DISTRICT BHANDARA
1.Introduction
According to local interpretation the name Bhandara is corruption of Bhanara. On 1st May 1999 the Bhandara district was divided into two districts viz., Bhandara and Gondia. The Bhandara district is known as a district of lakes due to the presence of over 3500 lakes. Bhandara district is rice bowl of Maharashtra state with ricer varieties including Chinnor, Dubraj, Kalimooch, Shriram etc.
The new Bhandara district has 7 tahsils namely Bhandara, Mohadi, Tumsar, Pawani, Sakoli, Lakhani and Lakhandur, with a Panchayat Samiti headquarters in each taluka. The district headquarter is located at Bhandara. The Bhandara district lies between North latitude 20o30’’ to 21o35’’and East longitude 79o30’’ to 80005’’. As per Survey of India toposheet the district is covered in 55P, 55O, 64C degree sheets. The total geographical area of the district is 4087 sq.km. which is 1.3 percent of states geographical area. The forest cover in the district is 1011.00 sq.km.
Bhandara district is located due east of Nagpur district of Maharashtra. Gondia district is located in the eastern part, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts in southern, Nagpur district in the western and Balaghat district of Madhyapradesh is located in northern part of district. The district is having three revenue subdivisions namely Bhandara, Tumsar and Sakoli. The total population of the district as per 2011 census is 12,00,346 souls out of which 6,05,520 are male and 5,94,814 and female. Out of total population of the district 9,66,503 is rural population whereas 2,33,831 is urban population. As compared to the state population, the district population is 1.07 percent. The district includes 871 villages, 141 wadies, and 80 Rithi villages. The district consists of total 04 municipalities namely Bhandara, Tumsar, Sakoli and Pawani, and 03 Nagarpanchyats namely Lakhani, Lakhandur and Mohadi.
- Climate and Rainfall
The climate of the district is characterized by hot summer and general dryness throughout the year except during south-west monsoon season. The mean minimum temperature is 60C and mean maximum temperature is 450C. The average annual rainfall of the district varies from 1250 to 1500 mm. The south-west monsoon in the district arrives in second week of June. The rainfall during the period from June to Septembers constitutes about 90 percent of annual rainfall. July and August are the months with heavy rainfall, July being the rainiest month. The variation in the annual rainfall from year to year is small.
- Slope and Topography
The terrain of Bhandara district is generally flat with gentle slope. However, the northern part of the district is covered by the Satpura mountain range. It has major hills like Bhimsen, Koka, Gangajhari etc. The northern part is hilly and includes the Gaimukh, Chandpur, Ambagad, Gaikhuri hills. Bhandara district has the mountainous region of Gaikhuri in the central part and Pratapgad in the southeast, the mountainous region of Ambagad in the northwest, and the plains of Wainganga river in the west and south as well as the east and northeast. The lowest elevation in the district is found in Lakhandur taluka in the south-western part of the district at 213 meters above sea level, while the highest elevation is found at Pratapgad near Navegaon in the south-eastern corner of the district at 561 meters above sea level.
- Drainage and watersheds
The Wainganga (a tributary of the Godavari River) is the largest and most important river in Bhandara district. It enters from the north-eastern part of the district and flows southwards into Chandrapur district. The Bawanthadi, Sur, Maru, Chulband and Gadhvi are the tributaries of the Wainganga River. The district predominantly has a parallel and sub-parallel drainage system. The lowlands of Bhandara district lie mainly along the valleys of the rivers Wainganga, Bagh, Chulband and Bawanthari. There are a total of 25 watersheds in the district and the tributary-wise watersheds are 8 watersheds of Wainganga river, 3 watersheds of Bawanthadi, 8 watersheds of Chulband, 1 watershed of Maru and 5 watersheds of Sur have been formed.
- Geohydrological setup of the district:
5.1 General Geology:
Geologically, Bhandara district is mainly covered by very ancient Archean rocks. This mainly includes metamorphosed igneous and metamorphic rocks. For example, schist, phyllite, gneiss, granite, etc. rocks are included. Wainganga alluvial deposits of quaternary to recent period are found in part of Lakhandur and Pawani talukas which is locally called as Chauras due to its rectangular shape. General geological successions of the district are as under:
- Sakoli Group:
This group includes very ancient rocks such as phyllites, schists, quartzites, slates, banded hematite quartzites, gneisses, etc. The main characteristic of these rocks is that they contain a lot of iron. The rocks of this group are known in geological literature as the Bhandara Triangle. The rocks of this group are important for iron ore.
- Sausar Group:
This group includes rocks such as shists, gneisses, marble, dolomites, amphibolites, etc. The characteristic of these rocks is that they contain a lot of manganese. Therefore, manganese mining activities are going on in this area.
- Quaternary to recent:
After the rocks of the Dongargarh Group (generally of Protozoic/Vindhyan age), no new rocks have been formed in this district, however, erosion and disintegration processes have occurred on a large scale in this area. Therefore, soil, laterite and alluvium are found in all parts of the district. Alluvium is found mainly on the banks of all major rivers in the district. The maximum thickness of alluvium in the district varies from 20 to 30 m. It is mainly found in the areas along the riverbanks of Lakhandur and Pawani taluka. Since the shape of this area is rectangular, locally it is called Chauras belt. This area is the most developed in the district in terms of irrigation wells.
5.2 Hydrogeology
The different types of aquifers in Bhandara district have different characteristics. The porosity and permeability of aquifers such as granite, schist, phyllite, sandstone, quartzite, andesite, rhyolite is low. The specific capacity of these aquifers is found to be only 1%. The ancient soil found in this district has been transformed into clay by the process of weathering and erosion of the parent rock. Due to which a thick layer of it has been deposited over the parent rock. The clay thickness ranges from 18 m. to 24 m. Due to this, the groundwater carrying capacity, porosity, and permeability of rock formations have been adversely affected. As a result, the groundwater capacity of irrigation wells in this area is comparatively low.
However, since the existing alluvial and highly fractured and jointed rock formations at places in the district have good specific capacity, porosity and permeability, considerable density of irrigation wells is found in those formations. However, these types of formations are found in limited areas of the district.
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