoli tahsil.

Springs: There are very few perennial springs in the district because of the schistose and gneissic rocks that underlie most of the area. The Gaimukh spring at the foot of the basaltic precipice of the Ambagad hills on its southern side, the Daldali spring north of Darekasa in the extreme east, and the Tatekasa and Umarjhari springs in the upper Chulband valley are the most prominent of the few springs that occur in the district.

Tanks.— The district of Bhandara is often called the ' lake district' of Maharashtra, which is well justified by the fact that there are as many as 580 large and 13,758 small and medium sized tanks, scattered all over the district. This gives an average of eight tanks for every inhabited village in Bhandara district. These tanks are mainly distributed in the Wainganga, Bagh, Chulband and Garhvi valleys and the foothill slopes that overlook them. However, there are fewer tanks to the west of the Wainganga in the Bhandara tahsil.

The tanks are of two types: those in the hills, particularly of the Gaikhuri range, Nawegaon and Palasgaon hills that are fairly large, occupying depressions in amphitheatre-like basins which collect the run-off from all the hills that surround them. Here, the tank is ' an irregular expanse of water; its banks are formed by rugged hills, covered with low forests that fringe the water, where the wild beasts repair to drink; its dykes, mainly shaped out of spurs from the hills are thrown athwart the hollows, a part only being formed by masonry; its sluices often consist of chasms or fissures in the rocks, and its surface as the monsoon approaches is lashed into swaying and crested waves'. These large tanks have been constructed by members of the Kohli caste and built as they were without any sophisticated technical and engineering knowledge, form an enduring monument to the native ability and industry of these enterprising cultivators.

The catchment areas of these tanks range from 1 to 40 km².

The tanks of the second type are much larger in number and are generally of a much smaller size. These are generally constructed at the foothill slope or on the general slope of the valley side by putting an earthen embankment, a few metres high at its lower end. Such tanks, dotted all over the archaean gneissic terrain collect the vicissitudes of rainfall in broad, shallow expanses of tank depressions; they are mostly seasonal in nature. Seepage at the tank bed and evaporation on the surface from these tanks are relatively high, and they fail in their water-supply during the hot weather or years of low rainfall, when their water-supply is direly needed. However, these tanks constitute an important and vital source of irrigation within Bhandara. Besides irrigation, these tanks are extensively used for fresh water fisheries.

These tanks generally have very small catchment areas; they have, as a rule, no sluices but possess a crude waste weir, if any. In most cases, the water is let out by cutting a channel through the embankment when necessary and closing up the breach soon after.

Nawegaon Tank: The largest and best known of the tanks in the district, the Nawegaon tank is situated in a picturesque basin surrounded by seven knolls locally known as the ' seven sisters' or the "sat bahini". Numerous hill torrents draining the slopes of these hillocks feed the tank during the rains. The shape of the tank is very irregular, the water expanse running into long and narrow stretches skirting the base of the hills.

The tank lies east of the village Nawegaon on the Gondia-Nagbhir railway and is about 65 km. south of Gondia. It has a circumference of 27 km. and a water surface of about 20 km². The average depth of the tank is about 12 m. increasing in places to 30 m. The catchment area is about 90 km². The tank is perennial, though it shrinks during the hot weather.

The tank is said to have been built by Kolu Patil Kohli at the beginning of 18th century at a cost if sixty-four thousand rupees. The short length of the embankment of this large tank shows how well the site has been selected. There are two embankments on the western side, one 700 m. long and ten metres high and the other 100 m. long and 13 metres high. They are earthen embankments with a loose pitching. It has a waste weir, 87 m. long and there is a steady flow all the year round through the main irrigation channel, which is never completely closed. With its main channel irrigating the land of four villages and another small one irrigating that of one village, this tank irrigates about 1,000 hectares of farmland, mostly of rice and of sugarcane.

A small island known as the Maldongri rising to 300 m. above mean sea-level lies in the centre of the tank. It is said that this island used to offer protection to the rich farmers of the nearby villages during the Pendhari invasions.

