| Voice of Sirsa : Professional
Training Society
Literacy among women in the district is less than 60%
Poverty is also high in the district.
Lack of large scale industries.
Sirsa District
Area, Population & Sex Ratio
Geographical Area : 4277.0 Km2
Population in Sirsa (Census 2011)
Total Population
Total : 1295114
Male : 683242
Female : 611872
Disabled population
Total disabled population : 34312
In seeing : 18863
In speech : 1571
In hearing : 1658
In movement : 9224
Mental : 2996
Rank ( VoiceOfBharat.org Analysis
)
Backwardness : 415
Sex Ratio Rank : 108
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : C
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 266 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 367 (Census 2001)
Minority : Yes
Water : Flouride in Groundwater above permissible limits
Brief About Sirsa District
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF THE DISTRICT
The name of the district is derived from its headquarters
Sirsa. It is said to be one of the oldest places of North India
and its ancient name was Sairishaka, which finds mention in Mahabharata,
Panini's Ashatadhayayi and Divyavadan. In Mahabharata, Sairishaka
is described as being taken by Nakula in his conquest of the western
quarter. It must have been a flourishing city in the 5th
century B.C. as it has been mentioned by Panini.
There are a number of legends about the origin
of the name of the town. As mentioned earlier, its ancient name
was Sairishaka and from that it seems to have been corrupted to
Sirsa. According to local tradition, an unknown king named Saras
founded the town in 7th century A.D. and built a fort.
The material remains of an ancient fort can still be seen in the
South-East of the present town. It is about 5 kilometers in circuit.
According to another tradition, the name has its origin from the
sacred river Sarasvati which one flowed near it. During medieval
period, the town was known as Sarsuti. It has been mentioned as
Sarsuti by a number of medieval historians. The derivation of name
Sirsa, is also attributed to the abundance of siris trees[Albizia
lebbock (Benth)] in the neighborhood of Sirsa which seems quite
plausible for it finds some corroboration also in Panini and his
commentator. In ancient period, Sirsa was also known as Sirsapattan.
History of the District as an Administrative Unit
Sirsa seems to be in the administrative division
of Hisar Feroza during Firuz Shah's reign. In the time of Akbar,
Sirsa was one of the dasturs of Hisar Feroza Sarkar and much of
its area lying in the present Sirsa district was covered by Mahals
of Fatehabad, Bhattu, Bhangiwal (Darba), Sirsa, Bhatner (or Hanumangarh,
Rajasthan) and Paniyana (Rajasthan). With the decline of the Mughal
Empire, the track comprising Sirsa district came under the control
of Marathas. The whole of Delhi Territory of which the tract formed
part was ceded by the Marathas to the British in 1810. Sirsa was
part of the outlying district of Delhi territory under the charge
of an Assistant to the Resident. In 1819, the Delhi territory was
divided into three districts - the Central which included Delhi,
The Southern including Rewari, and the North-Western including Panipat,
Hansi, Hisar, Sirsa and Rohta. In 1820, the latter was again sub-divided
into Northern and Western and Sirsa alongwith Hansi, Hisar and Bhiwani
formed Western district (Haryana district and later known Hisar
district).
In 1837, Sirsa and Rania parganas were taken out
of Haryana district and alongwith Guda and Malaut parganas were
formed into a separate district called Bhattiana. The pargana of
Darba from Hisar district and the small pargana of Rori confiscated
from erstwhile princely state of Nabha were transferred to Bhattiana
in 1838 and 1847 respectively. In 1844, Wattu pargana running upto
Satluj was added in the Bhattiana district. The whole of the Delhi
territory alongwith district of Bhattiana and Hisar was transferred
to Punjab in 1858 and the dustrict of Bhattiana was renamed as Sirsa.
In 1861, 42 villages of Tibi tract of Rania pargana
were transferred to the then state of Bikaner.
The Sirsa district which comprised three tahsils
of Sirsa, Dabwali and Fazilka was abolished in 1884 and Sirsa tahsil
(consisting of 199 Villages) and 126 villages of Dabwali tahsil
formed one tahsil and the same was merged in the Hisar district
and the rest of the portion was transferred to the Firozpur district
(Punjab). There was no change till the Independence of the country
except that a village was transferred from Sirsa tahsil to the then
state of Bikaner in 1906.
The entire area of the district was included in
the new state of Haryana on November 1, 1966. In 1968, Sirsa tahsil
was bifurcated into Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils. In 1974, three villages
of Dabwali tahsil were transferred to Sirsa tahsil. On September
1, 1975, Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils were constituted into a separate
Sirsa district with headquarters at Sirsa.
PHYSICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
Distance From Major Cities :
Delhi : 255 Km
Chandigarh : 280 Km
Latitude and Longitude :
The district lies between 29 14 and 30 0 north
latitude and 74 29 and 75 18 east longitudes, forming the extreme
west corner of Haryana. It is bounded by the districts of Faridkot
and Bathinda of Punjab in the north and north east, Ganga Nagar
district of Rajasthan in the west and south and Hisar district in
the east. Thus it touches the interstate boundaries on three sides
and is connected with its own state only in the eastern side.
