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Sukkur — The Gift of River
Province Sindh
Location
 - Longitude
 - Latitude
 - Altitude
68°47' to 69°43' East
27°05' to 28°02' North
220 feet (67 m) AMSL
Population over 1 million
Area 5,165 km²
Density 175.9 persons/km²
Calling code (+92) 71
Time zone PST +05:00 ahead of GMT
Number of taluka 04
Number of UCs 46
Mayor (Nazim) Nasir Hussain Shah
District Govt Official Website

Sukkur (Urdu: سکھر) (Sindhi:سکر) is the third largest city of Sindh province, situated on the west bank of Indus River (Pakistan) in Sukkur District. Sukkur (read as Suck-khar, or sometime Sukhar) is a local variant of Arabic word Saqar which means intense. In the 10th century AD when Arabs invaded Sukkur (Sindh), they found extreme (hot and cold) climate, and called it saqar. Sukkur is given a title of Darya Dino درياءَ ڏنو (means the gift of river), as without the Indus this would be like Egypt deprived of Nile. Sukkur is the central city of Sindh province in Pakistan.

Geography & climate

The district of Sukkur (whose name is derived from its head quarter Sukkur city) covers an area of 5,165 square kilometres. Geographically it is spanned from 27°05' to 28°02' north latitudes and from 68°47' to 69°43' east longitudes. The city of Sukkur is located at an altitude of 220 feet (67 m) from sea level, having terrestrial coordinates 68°52' east and 27°42' north. It is also the narrowest point of the lower Indus course.

Sukkur district shares northern border with Shikarpur and (recently constituted) Kashmore districts. Ghokti is located on the north-eastern side while Khairpur on the south. Sukkur also shares its border with India (Jaisalmir, Rajasthan). Sukkur is also connected by road air with all major cities of Pakistan.

The climate of the Sukkur is characterized by hot and hazy weather during summer days while dry and cold in winter. During January, temperature ranges from 7 to 22 °C (44 to 71 °F). The summer (month of June before monsoon) temperature averages 35 °C (95 °F) though it often reaches up to 42 °C (107 °F). Generally the summer season commences in March - April and ends before October. The average rainfall of the district is 88 mm, (ranges from 0.59 mm to 25.62 mm) per annum.

History

Sukkur has been an important strategic centre and trading route from time immemorial. Alor (present Aror, Sukkur) held the status of capital under the reign of Musikanos, when Alexander invaded India in 326 BCE. The ruins of this ancient town still exist, 8 km east of Rohri, in Sukkur district. In 711 CE, Arab invaded Sindh, led by 17 years old Muhammad Bin Qasim, and Sukkur (including whole Sindh and lower Punjab) became part of Umayyad Caliphate. Later Mughals and many semi-autonomous tribes ruled over Sukkur. The city was ceded to Mirs of Khairpur between 1809 and 1824. In 1833, Shah Shuja (a warlord of Kandahar, Afghanistan) defeated the Talpurs near Sukkur and later made a solemn treaty with the Talpur ruler, by which he relinquished all claims on Sindh. In 1843, the British (General Charles James Napier) defeated the Talpurs at the battle of Miani and Dubbo near Hyderabad and ruled the Sukkur (including Sindh) until independence of Pakistan. The (current) district of Sukkur was constituted in 1901 out of part of Shikarpur District, the remainder of which was formed into the Larkana District. Sukkur saw a significant socio-economic uplift after 1930s, when British Raj built the world largest barrage here on Indus River. After independence of Pakistan, thousands of Muslim immigrants arrived in Sukkur while a much larger number of Hindus left for India.

Demography

At the time of Pakistan's independence (1947), Sukkur district was comprised approximately 200,000 habitants, mostly engaged in agricultural pursuits and fishing industry. Over time, Sukkur has seen a moderate rise in population (2 to 2.5% per annum) as compare to Pakistan's, except in late 60s and early 70s when population growth rate reached 4.43% (1972 census) due to internal migration and establishment of some large bridges on river Indus. According to official census of 1998, Sukkur has 908370 habitants and density of 175.9 persons per square kilometre. The current estimate (on the basis of 2.88% annual growth) shows that Sukkur population has surpassed 1 million.

Sukkur Population Growth since 1951
Census year → 1951 1961 1972 1981 1998
Population 218,320 272,270 451,290 560,570 908,370
Annual growth (%)   2.25 4.43 2.60 2.88

Sukkur is chiefly dominated by Muslims that constitute 96% of total population. But it also has relatively greater proportion of Hindus, mostly settled in urban areas and engaged in trade and services sector. Ethnically Sindhis share the biggest segment of population (74%), followed by Muhajirs (14%). Sukkur is also domicile of many Baloch tribes, including, Rindh, Chandio, Khoso and Laghari. Amongst others, there are Memon, Punjabi and Siraiki sections. Traditionally Memons were associated with trade and retail business but during last two decades they have ascended as an active social and economic front.