About eight kilometres west of this tank, on the opposite side of the railway, is a perennial tank called the Gangejhari tank.

Seoni Tank: The Seoni tank lies on the eastern slopes of the Chulband valley about 10 km. south of Sakoli village. The tank is said to have been built by Dadu Patel Kohli and is probably later in age than the Nawegaon tank. Its circumference is about 10 km., and its water-spread area is 8 km². The lake is surrounded by well-wooded hills on three sides, and on the fourth, by an embankment 190 m. long. The average depth of the tank is 10 m. In summer, the tank shrinks in size considerably. It irrigates the land of three villages: Seoni Bandh, Sangadi and Sasra.

About 12 km. south of the Seoni tank lies the Silli Hurki tank, feeding the irrigation channels of the villages Dighori budrukh and Bondgaon.

Khairbanda Tank: The Khairbanda (or Khalbanda) tank, about 14 km. in circumference is located at the northern extremity of the Gaikhuri range north of the Gondia-Bhandara railway in between two hills in what formerly formed part of Warad Zamindari. It is 5 km. due north of the Gangajhari railway station. It has two embankments one in the west and another in the north-west. The Khairbanda left and right bank canals irrigate considerable areas in the villages lying immediately to the west and north of this tank, in the western part of Gondia tahsil.

Bodalkasa Tank : The Bodalkasa tank, lies about 10 km. south-south-west of the Gaikhuri range in a breach on a north-east to south-west running spur. This perennial tank of an extremely irregular shape like the letter 'G' has a circumference of 30 km. It has a small embankment, 500 m. long and 8 m. high. The overflow empties into the Bodalkasa nadi and finally into the Wainganga. The Bodalkasa left and right bank canals irrigate the lands of a number of villages south of the Bhandara-Gondia railway in the south-western parts of Gondia tahsil.

Chorkhamara Tank: The Chorkhamara tank lies 10 km. southwest of the Bodalkasa tank on the steep western flanks of the same spur of the Gaikhuri range. It has a circumference of 22 km. and an embankment 1,200 m. long and 12 m. high on the north-western side. It has two canals, the right and left bank canals, the latter one having an important distributary known as the Kondhelohara distributary; the three of them together irrigate areas lying within a radius of 12 km. on the south-west, west and north-west of the tank. The overflow enters the Wainganga through the Chorkhamara nadi.

Chandpur Tank: The Chandpur tank lies at the eastern edge of the Ambagad range on its northern slope, overlooking the Bawanthari river near the village Chandpur. It has a circumference of 18 km. and a surface area of 12 km. It has an embankment to its northern and a smaller one to the east. The tank construction was completed in 1908.

General Scenery.— From the foregoing review of the salient physical traits of the Bhandara district, a general reader will be able to visualise and appreciate the physical setting of the district. The topography of the district reveals an east to west orientation of the Wainganga valley in the northern parts of the district, steadily opening out into a broad valley southwards in the west-central parts of the district, separated from its tributary valley basins by intervening hill ranges that also act as water-partings between the lesser streams of the district. The highest elevation of the district mainly lie in the south-eastern tracts that form an undulating plateau dotted with residual smoothly rounded hills.

The characteristics of scenery and human life are in close harmony with the topographical and geomorphological variations which are themselves the concomitant result of age-long differential erosion and weathering on rocks of varying geological strength. Surface drift deposits, laid down by the Wainganga and the different residual weathering end-products give rise to a variety of textures and colours in soils that add colour to the changing landscape. The richness of the gondite rocks in the north-western part of the district-essentially in the Bawanthari valley—in manganese ore deposits has made surface quarrying for the ore an important economic activity, bringing in its wake a cultural landscape dominated by quarrying and often wasteful exploitation.

