Amravati-District

Introduction:

A) Location: 
Amravati District is located due north east of Maharashtra state having 760 37, 27?E latitude and 200 32, to 210 46, N longitude. Due north and west is Madhya Pradesh state border, due south is Akola and Yeotmal district; while towards east are Nagpur and Wardha district. There is a Satpuda range towards north of the district.
B) Area: 
The total geographical area of Amravati District is 12212 sq. km. and it is only 3.97 % area of Maharashtra. Deccan Trap covers 75% area while 25% area is covered by Purna alluvium. The total area of alluvium is 3053 sq. km. out of which 1562 sq. km. area belongs to saline zone, which is quality-affected area. The ground water in this area is not used for irrigation and drinking water purposes. In northeast part of district there is high irrigation activity mainly orange fruit crop. 
C) Land use: 
The land utilization pattern of Amravati district is as below.
1)Total area ? 12212 sq km.
2)Forest area – 3577 sq.km.
3)Cultivable area-7407 sq.km.

D) Administrative setup:
From administrative point of view Amravati district is divided into 14 taluka. 

E)Total Villages

1)Total villages ? 1996
2)Habitation villages- 1681
3)Uninhabitrd villages – 315
4)Population more then 2000 – 1544
5) Villages connected by electricity -100%

F) Population Details 
1) Total population ? 14.83 lakh
2) Schedule caste – 3.84 lakh
3) Schedule tribe- 3.16 lakh 
4) Percentage of literacy ? 70%

Geography:

The district is mainly divided into two geographical regions, the Melghat hilly area of Satpuda range and plain area. The prominent hill range in the District is the Gawilgarh hill which is located in the north west of district in Melghat area of Chikhaldara tahsil.

The plain area may be Subdivied into further subtypes 

a) The piedement belt of light & medium black soils with pebble/boulder zone, with abundant ground water supplies, sloping away from Satpuda range.
b) The region of deep & fertile soils of the southwest where the sub-soil water is very often saline.
c) The region of light red & medium black soils are of eastern Amravati & Chandur Rly taluka
d) Patches of fertile black soil adjoining Morshi & Warud area.

A) Elevation The crests of this range attain an average elevation about 1000 m. The highest point being Vairat with 1177.75 m. elevation

B) Rainfall and Temperature The climate of this district is hot and dry. The year is divided into three seasons, cold season from November to February, hot season from March to May and the monsoon season from June to October. The area receives rainfall during southwest monsoon. The average rainfall is 700-800 mm. The maximum temperature during summer goes up to 460c while the minimum temperature during winter drops to 50to 90 c.

C) River and Drainage pattern There are three main river Tapi, Purna and Wardha .The Purna originates in the southern slopes of Gavilgarh hills and flows towards south and south-east direction till it turns westward and form a part of the district boundary between Amravati & Akola. Pedhi Aran, Chandrabhaga and the Shahnur are important tributaries of Purna. The Wardha river rises at Multai in Madhya pradesh and forms the eastern boundary of district and receives a number of short tributaries at its right flowing within district. Maru And Chargar are important tributaries that join Wardha. The Tapi flows along the N-W boundary of the district. Khardu, Sipna, Dewa and Dhulghat are its tributaries. The area shows dendritic drainage pattern, while Purna alluvium shows parallel to sub parallel drainage pattern & it is almost plain area.

D) Morphological Classification
1)Run off zone ? 3088 sq. km. (25%)
2)Recharge zone? 4191 sq. km. (34%)
3)Storage zone ? 4930 sq. km. (41%)

Geology and Geomorphology:

Northern part of district is mostly hilly and is covered by forest. The northwest part is covered by thick forest of teakwood. The central part is covered by Purna alluvium, total area is 3053 sq km. having north- south slope direction. The Purna alluvium consists of silt, clay, and sand. The bazada zone foothill portion of Satpuda range covers part of Anjangaon surji, Achalpur & Chandur Bazar taluka and it consists of clay, boulders & pebbles. The total coverage of this alluvial area is 25% of the district area.

Irrigation projects: 

1)Upper Wardha dam ? Morshi
2)Shekdari Project ? Urad, Ta Warud
3)Shahnur project- Anjangaon Surji
4)Purna project ? Chandur Bazar 
5)Chandrabhaga project- Achalpur

Hydrogeology:

The storage capacity and the transmissivity of the basalt flows are not uniform. It changes from place to place and flow to flow. The lateral flow continues for considerable distance while the weathered mantle is thick. In the Deccan trap area the primary porosity is due to presence of interconnected vesicles when it is not filled by secondary material while secondary porosity is developed due to weathering and cooling of flows
In alluvial area the sandy zone becomes a good aquifer having good porosity and permeability. The ground water is tapped by the tube wells in this area.

Ground Water Assessment:
1) Over-exploited watershed
a) WR-1, Tq. Warud
b) WR-2, Tq. Warud
c) WR- 3, Tq. Warud/ Morshi
d)WR-9, Tq. Dhamangaon Rly
e)WRC-1,Tq. Chandur Bz/ Morshi
f) PT-2, Tq Chandur Bz/Daryapur/Achlpur
g) PT-20,Tq. Chandur Bz / Bhatkuli 
2) Critical PTP-2, Tq. Chandur Bz/Bhatkul 

Hydrology Project 
In Amravati district under Hydrology project, 174 observations well have been selected on the basis of morphological classification. The water levels are monitored in the month of October, December, March & May. Beside this, 55 Piezometers are drilled for monitoring shallow & deep water levels. This information is used for further study of groundwater quality and monitoring system. 150 water quality stations are selected which are divided on the basis of water quality, such as BS-station, TS- station and T- station. Water samples are collected for chemical and bacteriological analysis.

From historical point of view it was kingdom of Pandhvas called as Indranagari. Achalpur was earlier capital city of Varhad. Beside this, religious places are Koudanyapur, taluka Tiosa, Salbardi tq. Morshi, Bairam tq Chandur Bz and Muktagiri tq. Achalpur.Amba devi temple is located in the center of Amravati city. In satpuda range, there is Chikhaldara hill station having thick forest & wild life.Gawilgad fort is situated in this range. Hot spring occurs in Salbardi area of Morshi tq. while many natural springs occur in Chikhaldara taluka.

Cultural:
The principle language of the district is Marathi, locally known as Varhadi. Most of the fairs held in this district are associated with religions. The Korku, Gond & Gawali are the adivasi tribes, living in Chikhaldara and Dharni taluka of this district. The important festivals are Divali, Holi, Pola, Chrismus, Moharrum. The social festival is Ganesh Utsav.