Bidar district


Bidar district is a district located in the northernmost part of the Karnataka state in India. The administrative headquarters of district is Bidar city. Geographically, it known as the "Crown of the State", occupying its northeastern end. It is bounded by Kamareddy and Sangareddy districts of Telangana state on the eastern side, Latur and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra state on the western side, Nanded district of Maharashtra state on the northern side and Kalaburagi district on the southern side.
The Bidar district is constituted by eight talukas, namely Bidar, Humnabad, Bhalki, Aurad, Hulsoor, Chitgoppa, Kamalnagar and Basavakalyan with Bidar being the headquarters of the district. Bidar district is connected with the NH-9 and NH-218 highways.

History

Traditional tales refer to the surrounding region of Bidar district as "Viduranagara" and also as the place where Nala and Damayanthi met. The area was ruled by the Mauryas, Satavahanas, Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Kalachuris, Kakatiyas, Khaljis, Bahamanis, Baridshahis, Mughals and the Nizams of Hyderabad. The great revolution by Shivasharanas in the 12th century, encompassed social, literacy and religious fields emerged here. Culture, fine arts and architecture nurtured by successive rulers has contributed to its cultural richness. There are more Hindus and Muslims in this district. Similarly, social and religious reformers such as Basaveshwara and Guru Nanak also played a significant role in social reformation based on equality.
Bidar district is well known for its different religions, castes and cultures due to its historical developments through the ages.

Early and medieval history

The first Rashtrakuta capital was Mayurkhandi in the present day Bidar district. The regal capital was later moved to Manyakheta in the present day Kalaburagi district by Amoghavarsha I.
Kalyani in Bidar district was the capital of Western Chalukyas, who were also called Kalyani Chalukyas after their capital. The Kalachuris continued with Kalyani as their capital.
Later, Bidar was ruled in succession by the vassals to Sevuna Yadavas of Devagiri, Kakatiyas of Warangal, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughluq.
The generals of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq who were nominated as viceroys of the newly conquered Deccan region broke up and formed the Bahmani Sultanate under Allauddin Hasan Gangu Bahman Shah.
The Bahmani capital was shifted from Kalburgi or Kalubaruge to Bidar in 1425. Bidar remained the capital until the Sultanate's breakup after 1518. It then became the center of the Barid Shahis, one of the five independent sultanates known as the Deccan sultanates. These were the successor states to the Bahmani kingdom.
The Bidar Sultanate was absorbed by the Bijapur Sultanate to the west in 1619, which was in turn included into their Deccan province by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb during his viceroyship of Deccan in 1656. After the death of Aurangazeb, Asaf Jah I, the Mughal Subehdar of the Deccan province, became independent and assumed the title Nizam-ul-mulk, with the whole of the province under the Nizam's sovereign control.
After Independence, Bidar district, along with Gulbarga, Bijapur and Raichur districts, became part of Karnataka.

Geography

The total geographical area of the district as per the provisional figures computed by the Survey of India is, while the reporting area of the district for land-utilisation purposes, as worked out by the State Department of Survey Settlement and Land Records and local bodies, is.

Topography

The district extends from latitude 17.35'N to 18.25'N and from the longitudes
76.42'E to 77.39'E which is located on the northern maidans of Karnataka which provides a mountainous treeless expansive plateau landscape. The ancient schistose rocks are covered by the Deccan Traps. The most remarkable character of these traps is their perfectly horizontal disposition. The traps weather with a characteristic spheroidal weathering and the trap area is strewn with numerous dark-coloured boulders of all shapes and sizes. The soils covering this region are black to deep brown in colour which are rich in humus and form some of the most valuable fertile lands in the country, well suited for cultivating pulses.
Physiographically, the district can be divided into two regions, the northern low lands and southern high lands. The southern high lands are popularly known as Bidar plateau, which is made up of laterite. The ground altitudes are varying from above sea level. Bidar plateau has an elevation range from above sea level. The ground surface is flat, gently sloping forming broad valleys and flat topped hills. Flat topped hills with step-like sides exhibit the terraced landscape. The southern half of the district is a high plateau about above mean sea level and are well drained.

Laterite

Laterite is a peculiar type of residual porous clayey rock, full of worm-like tubes mainly made up of hydrated oxides of iron and alumina, formed as end product of weathering of the underlying rocks. It is formed under special climatic conditions of alternating dry and wet seasons. Much of the silica is dissolved and carried away, leaving the weathered product rich in oxides of iron and aluminium. The laterite cappings over the bedrock range in thickness of to. The best development of laterite can be seen in the Bidar, Basavakalyan and Humnabad talukas of the district.