Geologically the district essentially belongs to the archæans and Dharwar sediments preserved in the synclinal depressions of the former and highly metamorphosed. Rare and sporadic occurrences of the Vindhyans in parts of the district and the basic traps at the higher elevations of the Ambagad range are the only geological horizons outcropping in the district. The Dharwars belong to two suites; the more highly metamorphosed rocks of the Sausar series occur in the north-west, mainly in the Bawanthari valley and consist of calc-granulites, marbles, manganese bearing gondites, tourmaline-garnet-biotite schists, gneisses and quartzites; the other, covering a larger part of the district in. the south and east, belongs to the Sakoli series comprising predominantly argillaceous and siliceous rocks with a high proportion of chlorites, but lacking in lime rocks. Intrusions in it are mostly quartzose veins. The former rocks in the district have generally a NNE-SSW strike and are often intruded by granites that reveal excellent curvilinear sheet joints and weather into a for country.

The boundary between the two belts has been drawn more or less in a north-east-south-west direction, not far from the town of Tirora and two km. north-west of Bhandara, the Sakoli series being to its south-east and the Sausar series to its north-west. The foliation strike in the Sakoli series around Sakoli is NE-SW, tending to become further eastwards north-south, the rocks here being folded in a synclinorium. The smaller outcrops of the Sakoli beds in the southern parts occurring as outliers in the Chulband valley are tips of the synclinoria

Soils.—The soils of the district are highly varied, arising out of the tropical sub-humid weathering of crystalline metamorphic and igneous rocks. They are essentially residual, though along the southern extremes of' the Wainganga valley, downstream of Pauni, alluvial soils predominate.

Kali or black regur soils derived from the weathering of basalts are generally rare in the district. Kanhar or very rich alluvial soils occur widely; these soils crumble readily and are easy to work. They are clay loams in texture, very deep, sticky and retentive of moisture; they bear double crops. Morand soils are coarser in texture and occur farther away from the rivers, in relatively higher ground in comparison to the Kanhar soils. They generally have an admixture of sands or lime or both. The Kanhar and morand soils are chiefly found in the plains of the Wainganga, south of Bhandara and in the lower Chulband valley.

The khardi soils are dark in colour with a considerable admixture of lime; they are generally gravelly and shallow. They are poor soils. The sihar, is a reddish yellow soil derived from crystalline rocks as a result of oxidation under tropical humid conditions and cracks very little in the hot weather. It degrades into the khardi.

Most of the cultivable soils of the district belong to the morand and sihar types, both of which are light and slightly acidic. The sihar are the best rice soils of the district while the morand soils are devoted to rabi crops like wheat and linseed and kharif jowar. Poor lateritic bardi soils are found in foothills and sloping areas. Along the immediate banks of rivers, black kachhar soils, reddish and sandy marhani soils, and sandy retari soils are found; these soils are mostly immature. The marhani soils are devoted to garden crops.

Forest clad ridges, and valleysides, cultivated valley floors interspersed with numerous tanks, hamlets perched on higher levels, and roads, cart-tracks, and footpaths form the prominent aspects of the general landscape in this district. The landscape becomes more pleasing to the eye soon after the rains. The flooded rivers rushing with powerful torrents, the overflowing tanks, the densely wooded hill ranges presenting a lovely carpet of green and the lowland soils divided into tiny plots wherein the young rice plants sway to and fro as the gentle breeze plays on it, and the villages set in between the rice fields, surrounded by groves and garden crops and breaking the monotony of the cultivated green all these together present a pleasing romantic view.

Geographical Regions.—The area of the district can be broadly divided into geographic regions as under, each having its distinctive traits: —

(i) the Bawanthari valley; (ii) the Ambagad range; (iii) the Wainganga valley; (iv) the Gaikhuri range; (v) the Chulband valley; (vi) the Nawegaon, Pratapgad and Palasgaon hills; (vii) the Chichgad plateau; and (viii) the Bagh valley.

