District -Latur

Information about Latur district

Introduction:

Latur district was created on 16 August 1982 by bifurcation of Osmanabad district. Latur district included 5 talukas namely Latur, Ahmadpur, Udgir, Nilanga and Ausa in Osmanabad district and 43 villages including Renapur in Renapur circle of Ambajogai taluka in Beed district.

On August 13, 1992, the talukas were reorganized and two talukas namely Renapur and Chakur came into existence. Similarly, on June 23, 1999, after the reorganization of talukas, Devani, Jalkot and Shirur Anantapal talukas came into existence. Latur district has ten talukas namely Latur, Ahmadpur, Udgir, Nilanga, Ausa, Renapur, Chakur, Devani, Jalkot and Shirur Anantapal. There are a total of 921 villages and 10 urban centers in the district.

Latur district is on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border and is bordered by Bidar in Karnataka state to the east, Nanded and Beed to the north and Osmanabad district to the north-west.

Location:

Latur district is located in the South-Eastern part of Maharashtra State and is situated between 170 52” North latitude to 180 50” North and 760 18” East to 790 12” East longitude. The total area of ​​Latur district is 7157 sq. km. It is 11.34% of Aurangabad Division and 2.39% of Maharashtra State. As per 2011 census the population of the district is 2454196.

The district is administratively divided into 5 sub-divisions and their information is as follows.

Latur district has 945 revenue villages and 783 Gram Panchayats. There are 1 Mahanagar Palika, 4 Nagar Palika and 5 Nagar Panchayats in the district. There is 1 Zilla Parishad and 10 Panchayat Samitis in the district.

Weather and Rainfall:

The average annual rainfall in the district varies from 650 to 800 mm and increases from southwest to northeast. It is minimum in the southern part of the district around Nilanga and increases towards the northeast and reaches a maximum around Udgir.

This usually happens during the rainy season from July to October. Often, a moderate temperature is observed. Rainfall is erratic according to the Indian monsoon. Summer is from early March to July. Summers are hot and dry.

Although they can reach 45°C at their highest point, temperatures range from 25°C to 39.6°C. Winter months are from November to January. Peak temperatures are in the single digits however they typically range from 12 to 21.8 °C, sometimes as low as 11 °C. The months with temperate temperatures are January to March.

Geology:

The terrain of the district is mainly covered with hard igneous rock called basalt and this rock is porous, broken, fissured etc. found in the type The average thickness of the basalt rock ranges from 1 to 30 meters and its geological age is Upper Cretaceous. It has very little water storage capacity. However, due to the formation of cracks and joints, water storage capacity has been created in this rock. Laterite occurs as capping over the basalt flows of the Mahabaleshwar formation and varies from 5 m to 35 m thickness. The famous cave carving of Karosa is located within the laterite.

The river bank terrain is made up of local alluvium and its geological age is recent. However, considering the total area of ​​the district, the extent of the said land is very insignificant.

Geography:

Latur district is situated on the Balaghat Plateau with a general altitude of 338 to 540 m above sea level. is In terms of elevation, the district is divided into 2 parts as follows.

1. Higher altitude hilly area – Western and southern part of the district mainly comprising of Latur Ausa and Nilanga talukas.
2. Low-altitude terrain – This mainly includes the areas of the Manyad and Lendi river basins of Ahmedpur and Udgir taluks as well as the Manjra, Tawarja and Terna basins.

Considering the topography of Latur district, Latur district is divided into 3 divisions.

1. Dissected plateau
2. Moderately Dissected plateau
3. Highly Dissected plateau

Roughly 30 percent of the area of ​​the district is covered by highly dissected plateau and hilly topography and includes the northern part of Ahmadpur, Udgir, Jalkot, Chakur and Nilanga talukas. this area falls under run of zone hence groundwater availability is less.

About 40 percent of the land is plateau and the amount of groundwater recharge is moderate. While the remaining 30 percent of the land is comprised of river bicines, valley thus the availability of ground water is good. The availability of groundwater resources in the district is limited mainly because of geomorphology along with rainfall.

