The Gazetteers Department

Although Jalgaon and Dhulia districts belong to the Deccan Uplands of the Maharashtra State, they are distinguished from the rcst 0f the upland districts by their westward aspect. While the rest of the upland region is drained by the major rivers to the east, the Tapi and its tributaries drain the Jalgaon region to the west towards Arabian Sea. The landscape is typically that of the Deccan lavas with residual hill ranges and broad valleys, with trap dykes introducing a sharp local contrast as small chains of hillocks. Thus Jalgaon includes varied topographical features and landscapes, consisting of wild hills and forests, rich gardens and groves, stretches of barren plain, low rolling rocky hills and tensely gullied (bad land) topography near major river banks. Regionally, from east to west, parallel with the Tapi, are three well.marked belts of country; in the centre the rich Tapi valley ,in the north the high and wild Satpuda, and in the south and south-west bare ridges and rich well-watered valleys flanked by the Ajanta range.

The Tapi Valley.

The Tapi banks are high and bare, and due to heavy regional erosion the land on both sides is seamed by tributary rivers and streams. Now and again from the north, spurs of the Satpuda stretch close to the river bank, and on the south rise some low barren hill ranges. With these exceptions, the long central plain is for about 80 miles from Burhanpur to the western limit of the district which is co-terminus with the confluence of Aner and Bori rivers with the Tapi. Although the Tapi valley consists of a vast alluvial plain, intense erosion-riverine and gully is the major key-note of its landscape, and it acts as a serious and increasing limitation on the traditional agricultural wealth of the region. This is particularly noticeable on the northern flank between Faizpur and Chopda, and on the southern in the immediate vicinity of the Girna and the Vaghur rivers. Cultivation evidently dominates the valley landscape, though to the north, near the base of the Satpuda, it yields progressively to forest growth, and in the south to barren grass lands with the approaches of the Ajanta ranges.

The Northern Belt.

North of the Tapi, the whole length of the rich alluvial plain is bounded by the steep southern face of the Satpuda, a belt of mountain land from twenty to thirty miles broad. boundary of the district is marked by the longitudinal depression of the Aner river and its eastern counterpart the Mamat tributary of the Suki river. These two longitudinal valleys separate the southern range of the Satpuda from their northern members. Much of this hill country, now with only a few scattered Bhil hamlets, was once well-peopled. At every few miles in the forests of Pal Tappa, there are ruins of villages. Further west, Amba, in the wide valleys of the Aner and the Arunavati, is dotted with the brushwood-covered ruins of the temples, mosques, wells, and upper-storeyed houses of what must once have been good-sized towns.

The Southern Belt.

South of the rich Tapi valley, the country is more varied than either in the centre or in the north. In the extreme east, the Purna valley, between the Hatti hills on the east and the rolling broken ground on the west, stretches south, much of it uncultivated or covered with brushwood. Further west, drained by the Vaghur, the Girna and the Bori, wide stony and thorny plains rise in low broad-topped basaltic ridges or sink in rich well-cultivated valleys.

Hills

Satpuda.

Within Jalgaon limits are three chief hill ranges, the Satpuda in the north, the Hatti in the south-east, and the Ajanta or Satmala in the south. The Satpudas, a broad belt of mountain land, stretching in a wall-like line along the north bank of the Tapi, rise from the first range of hills, ridge behind ridge, to the central crest about 2,000 feet high, and then slope gently to the Narmada. Among the peaks that rise upper about 3,000 feet the chief are, in the east, Pancha Pandu and Mondhiamal looking down on Yawal.

Hatti

The Hatti hills bounding the Purna valley on the east, run north-west and south-east, and for about twenty miles pass through the south-east corner of Jalgaon. Rising gradually from the Tapi valley in their first twenty miles, they are rather low and tame. Further east, forming the northern frontier of Berar, they rise . to nearly 4,000 feet and finally merge in the Nagpur hills. At first bare and rocky, as they near the southern limit of Jalgaon, their sides are in places somewhat thickly covered with brushwood and timber and give shelter to wild beasts.