Bawanthari valley : The Bawanthari valley in the northern parts of the Bhandara tahsil adjoins the right bank of the eastward flowing Bawanthari river. Separated from the rest of the district by the Ambagad range, the valley is less than ten kilometres wide and 40 km. long. Underlain by the rock formations of the Sausar series, quick changes in rock types and hence in topographical scenery are quite frequent. The topography is of a rolling type, dotted with residual knolls and in general slopes northwards towards the river, with steeper gradients at the foothills. Seasonal streams and gullies swelling in rains cut into the terrain leading to a badland topography in many parts. The land is generally covered with fairly dense jungles with scattered thickets of bamboos. Cultivation is mainly restricted to clearings in the jungles and the lower slopes adjoining the Bawanthari. There are practically no tanks in this region, except in the eastern part, where the Ambagad range reaches close to the river. The Chandpur tank and a few non-perennial tanks in this region are bunded to supply water for irrigating the fields. The soils are on the whole poor khardi and retari.

The cultural landscape of the valley is dominated by manganese quarrying in the outcrops of gondite rocks in the foothills. Present quarrying is mainly confined to the villages along the Tumsar-Tirodi railway: bed ore containing at least 40 per cent mineral is quarried at Dongri budrukh, Yedarbuchi, Sitasaongi and Chikala. Low grade detrital ore containing 20 per cent to 40 per cent mineral is quarried at a number of places: Mangarli and Mandekasa in the west, Londejhari, Aswalpani, Alesur and Karli in the foothills. More than a lakh tons of manganese is mined every year.

Villages are few and far between. They are mostly small, at best hamlets in forest clearings. They are not compactly built; mostly they are clusters of houses and thatched hutments and workers' camps. Larger villages like Ashti and Lobhi reflecting agricultural security are all found in the east adjoining areas of tank irrigation.

Ambagad hills: The Ambagad hill range is narrow—about 30 km. long and 3 km. broad. Capped by basaltic precipices, overlying the Sausar series of rocks, the hill range has crestal mesas at levels of 500 m., flanked by overhanging cliffs in many places that drop through a hundred metres to lower structural benches. The range is breached by a wide gap, drained southwards by a small stream, the Ambagad nadi, southwards; the river is underfit to this large and wide valley. On the northern flank at the extreme east of the spur, is the large Chandpur tank. There are a few small circular tank depressions on the hill crest and in the southern foothills that have, however, little water in them. The southern foothills have developed coarse sandy piedmont slopes that are subject to gully action. The soils are coarse and gravelly in most parts.

The land use essentially consists of mixed deciduous reserved forests that are fairly dense. Cultivation is confined to forest clearings adjoining tank depressions; each clearing has a small hamlet. At the lower end of the piedmont slope, commanding the entry into the converging gullies are the larger agricultural villages. The only large villages are the market village of Paunara that lies on the gap and has a forest range office; and Chandpur, commanding the tank irrigated area along the Chandpur right and left bank canals. Chandpur has the ruins of an old gauli fort.

The Ambagad fort on the hill-top, looking south into the Wainganga valley, is a place of archaeological interest. At Gaimukh, further west at the foothills, there is a perennial spring at the base of the basalts and a cave temple. An annual fair is held here at the time of Mahashivaratri.

Wainganga Valley: The Wainganga valley forms a central depression in the district occupying nearly a third of its area lying mainly in the Gondia and Bhandara tahsil. The valley has an east to west orientation in the northern part of the Gondia tahsil with an average width, of about 10 km. Downstream in Bhandara tahsil, the valley has a north to south orientation, and broadens to a maximum of about 28 km. north of Bhandara town. South of Bhandara, the valley becomes narrow due to the convergence of hill spurs on either bank, transverse to the valley; further downstream, before the river leaves the district, once again the valley widens out, though not to the same extent as upstream.

