Posted by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in
IntroductionAdilabad district is located at extreme north of Andhra Pradesh. The people of the district are with different socio and cultural background. The different languages used are Marathi, Telugu, Hindi, Urdu and local tribal dialects like Gondi, Kolami and Gorumati, etc. The details are as follows.
Geographical Location
Adilabad district is geographically the second Largest District in Telangana with an area of 16128 Sq.Kms. The District is situated on Deccan Plateau. The Sahyadri (Sathnala) hill range runs through the District from
rivulets like Sathnala, Swarnawagu and Suddawagu.
Climate
The climate of the district is very hot in summer and is generally dry except during the southwest Monsoon season. The cold season from December to February is followed by the summer season from March to May. The period from June to September constitute the south west Monsoon season, while October and November form the post monsoon season.
Rainfall
The rainfall in the district, in general increases from the south-west towards the north east. About 85% of annual rainfall is received during the south-west monsoon season. July being the peak rainy month, the variation in the Annual rainfall from year is not large. The normal Annual rainfall of the district is 1157.0 m.m.
Temperature
There is a meteorological observatory, station at headquarters Adilabad. The cold weather comes towards the end of November when the temperature begins to fall rapidly. December is generally the coldest month, with the mean daily maximum temperature at about 29o C and the mean daily minimum at about 15o C.
The period from March to May is the hottest month with the mean daily maximum temperature about 42oC and a mean daily minimum of about 28oC. The days are intensely very hot and on individual days the temperature may go up to about 46oC. With the advance of southwest monsoon in the middle of June there is considerable drop in temperatures. During 1st week of October when the monsoon withdraws, the day temperatures begins to increase slightly but the night temperatures steadily decrease. After November both day and night temperatures decrease rapidly.
Topography
The District is situated at the extreme north of Andhra Pradesh. It is situated between 77o.46’ and 80o eastern longitudes and 18o.40’ and 19o.56’ northern latitudes. On the North it is bounded by Yeothmal and Chandrapur Districts of Maharastra state. In the East the District is bounded by Gadichiroli and on the West by Nanded District of Maharashtra state. It is bounded by Karimnagar and Nizamabad Districts of Andhra Pradesh on the South.
Historical & Cultural background
Historically the District is not a homogeneous unit. Part of the district was ruled by different dynasties namely Mouryas, Kakathiyas, Bahamanies, Bansla Rajas of Nagapur, Gond Rajas of Sirpur and Chanda and Nizam shahees.
The district has predominant Tribal population spread over Northeast to Southwest. Important tribes are Gonds, Pradhans, Kolamis, Naikpods and Lambadas. The majority tribes live in the part of hills and forests stretched from Northeast to Southwest region which forms half of the district. The tribal relay on meagre agriculture facilities they have. Their culture is distinct and they like peaceful atmosphere. The crime rate is very low. They conserve their heritage by following their customs and traditions.
In the coal belt of eastern zone the people are migrated from many areas, with different backgrounds. So the living style differs from other areas.
The other part from Luxettipet to Sarangapur is agriculture based, Nirmal town is the centre of cultural Adilabad. The toys of Nirmal are famous not only in the State but also in the country.
Economic Scenario & Means of livelihood
Agriculture is the main occupation of people. The total area of irrigation is only 11.5%. The main sources of irrigation are canals & tanks. The Irrigated area under canals of Swarna, Kaddam and Khanapur, Sathnala, Vativagu and Sadharmatt of Khanapur comes to 35% the area and the tanks is 28.3%. Hence Agriculture is largely depends on rainfall. The Area from North East to South West is covered by hills and forests so there is less scope for agriculture. The main crops of rabbi season are Jawar, Oilseeds and Pulses. The western zone of the District has block soils so the farmers grow cotton and Tuvvar, (Redgram).
Total length of roads in the District is 8635 Kms., and Villages are connected with approach roads. National High Way No.7 passes through the District by 110 Kilometres. There are two mandals namely Bejjur & Vemanpally, inaccessible during rainy season. The communication and transport facilities are meagre in the District.
The District is endowed with natural resources of Coal, Iron-ore, Lime stone and Manganese ore. The coalmines are on the eastern belt from Asifabad to Chennur. Iron ore is available in Kaddam, Luxettipet and Utnoor mandals.
About half of the District from Northeast to South West is situated on rocky earth crust and is less amenable for agriculture with poor facilities and with deep water table. Purchasing capacity of people in this area is very low. The forest is also fast vanishing in spite of good efforts made by Government. People have to live with little agriculture sources. Hence their primary concern is to earn lively hood. Their economy is “Hand to Mouth”. They treat education as a luxury. But under DPEP and SSA schooling facilities have been extended throughout the district.
The other part from Sirpur – Kagaznagar to Mancherial is endowed with rich mines of coal. The region is developed and has some industries such as cement, ceramics & tiles. Majority of the population are aid Labour less and industry-based workers and this part of the opulation is withconsiderable paying capacity and due to which many private chools have come up. The plain area from Luxettipet to Sarangapur mandals is fertile. This is the only part in the district with irrigation facilities to some extent. The agriculture and livestock are relatively good when compared with other fields of activity. A Majority of Beedi workers in the district belong to this area.
Languages
Gondi, Kolami, Banjara (Lambadi) and Marathi are the languages spoken in the district apart from Telugu, Urdu and Hindi languages in urban areas.