Satmala.

The Satmala, also known as the Chandor or Ajanta range, breaking off sharply from the Sahyadris in the north-west of Nasik, runs for about fifty miles east in a series of quaint basalt pinnacles and ridges. Near Manmad, after a gentle depression, it again rises about 600 feet above the plain, and forms a somewhat monotonous wall-like boundary between Jalgaon and the Deccan. Except for about fifteen miles in the west, actually pat-its limits, the range skirts the south of Jalgaon for about eighty miles. A few miles beyond Ajanta it turns south, merging into the highlands that form the southern frontier of the Berar districts. As it is a narrow range, little more than the steep northern face of the Deccan tableland, the Satmala contains few forest tracts. The sides, mostly bare or with a few scattered trees, have here and there strands large enough to shelter wild animals. Of late years, tillage has spread to the sides of many of the northern spurs, and in some places come close to the foot of the main range. Besides the picturesqueness of its western peaks, the chief interests in the Satmala range are the rock-cut Buddhist temples and monasteries at Ajanta, Patna, and Chandor. Within Jalgaon limits, besides several foot-paths, two roads cross the hills, one through the Ranjangaon pass near Chalisgaon and the other by the Ajanta pass above Fardapur.

Spurs.

To each of the three great hill ranges, the Satpudas on the north, the Satmala on the south, and the Sahyadris on the west which more properly lie in Dhulia, spurs rise from the plain for the most part at right angles to the main lines. Those emanating from the Satpudas in the north and the Satmala in the south, of no great height or length and as a rule with bare rounded sides and flat tops, are of little pictorial interest. But from the central plain, spurs stretch for upland of seventy miles west of the Sahyadris. One of these, a rocky upland rising from the Tapi valley a few miles south of Arrialner, bounds the Bori on its left, and stretching westward, forms near DHulia a claim of craggy peaks.

Rivers

Tapi.

The chief feature of the district, the line to which almost its Whole surface drains, is the Tapi. With a course including meanders of about 450 miles, and a drainage area of about 30,000 square miles, the Tapi, flowing west from the highlands of Madhya Pradesh, falls into the Gulf of Cambay, about twelve miles west of Surat. Of the whole of its course, about 75 miles lie within the limits of Jalgaon. Practically throughout its course in this district, the valley of the Tapi is flat and well-tilled and the banks at almost every three-quarters of a mile, are crowned with villages.

Through almost the whole of the district, the Tapi banks, except where they are scarred by water courses or open to tributaries, rise high and bare. From 250 to 400 yards apart, and generally sixty feet above the river bed, each bank has a double terrace, a lower of yellow earth much cut into by ravines and further back, a high upper bank rising to the level of the country round. The present entrance of the Tapi into Jalgaon is said to be a new channel, ft is possible that the river once flowed further north along a deep gully which may still be seen, and joined the present channel near the village of Ainpur, about twenty miles east of Bhusawal. Except for two waterfalls, one below and the other above the Bhusawal railway bridge, the river stretches in long sandy reaches forty miles to its confluence with the Vaghur. From this to the water limit of the district, the river bed forms three great stretches varying in length from twenty to sixty miles, divided by rocky barriers each about a mile and a half broad. During the rains, the floods in the river bed, setting with force along the outer bank, and carrying sand and gravel, pile them at the points where the river's course changes. In the fair season, when the water is low, these sand heaps act as dams enclosing reaches of still water rocky barriers. After the floods of the rainy season are spent, the stream flows over gravel shoals in numerous channels with a general breadth of from 150 to 300 feet, a depth varying from nine to eighteen inches and a speed from two to three miles an hour.

Within the limits of this districat Tapi proper is hardly used either for irrigation or for boat traffic. The height of the river banks has hitherto prevented successful irrigation. In 1852, a survey of the river showed that, except in the extreme west, it might at a small cost be made passable for boats. The local trade now sets to the railway and the need for a water highway is greatly lessened.