In the east to west oriented northern stretch in Gondia tahsil, the land slopes to the north with a gentle gradient of 2 to 3 metres to a kilometre; the valley floor is formed over an archaean-crystalline terrain and is covered by riverine alluvium. Here and there, isolated, rounded knolls of Sausar series of rocks with a general SW-NE strike, outcrop as it happens north-west of Gondia, and rise about a hundred metres above the general level. The immediate banks of the seasonal streams draining into the Wainganga are deeply incised. The entire area is studded with a large number of small non-perennial and perennial tanks, the largest of them being the Khairbanda tank. Most of these tanks are bunded on their northern, lower end of the slope.

In its south oriented section, which mainly belongs to the Bhandara tahsil, the valley lies between the Ambagad and Gaikhuri ranges with a NE-SW orientation. Eastwards of the Ambagad range one can recognise the foothill piedmont slope of coarse soils, about 6 km. wide and covered extensively by natural vegetation cover, possessing a shallow water table, a large number of small tanks that are mostly perennial and wells at the lower limits of this slope. This slope is skirted by the Bhandara-Tumsar metal road and adjoins the Wainganga valley floor, about 6 to 10 km. wide, almost flat lying or gently sloping and covered by fine silty morand and kanhar soils. East of the valley, there is a wider but not too steep a foothill slope at the foot of the Gaikhuri range. This slope, once again is characterised by a large number of small, perennial tanks, and is traversed by a number of left and right bank irrigation canals bringing water from the larger tanks of the Gaikhuri range. This slope is fairly well-wooded. It is interesting to note that the valley floor of the Wainganga has practically no tanks because of the very gentle elopes of the terrain and little scope to bunding and storage in the alluvium. In contrast, the foothill slopes underlain by gneisses outcropping on the surface, offer a greater scope for Surface storage in depressions.

Downstream of the confluence of the Kanhan with the main river, and the narrow constricted valley near Tiddi, in the Pauni lowlands, the valley is again flat lying with occasional heights projecting above the floor level around Adyal. Here again, the non-perennial tanks are more in number close to the hills. The finest silty and clayey loams of the district occur in these lowlands.

Nearly three-fifths of the land area of the Wainganga valley is under plough and an eighth under permanent pastures. The gross cropped area in the valley is more than the net sown area by about a third—a significant variation from what is found elsewhere in the State and this may be mainly attributed to the significant role played by tank irrigation and to a lesser extent by wells. The agricultural practices and pattern of the valley are also striking in contrast to those found in other parts of the State. In the Bhandara tahsil, rabi crops predominate, according for nearly two-fifths of the gross cropped area. Kharif cropping is widespread all over the valley. Rice and tur are the kharif crops; rabi jowar, linseed and gram, the rabi crops. Rice is grown both as a rainfed and as an irrigated crop in the kharif season. Sown in June after the first rains and transplanted in August, the crop is harvested in October-November; the main varieties are Goramatia, Sugandhi, Luchai, Chinoor and Benison. Wheat is important only in the Bhandara tahsil where it is sown in October-November and harvested in February-March. Pulses, mainly lakh, udid, gram and tur account for a fifth of the area sown. Jowar is less important, being mostly grown in the rabi season. Linseed is the main oilseed crop of the valley in Gondia tahsil, grown in ricelands after the main harvest, mainly to improve the fertility of the soil. The rabi season cropping attracts a significant amount of immigration of agricultural labour from the nearby Sakoli tahsil.

The villages of the Wainganga valley are compact, nucleated settlements, of medium to large size, their size depending upon the security of the water-supply from the tank. In general, the village is situated on relatively high ground; its location is much influenced by the possibilities of constructing a tank nearby for irrigation and domestic uses. The embankment of the tank is planted with mangoes and other useful trees. Within the village site, tamarinds are usually found; pipal trees generally with the deity ' Mahadeo' installed under their shades are also quite common. The village lanes are often flanked by custard apple trees. The better class of agricultural landowners and tenants live in tiled houses; these have large yards walled in; they often have a well and a number of building structures within the yard, inclusive of a grain store usually containing bamboo receptacles.