Topography :
The terrain of Sirsa district may be broadly classified
from north to south into three major types i.e. Haryana Plain, alluvial
bed of Ghaggar or Nali and Sand dune tract. The characteristics
of the three are briefly described below :
Haryana Plain - The Haryana Plain
is a vast surface of flat to rolling terrain and extends southward
to the northern boundary of the alluvial bed of the Ghaggar. It
covers over 65 percent of the area of the District. The elevation
of the surface from east to west varies from 190 to 210 meters above
the mean sea level. The most diagnostic feature of the Haryana Plain
is the presence of palaeo channels which set the occurrence of sand
dunes in this terrain unit apart from those in the dune tract. The
plain is traversed by numerous dune complexes and shifting sands.
Alluvial bed of Ghaggar - Nali : A
clayey surface of almost flat, featureless plain bordered in the
north and west by the Haryana Plain and in the south along the sound
dune tract, is a manifestation of the misfit nature of the present
day Ghaggar. Waterlogging is a serious problem in many parts of
this flat surface of impervious clay of great thickness. At places,
swamps support a high density of tall grass.
Sand dune tract - Third tract covers
the southern most part of the district. The area is northward extension
of the sand dunes of Hisar District and GangaNagar District of Rajasthan.
The dunes are locally called tibbas. Tibbas around Ellenabad are
9 Meters high; Naugaza Tibba at the border of Rajasthan is 17 Meters
high; Tikonta tibba is some 14 Meters high and one south of Shahpuria
is 13 Meters high. All tibbas are broad based transverse ridges,
some more than 3 Kilometers long without a break. Linear to complex
ridges, short to fairly long but narrow at the crests, and generally
2 to 5 Meters high are also present throughout the sandy stretch
of the land.
CLIMATE :
The climate of this district is characterised by its dryness
and extremes of temperature and scanty rainfall. The year may be
divided into four seasons. The cold season from November to March
is followed by the Summer season which lasts upto the end of June.
The period from July to about the middle of September and from the
middle of September to October constitute the south west monsoon
and post-monsoon seasons respectively.
Rainfall : Records of rainfall in the district
are available for Sirsa only for sufficiently long periods. The
average annual rainfall in the district is 32-53 mm. The rainfall
in the district increases generally from west to east. About 72
percent of the annual normal rainfall in the district is received
during the short south east monsoon period, July to September, July
and August being the rainiest months. There is significant amount
of rainfall in the month of June, mostly in the form of thunder
showers. In the rest of the year, there is a very little rainfall.
During the period 1901 to 1975, the highest annual rainfall as recorded
was 327 percent of the normal in 1917. The lowest annual rainfall
amounting to only 34 percent of the normal was recorded in 1920.
On an average there are 20 rainy days (i.e. days
with rainfall of 2.5 mm or more) in a year in the district. The
heaviest rainfall in 24 hours recorded in the district was 165.4
mm on September 22, 1917.
Temperature - There is no meteorological
observatory in the district, so the mean meteorological conditions
prevailing at GangaNagar and Hisar may be taken as representative
of those prevailing in the district as general. There is a rapid
increase of temperature after February. The mean daily maximum temperature
during May and June which is the hottest period varies from 41.5
ºC to 46.7 ºC. On individual days the maximum temperature during
the summer season may rise upto about 49 ºC. With the advance of
the Monsoon into the district, by about the end of June, there is
appreciably drop in the day temperature and the weather becomes
cooler during the day time, but the nights are warmer than those
during the summer season. With the added moisture in the monsoon
air, the nights are often uncomfortable. The decrease in temperature
is rapid after October and drop in temperature after nightfall is
particularly trying. January is generally the coldest month with
the mean daily maximum at 21.1 ºC and the mean daily minimum at
5.1 ºC.
Humidity - Relative humidity in the mornings
is generally high during the monsoon season and during the period
December to February, it is usually 70 percent or more. Humidity
is comparatively less during the rest of the year, the driest part
being the summer season with the relative humidity being about 30
percent in the afternoons.
Cloudiness - During the monsoon season,
the sky is mostly moderately to heavily clouded. In the rest f the
year, the sky is generally clear or lightly clouded. Cloudy sky
prevails for brief spell of a day or two in association with passing
western disturbances in the cold season.
Winds - Winds are generally light in the
district with some strengthening in force during the late summer
and monsoon seasons. During the south-west monsoon season while
winds from south-west or west are more common, easterlies and south-easterlies
also blow on some days. In the post monsoon and winter season while
south-westerly or westerly winds are ore common in the mornings,
northlies and north-westerlies are predominant in the afternoons.
In summer, winds are more common from the west or south-west in
the mornings. In the afternoons they are mostly from directions
between west and north-west.
Special Weather Phenomena - Some of the
depressions which originate in the Bay of Bengal in the south-west
monsoon season, and which move across the central parts of the country
reach the district during the last stages of activity and cause
wide spread rain before dissipating. An occasional post-monsoon
storm or depression also affects the district. Thunder Storms occur
throughout the year but the highest incidence is during the monsoon
season. Dust storms occur often during the hot season. Occasional
fogs affect the district in the cold season.
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