Two bridges lying on the major district roads cross the Tapi near Bhusawal and Savkheda in Chopda (the bridge near Bhusawal is nearing completion). Besides these, the railway bridge crosses the Tapi near Bhusawal. During the rainy season, the Tapi, full from bank to bank, is not fordable. The stream was then generally crossed on cots floated on empty guards, and cattle and horses are swum across by the ferrymen. Ferries run at a number of points in Amalner, Chopda, Edlabad, Jalgaon, Raver and Yawal. In the dry season, the river is fordable at many points. During its course through Jalgaon, the Tapi receives many tributaries from both sides. On the right bank are, beginning from the east, the Bhokar, the Suki, the Mora, the Harki, the Manki, the Guli, and on the left, the Purna, the Bhogavati, the Vaghur, the Girna and the Bori. From the nearness of the Satpuda hills, in whose southern slopes they all spring, the streams on the right bank are small, and of little use for irrigation or for other purposes. They have the peculiarity that near the hills and again for several miles before they fall into the Tapi, their streams flow throughout the year, while in a middle belt the water, during the fair season, passes underground leaving the bed dry. The streams on the left bank draining much wider tracts of country are of greater size and consequence. Except the Purna, which from the south-east 'joins the Tapi about sixteen miles after it enters the district, and the Vaghur, about twenty miles further west after a winding course of about forty miles from the Satmala hills near Ajanta, all the left bank streams have their sources among the Sahyadris. In their character and course the Sahyadri streams have much in common. Starting hemmed in by spurs at right angles to the main line of the Sahyadris, they pass east, until, as the hills sink into the Jalgaon plain, they are free to follow the natural line of drainage, and turn north to the Tapi. Of these there are two chief streams, the Girna falling into the Tapi about twenty-five miles below the Vaghur and the Bori about twenty miles further west.

Girna.

The Girna rising in the western hills of the Kalvan sub-division of Nasik, and fed by streams from the northern slopes of the Chandor or Saptashring range, after a course of about 150 miles, joins the Tapi near Nanded. Its course lies in nearly equal parts in Nasik and Jalgaon. Passing eastwards through Nasik almost in a straight line, in Jalgaon, its course changes to north-east, till, near Jalgaon town, it bends north and then north-west flowing for several miles with many windings almost parallel to the Tapi. In Jalgaon, except in one or two places where it is hemmed in by rocky hills, the Girna, with a broad sandy bed, flows through a well-tilled valley gradually spreading into the great central plain. Its waters, both in Nasik and Jalgaon, are much used for irriga-tion. In Nasik lately repaired dams and channels water many of its upland valleys, and in Jalgaon, from Rahal about ten miles north of Chalisgaon, the Jamda canals stretch east for about twenty-seven miles on the left and twelve miles on the right bank.

Bori.

The Bori, with a course of about sixty miles, rising in the Malegaon sub-division of Nasik, drains in its upper reaches parts of Dhulia, and has a somewhat parallel course about fifteen miles north of the Girna. In the Jalgaon district, the river has a course of about thirty-five miles; for about ten miles it maintains an easterly course, and then, with rather a sudden turn, flows north for about twenty-five miles, where, taking another bend, it sets to the north-west joining the Tapi about twenty miles below the Girna. Like the Girna, in its upland valleys, the waters of the Bori are much used for irrigation.

Soil.

The soils of the district are essentially derived from the underlying basalt, though older alluvium has a deep cover all along the broad Tapi valley. The fertility of these soils depends largely on their position vis-a-vis relief and their nearness to stream courses. The central belt of the wide Tapi valley, about half of the whole area, consists either of a black alluvial clay highly retentive of moisture, or of a loam overlying a stratum of yellowish clay of good depth. On this soil, which for richness cannot be surpassed, wheat is extensively grown, in some places from year to year, without the aid of manure or change of crop. Skirting this rich tract along the base of the Satpudas where the level is somewhat higher, the soil develops poorer characters. Along the banks of the river, where the land is much cut by deep ravines, the soil is mixed or overlaid with lime nodules, and in some places the surface soil is entirely washed away, with occasional remnant patches or strips of rich alluvial deposit.