Outside the village, the most notable feature is the tank. On this tank, the prosperity of the village depends, and a glance at its size and condition gives one a correct impression of the prosperity of the village. The best lands of the village generally lie immediately below the tank, commanding the water flow from the tank. The poorest lands are at the farthest end of the tank canals and at higher levels on the flanks. All the riceland is bunded and forms a regular pattern. The tank beds during the dry season are occupied by quick yielding crops, especially vegetables to make use of the best silts of the tank bed.

The well-to-do farmers of the villages of the Wainganga valley are mostly Ponwars and Kunbis. The Ponwars to the Wainganga valley are what the Kunbis are to the Berar plains. Gonds and Mahars, generally form the agricultural labour class and occupy the inferior landholdings.

Most villages have two more hamlets or tolas; individual tolas are often occupied by individual castes or groups of people with a segregation of communities like the Gonds, Ponwars, Kunbis, Kohlis, Koshtis and others. In some cases, the hamlets are a creation of convenience, lying in the midst of the fields cultivated by the people of the hamlet closeby. Each hamlet lies at the head of a tank and commands a limited area of land under irrigation from that tank. The largest of the villages often commanding nodal positions in communications, are market villages having weekly or bi-weekly markets. Villages generally avoid the immediate banks of the Wainganga due to liability to flooding.

Rice and flour milling, poha mills, bidi making, brassware manufacture, handloom cloth weaving and lac works are fairly developed as cottage industries, in most of the villages and add considerably to the income of the villagers. Ekodi and Bapewada are known for handloom 'kosha' cloth; Pauni, Bhandara, Adyal and Andhalgaon are known for handloom saris and dhotis.

Gaikhuri Range: The Gaikhuri range extends almost from the Wainganga with a direction south-west to north-east trend and consists of a main range rising to elevations between 500 to 600 m., with a number of elongated outridges on its eastern outflanks, with a similar trend. The whole range is an outcrop of the Sausar series. The western flank of the main range has steep escarpments. The human interest in the region centres round the three large perennial tanks—the Chorkhamara, Bodalkasa, and the Khairbanda—occupying bunded depressions on the western flanks, and a large number of small depressions on the eastern dip slope.

The Gaikhuri range is well-wooded with tropical mixed moist deciduous forests in which the dominant species are teak, saj, bija, hilda, tinsa shisham, mhowa,, rohan, khair, etc. ' Katang ' bamboos are found mainly along the nullahs.

Villages at best are tiny forest hamlets and many are uninhabited; the population consists of Gonds, Mahars and Gaolis dependent on forest gathering, grazing, and jhuming. Collection of tendu leaves for bidi manufacture, mhowa flowers and fruits, palas for propagation of lac, kadai, kulha, dhavda for gum, khair for hath, firewood, fodder and thatching grass, the rearing tassar silk cocoons on forest trees are the main activities of the people.

Chulband Valley: The narrow Chulband valley, lying between the Gaikhuri range in the west and the Nawegaon-Palasgaon-Pratapgad hills in the east and opening out southwards belongs almost entirely to the Sakoli tahsil. It is practically the epitome of the tank country of Bhandara district with thousands of small and large tanks, fairly perennial, dotting the floor of the valley and supporting extensive rice cultivation. Most of these tanks were built by the Kohlis. The river itself is dry most of the year and not much useful. But, the tanks irrigate large areas in foothill slopes and the valley-sides; rice fields are bunded and flooded with water drawn through canals from tanks. In the past, sugarcane cultivation used to be important but has of late declined.

Villages are medium to large sized, with a large number of caste and non-caste hamlets. Bidi making, rice milling and tasar silk weaving are wide-spread rural occupations of the valley. The Gonds form bulk of the population.

The Gondia-Nagbhir railway traverses the country north to south and follows the Chulband river after crossing it near Gond Umri. The Nagpur-Raipur Highway runs through it east-west in the upper reaches, the tahsil head-quarters Sakoli being on it. A new road with a bridge over the Chulband is being built from Sakoli to Lakhandur in the lower valley.