Hydrology:

The main aquifer structure in the district is the Deccan Traps. The Deccan Traps form a multiple aquifer system, which extends from 55m to 140m depth. Water in basalt is found in joints and fractures. Depending on the climatic conditions and the severity of the joints and fractures, may determine the aquifer security. The depth of water table in Deccan Traps ranges from 2 m to 15 m in dug wells and 10 m to 90 m in borewells. Massive basalts are hard and compact and lack any primary porosity, secondary porosity plays an important role in basalt.

The Manjara is the main river that flows through the Balaghat plateau with its tributaries: Terna, Tavarja and Gharni. The other three tributaries of the Manjara are the Anantdev, Teru and Lendi, which flow through the plains of Uttar Pradesh.

• Manjara: This is the main river. Its origin is near Gokhadi village in Beed district. The river flows along the northern border of Osmanabad district and enters Karnataka through Latur district.
• Gharni: The river originates near Wadwal and flows through Chakur taluka.
• Terna: This is the main tributary of the Mandara flowing on the southern border of Auj taluka.
• Tawari: Tawari originates near Murud in Latur taluka and joins the Manjara River at Shivani on the Latur-Ausa border.
• Lendi: The river originates in Ugadgir taluka and flows through Ahmadpur taluka and enters the Tiru River in Nanded district. Often this river originates in Dharmapuri in Beed district and flows into Ahmadpur taluka in Nanded district.

Historical:

Latur has an ancient history. It was the home of the Rashtrakutas and was part of Ashoka’s empire. Over the centuries it was ruled by the Satavahanas, Shakas, Chalukyas, Yadavas of Devagiri, Sultans of Delhi, Bahamani rulers of South India, Adil Shahis and Mughals. Later in the 19th century it became part of the independent princely state of Hyderabad. Previously known as Naldurg Tehsil in 1905, it was merged with the surrounding area and renamed as Latur Tehsil and became part of Osmanabad district. After independence and the merger of Hyderabad with the Indian Union, Osmanabad became part of the Bombay province. With the formation of Maharashtra in 1960, it became a district. On 15 August 1982, Latur was separated from Osmanabad and Latur district was carved out. The district can be divided into two regions – the Balaghat Plateau and the North-Eastern Region comprising Ahmadpur and Udgir.

Ground water Resource estimate:

The ground water resource estimate of the district was prepared for the year 2020-2021. 29 watersheds in the district fall under Safe, 8 semi critical and 2 watersheds under critical category.

Groundwater Quilty:

 Water is characterized by the concentrations of various water-soluble gases and ions in the atmosphere, soil layers, and minerals and rocks. This ultimately determines the groundwater quality. The suitability of ground water for drinking purposes is determined by considering the effect of various chemical constituents of water on human biological system.

Standards proposed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for drinking water) are used to determine the suitability of ground water for drinking purposes. Chemical and bacteriological samples of drinking water sources are tested by the laboratory. A district level NABL pre-accredited water quality laboratory is located at the district headquarters. There are four sub-divisional laboratories accredited by NABL at Tehsil level in the district. Their names are Udgir, Nilanga, Ausa, and Ahmadpur. Water samples from drinking water sources in rural areas are tested in the laboratory.

Groundwater conservation and Artificial recharge:

Groundwater conservation is proposed in the district through various water conservation departments in the district, the ground water survey and development agency has taken up the work of water conservation and artificial recharge structure is proposed for drinking water source in the district under various schemes. In the year 2022-23, 600 recharge shafts were completed in 60 villages under Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana and 1684 recharge shafts were completed in 225 villages under Atal Bhujal Yojana.

Earthquake prone area

The disaster earthquake was occurred in 30 September 1993 which is recognized in Killari earthquake this Killari earthquake is recorded on Richter scale. This Killari earth quake shown that the deccan trap also having weaker zone. It has been also shocked by so many tremors after this main earth quake. The earth quake prone area falls in Ausa & Nilanga tahsil .Total 67 villages were affected by earth quake .But the whole district is declared as earth quake prone district.

Special Features:  Kharosa caves

The Kharosa caves located close to a village with the same name Kharosa in the Latur district of Maharashtra and only at a distance of 45km from the Latur city. history enthusiasts for the caves, as the built around 6th century during the Gupta period, and a well-known for the sculptures of shiv Parvati, Ravna, Narasimha and Kartikeya. Kharosa caves have a total number of 12 caves and the first cave is a Buddhist cave with the painted statue of lord buddha in sitting positions.