Geographical Sub-Regions.

Although the district belongs to the eastern part of the tradi-tional Khandesh region, variations in relief and the character of local drainage have introduced significant changes in the regional landscapes. These, in their turn, have affected in no small degree the nature of land and the general economic development of the different localities.

On the northern border, lies the Satpuda Hill region with its characteristic feature of relief and drainage. Its plateau features have suffered intense erosion and consequently there is much unevenness within these hill regions. Much of this region is under forest cover, although severe depletion of forests is much in evidence. Substantial portions of the forests are reserved forests under the management of the Forest department. Local cultivation, mostly of backward type, is restricted to isolated valleys.. As could be expected, this hill region is thinly populated mainly by tribal communities, the most famous of which are the Bhils. Communications are few and far between and are restricted to foot-paths along the valley courses. The two main transverse routes are one from Adgaon to Dhapli and the other from Lasur to Varla. The longitudinal stream of the Aner river, which serves as a border between this district and the districts of Madhya Pradesh, allows to some extent, east and west communication. Small hamlets, cultivated patches and denuded forests reflect the general economic backwardness of this sub-region.

South of the main Satpuda range lying within this district there is a piedmont belt varying in distance from 2 to 4 miles and built by the innumerable streams flowing down to the Tapi system and depositing coarse as well as fine detrital matter along their courses. Hence the main topographical feature of this piedmont belt consists of a gradual sloping plain towards the Tapi river, and burrowed by several gullies and streams. It is the outward edge of the piedmont belt that is of interest from the point of view of economic and human development. Soils are rich, cultivation is extensive, villages are large-sized and better looking, and communications have a better development.

South of this piedmont edge begins the Tapi Valley proper, underlain by a deep alluvial cover. The alluvial section of the Tapi Valley is about 8—10 miles broad on either banks of the river, and within it, it has two significant zones. The outer zone is alluvial but less eroded, and, therefore, much more intensively cultivated. The inner one adjoins the banks of the river, though alluvial and is intensely dissected by gully erosion and is accordingly rapidly losing its usefulness from the agricultural point of view. Thus almost through the entire length of the Tapi river in this district, the immediate banks of the river and the belt from 3 to 4 miles width the region presents a 'bad land' appearance. It is full of gullies and ravines and more covered with coarse grass and shrubs, and has limited area of cropped land. In this highly dissected zone, human settlements are perched on the remnatu features, surrounded by deep ravines. All these are small-sized settlements with limited economic activity. The outer alluvial zone of the Tapi Valley on both the sides offers, on the other hand, a great contrast both in landscape and economic development. This is essentially the core of the Khandesh plain, well developed on alluvium and is comparatively free from gully erosion. The well-develope alluvial soil supports extensive agriculture with cotton as the principal crop. The large-sized villages reflect the economic prosperity of the land and this is further emphasised by the flourishing market centres like Raver, Savda, Faizpur, Chopda on the north and Amalner, Parola, Erandol, Dharangaon, jalgaon, Nasirabad, Bhusawal and Varangaon in the south. Several of these towns have grown rapidly on account of the development of the cotton textile industry and Bhusawal enjoys a special position as a railway junction.

The southern zone of the district again develops a hilly character in which the Girna valley occupies a special position mainly on account of the development of canal irrigation. Bordered on both sides by residual hills, the Girna has developed rich agricultural land on either banks where sugar-cane and horticulture are much in evidence. Bhadgaon is an important commercial centre and Pachora, its eastern counterpart, serves as a collecting centre for the surrounding cotton zone.

East of the Girna basin, the district resumes its hilly features with the approaches of the Ajanta range. The region between the Tapi valley and the Ajanta range is a fairly well-tilled plain with Jamner and Bodwad as local commercial centres. The outskirts of the Ajanta ranges lying within this district are minor hilly features mainly given to shrub and rough grass land. In general, however, the southern zone of this district is economically much better developed as could be seen from its larger villages, denser population and better developed communications than in the northern belt of piedmont and the main Satpudas.

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