A soapstone quarry is worked at Kaneri and stone cups and jars are made of it. Lac bangles are made at Lakhani on the Highway, 10 km. west of Sakoli. The Gonds in the villages around Gond Umri and Chikhli make soft matting out of sukhwasa grasses.

Nawegaon, Palasgaon, Pratapgad hills: These hills, underlain by quartzites and schists on the western side and by granites and gneisses on the eastern, rise to elevations which are the highest within the district; peaks like Nishani and Ambajhari record more than 600 m. of elevation. The hills are covered by dense mixed jungles and are practically uninhabited except for shifting forest hamlets. Human interest, as in the Gaikhuri range, lies in economic produce associated with its large tanks, particularly the Nawegaon tank, and the collection of forest products.

The disused Pratapgad fort with the tomb of Khwaja Usman Barauni, and the Mahadeo temple which is a centre of annual fair, is perhaps the only spot of interest in these hills.

The Chichgarh Plateau: This region lies in the south-eastern parts of the district and rises through fairly well-wooded scarp slopes from the Garhvi valley to its west. The plateau, mostly granitic in character, is an undulating and rolling topography, with numerous isolated rounded residual knolls standing up boldly in relief as erosional remnants. The soils on the whole are poor and gravelly.

Even the plateau top is covered by fairly dense mixed forests and permanent pastures with a few small nucleated Gond villages situated on stream sides and tank bunds; individual villages have practically no satellite hamlets. On the plateau farming is less important than forest and pastoral pursuits. With the completion of the Itiadoh project, the Garhvi valley would considerably improve agricultural production.

Bagh Valley: The Bagh valley occupies the eastern parts of the district to the east of the Gaikhuri and Palasgaon ranges. The upper reaches of the valley in the Sakoli tahsil is a jungle-clad hill and plateau country with few tribal villages, well nucleated and sited around tanks. Farming is in patches in forest cleared areas. The Nagpur-Raipur National Highway traverses west to east through this region; away from the highway, communications predominantly consist of village roads and foot paths.

After the Bagh enters the Gondia tahsil, the valley opens out in an open country studded with tanks. The soils are fairly productive; rice and jowar in kharif, and linseed and pulses in the rabi season, with the aid of tank irrigation, are the essential crops.

Villages are compact and squarish, with a number of subsidiary hamlets. Larger ones Amgaon and Kamtha are either nodal market centres or former malguzari villages. As elsewhere in the plains, rice and flour milling, bidi making and lac works are important rural subsidiary occupations.

Summary.— In its geographic setting, the district offers a marked contrast to the rest of the State. The rocks underlying the district are quite dissimilar to those which underlie most of Deccan Maharashtra, and the mineral wealth of the district is principally due to the outcrops of the Dharwars. More than a quarter of the district area is under mixed deciduous monsoon forests that provide a stable base for forest and pastoral pursuits of the forest communities; forest based rural activities bear ample testimony to this fact. The net sown area in the district is nearly half the total area but gross cropped area is much larger, thanks to the significant area under rabi crops and the large areas under command of tank irrigation. Two-fifths of the gross cropped area is under irrigation, the largest percentage recorded for any district in the State. The cropping pattern, much superior to what is found elsewhere in the State, is dominated by rice; linseed and pulses occupy a significant second position. Nearly three-fifths of the cropped area is under rice, revealing that rice is the king crop of the district. Yields too are fairly high, though they can be further enhanced. The whole economy of the district, deriving its income from multiple sources such as mining, farming, forest products, etc., is stable, and accounts for the greater prosperity of the countryside than elsewhere in the State and the general absence of scarcity conditions.

Though the National highway and the main railway traverse the district west to east, inter-linking the river valley basins, the real problem of the district is the inadequacy of food and reliable internal communication lines. With the further development of irrigation projects on the Bagh and the Itiadoh, and a better coordinated road network, during the plan period, the district has a bright future.

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