Soil

The two important types of soils noticed in the district are black soils and lateritic soils.
  • Black soils: Major parts of the district are made up of black soils derived from Deccan traps. These are deep black in colour and their texture varies from loam to clay. Lime concentration in this soil is high, resulting in poor infiltration capacities. Their infiltration characteristics are poor to moderate. This type of soils covers mainly in areas lying below contour and along the valley portions.
  • Lateritic soils: A lateritic soil is confined to the central portion of the district. Lateritic soils are pale to bright red in colour and clay to clayey loam in nature. This soil has moderate to good infiltration characteristics. This type of soils covers mainly in areas lying above contour.
The entire district forms a part of the Deccan Plateau and is made up mostly of solidified lava. The northern part of the district is characterized by expanses of level and treeless surface punctuated here and there by flat and undulating hillocks, black soils and basaltic rocks. Alluvial deposit is normally found along the banks of the Manjra river and its main tributaries.
The district is entirely covered by the Deccan trap flows of the tertiary period. The Deccan trap is composed of horizontal flows of basaltic lava. They generally form flat-topped hillocks and terrace-like features. The physical characteristics of individual flows show considerable variations. Some flows are hard and massive while others are weathered, soft and friable. This character has resulted in terraced landscape, suddenly ending in escarpments. The traps are seen generally above mean sea level. These are jointed and show the characteristics of spherical weathering leaving massive hard cores. Columnar jointing is predominantly developed in these rocks, besides horizontal joints, which impart to the rocks bedded appearance. The top layers of the Deccan trap in parts of Bidar and Humnabad talukas are altered to reddish vesicular laterite, forming and extensive undulating plateau.
The surface of the plateau presents wide stretches of red plains, either waved over by light dry grasses alive with coveys of partridges and herds of deer, or mottled by every sort of cultivation for which artificial irrigation is not essential. The laterite must everywhere be pierced nearly to the subjacent trap to reach the perennial springs, so that the wells in the vicinity of the edges of the tableland are of extraordinary depth. The stream-fed valleys and the tracts of mixed soil in the lowlands bear prodigally fruits and grains, sugarcanes and vines, and every variety of vegetable produce.

Minerals

The minerals found in the area are bauxite, kaolin and red ochre. A deposit of highly siliceous bauxite clay has been located about three kilometers south of Basavakalyan. Similar deposits are noticed near Alwal and Kamthana villages of Bidar taluka. A large deposit of Kaolin is located near Kamthana village. Red ochre deposits are found near Sirsi and Aurad Village.

Weather and climate

The district experiences semi-arid climate with extreme summer. The dust storms and severe heat waves are common in the district between April and May. Coldest months are December and January. The temperature varies in the district between 20 °C and 42 °C The summer season in Bidar starts in the first week of March and lasts until mid-June. This is followed by southwest monsoon which continues till late September, and from September to end of January is winter.
May is the hottest month with average daily maximum temperature of 38.8 °C while December is the coldest with average daily minimum of 16.4 °C, The highest temperature recorded at Bidar was 43.3 °C on 8 May 1931, and the lowest 3.9 °C on 5 January 1901.
The average annual precipitation at Bidar is, with most of the rainfall received during the monsoon season. The variation in rainfall from year to year is large and the district is prone to drought.

River systems and drainage

The important rivers in the district are:
The district has two river basins, the Godavari and the Krishna. Major parts of the district are covered by Godavari basin, drained by its two major tributaries the Manjra and the Karanja rivers. The Godavari basin extends to over, of which Manjra covers up to and Karanja up to. The Krishna basin covers of which Mullamari river basin covers and Gandarinala river basin covers. The Manjra river is perennial river flows over a distance of in the central part of the district and flows in eastern direction with a meandering course. The Karanja river flows in northwestern direction for with Karanja reservoir being major water source. The river Mullamari takes its origin near Matala village of Basavakalyan taluk flows from west to east for a length of and then flows into Kalaburgi district and joins the river Kagna. The Kagna river is one of the main tributary of Bhima river. Besides, there are several streams, which are of ephemeral in nature. The drainage pattern in the district varies from sub-dendritic to dendritic and some streams have a sub parallel drainage to the main river.
These rivers and their rivulets are not navigable.