Education

Sukkur has many renowned colleges and academic institutions, some of important names include;
  • Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Sukkur
  • Sukkur Medical College
  • Government Islamia Science College Sukkur
  • Government Degree College and Post Graduate Studies Centre
  • Government Girls College Sukkur
  • Government Degree Science College Pano Akil
  • Government College of Physical Education Sukkur
  • Government Islamia Arts/Commerce College Sukkur
  • Government College of Education Sukkur
  • Agha Nizamuddin Girls Degree College
  • Atta Hussain Shah Degree College
  • Government Modern High School Sukkur
  • Government Polytechnic Institute Sukkur
  • Saint Mary's Church And High School
  • Public School Sukkur
  • Saint Saviour's High School Sukkur
  • Government Double Section High School Sukkur
  • Government High School Sukkur
  • Government Compresive High School Sukkur

Sukkur Barrage

The Sukkur barrage (formally called Lloyd Bridge), built under British Raj on the Indus river, controls one of the largest irrigation systems in the world. The work for the bridge was started in 1923 and completed in January 1932. The 5000 feet long barrage is made of yellow stone and steel and can water nearly 10 million acres (40,000 km²) of farmland through its large seven canals. Some of the canals are larger than the Suez Canal.

In November 2004, the government of Pakistan initiated a rehabilitation project to revitalize its water storage capacity and distribution efficiency. The project completed in July 2005, (with less than the allocated amount of Rs. 887 million). Experts believe that the rehabilitation of the barrage has enhanced its efficiency for another 60 to 70 years.

Economy

Industry

Sukkur is a hub of many small and large scale industries. Among important industries are cotton textiles, cement, leather, tobacco, paint and varnish, pharmaceuticals, agriculture implements, hand pumps, lock making, rice-husking, and sugar. Small-scale cottage industries comprise hosiery, boat making, fishing accessories, thread ball spooling, trunk making brass-wares, cutlery and ceramics.

Agriculture

Sukkur had a large fertile and cultivable land till few decades ago, when the Indus river was not as barren as today. Now its agricultural productivity has much reduced. It could not achieve reasonable yield per unit area over time, on account of continuous shortage of water and ignorance of modern irrigation system. Despite lack of water, during kharif, rice, bajra, cotton tomatoes and peas are cultivated whereas during rabi main crops are wheat, barley, gram and melons. Sukkur is famous world over, for its delicious dates. Sukkur also holds a large number of Riveraine forest on the course of Indus. These tropical forests are found within the protective embankments on either side of Indus. During 1997-98 the total area under forests was 510 km² which yielded 55,000 cubic feet (1600 m³) of timber and 27000 cubic feet (760 m³) of firewood besides other miner products.

Sites of interest

  • Aror (ruines of historical city)
  • Minaret of Masum Shah
  • Tomb of the Seven Maidens
  • Thermal Power Station Sukkur
  • Sadh Belo Temple on River Indus
  • Sukkur (Llyod) Barrage
  • Jafry Manzil (on Miani Road)
  • Rohri
  • Bukkur Island
  • Lansdowne Bridge
  • Shahi Bazaar, Frere Road
  • Ayub Gate
  • Ladies and Childern Hill Park
  • Labe Mehran
  • Looks Parak/Qasim Park
  • Barrage colony
  • Purana Sukkur

Sukkur-born celebrities

  • Kanhailal Talreja (Humanist, Social Activist)
  • Bhagat Kanwarram (Sufi Singer)
  • Aftab Mangi (Film maker)
  • Allaudin Jafry (Philanthropist)
  • Asadullah Bhutto (Politician)
  • Shoaib Memon (Poet)
  • Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah(Politician)
  • Rizwanullah Khan(Writer/Intellectual)
  • Shoaib Ahmed Khan

References

  • Siddique G. Memon (2000): Sukkur Then and Now, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195790693
  • District Census Report Sukkur 2000, Census Bureau of Pakistan, Govt of Pakistan
  • Labour Force Survey 2004, Federal Bureau of Statistics, Govt of Pakistan
  • The Daily Dawn Karachi, Various Issues

See also

External links

Cities and towns in Sindh | Sukkur District

Sakkhar | Sukkur

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Sukkur".

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