Chapter II GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF SHRIGONDA TAHSIL CHAPTER II GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF SHRIGONDA TAHSIL 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Location 2.3 Physiography and Drainage 2.4 Geology 2.5 Soils 2.6 Climate 2.6.1 Rainfall 2.7 Natural Vegetation 2.8 Irrigation 2.9 Total Population and Density of Population 2.10 Sex Ratio 2.11 Literacy Ratio 2.12 Transportation 2.13 Weekly Market Centers 2.14 Land Utilization 2.15 Agriculture Landuse Pattern 20 CHAPTER II GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF SHRIGONDA TAHSIL 2.1 Introduction Shrigonda tahsil, the study area, is the third largest tahsil in Ahmednagar district. It was a part and parcel of the Maratha and Peshvaj region, which had distinctive geographical personality. Shrigonda tahsil is located in southern drought prone zone of Ahmednagar district. It is situated partly in upper Saraswati basin a tributary of river Bhima and partly river Bhima and river Ghod another tributary of river Bhima. The length of the tahsil is 60 Km. from East to West and the width is 51 Km. from North to south. The average height of tahsil is 600 mt. (as per the toposheet) above the mean sea level. Generally slope of tahsil is from north to south. The water divide running from east to west is locally known as “Khkiba Donger”. Geographical area is about 1629.94 Km2 and it occupies 9.56 percent of the total area of the district. The total population of the Shrigonda tahsil is 315975 (as per the census of 2011). 2.2 Location Study area is located in the southern drought prone zone of Ahmednagar district. The tahsil is situated partly in Bhima, Ghod and Kukdi river basins. Absolute Location The latitudinal extends from 180 27‟ 18” to 180 51‟ 54” North and longitudinally extends 740 23‟ 24” to 740 52‟ East. (Refer map 2.1) Relative Location Tahsil is surrounded by Parner and Nagar tahsil from north, Pune district to the west and Karjat tahsil at east and south-east. Tahsil has historical and religious importance. (Refer map no.2.1) 21 Fig. No. 2.1 Location of Study Area 22 2.3 Physiography and Drainage The total geographical area of Shrigonda tahsil is 1629 .94 Km2, out of that most of area i.e.80.67 percent is plain, 16.7 percent hilly and 2.62 percent comprises plateau region and has helped to develop the good road network. The study area exhibits a rolling plain which slopes in south. The maximum height is observed at Pan hill near village Kothul i.e. 849 metres in the north while minimum height is observed in southern part near Pedgaon on the left bank of river Bhima. The northern part has an undulating topography with emerging seasonal streams and these streams flows towards south and joins river Bhima. Southern boundary of tahsil is confined by river Bhima. This river originates at Bhimashankar on the crest of Sahyadri range (1000 metres). In the initial eight km., the river descends down up to 800 meter. It receives water from its tributaries, namely, Bhama, Indrayani, Vel, Mula- Mutha and Ghod rivers. Various streams and tributaries, namely Hanga, Dev Nala, Kanher Odha, emerge and flow southwards and join river Bhima from north. North-eastern part of study region occupies nearly about 10 percent area comes under river Sina catchment drains to north-eastern part of study area. Both the rivers i.e. Bhima and Ghod have a magnificent volume of water during the rainy season and these rivers shrink during summer. Out of the 115 villages in the study area, fifteen villages are situated on the boundaries of the Bhima and Ghod located in the southern zone in Shrigonda tahsil (Refer fig.no.2.3 and fig.no.3.2 for village location). 23 Fig. No.2.2 Physical Setting of Study Area 24 Fig.No.2.3 Drainage Map of Study Area 25 2.4 Geology The study area consists of basalt developed through numerous eruptions during the period from the early Eocen to the late Cretaceous. The entire Ahmednagar district is a part of Deccan Volcanic Province. Shrigonda tahsil is distinctly stratified and the rest part has alternative beds of basalt which are parallel to each other. The Deccan trap is only major geological formation in the district. The top layer of the flow consist of vertical and zeolitic traps. The vesicles are often filled by secondary silica, calcite and zeolites. The bottom layer consists of massive trap. These flows are generally separated by clays. The average thickness of flow ranges between 15-25 meters. Vertical and horizontal fissures are seen in the lateral or exposed edge of the stratum. The Deccan basalt flow occurred in the study region which is huge and compact. The compact basalt flows include two sections which has different resistance to the process of weathering. Large bolder are released and gets accumulated at the base of hills. The steep slope, terraces, cliffs and benches are common features generally observed in northern part of the study region, Alluvium is found along the bank of the rivers with thickness various up to three meters. The river vallies of the study areas observed gentle sloping with alluvial deposits. The shallow soils are observed near the hilly areas with red color. This reflect on the agricultural land use of the study area. Highly dissected plateau areas (26.33 percent to total geographical area) confide to higher elevations of the major valleys. These areas are prominent at the northern part of the study region. Moderately dissected plateau (8.99 percent to total geographical area). 2.5 Soils Soils (fig.no.2.4) play a key role in agriculture of Shrigonda tahsil. Physiography, drainage and climate exert an influence on the growth of plants. Crop growth depends on soil texture, structure, thickness and color. The ingredients like organic, inorganic matter and water are essential for crop growth because they provide basic nutrients to the crops. 26 The combination of physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the soil, determine the standard of agriculture and quality of crop raised on them ( Pawar and Phule, 2000). Soil texture means the size of an individual mineral particle. Thus, the term 'Soil texture' refers to the size of soil particle and their arrangement (Husain 1997). On the basis of texture, depth and physical characteristics, the soils of Shrigonda tahsil can be divided into five groups. 1) Very Shallow Soil (00 – 7.5 cm.) The shallow soil is associated with hilly track of the tahsil and mainly comprises the villages situated in the northern part of tahsil. These soils are shallow, well-drained, loamy, calcareous in nature with severe to moderate erosion .It covers 0.4 percent to the total geographical area of the tahsil. 2) Shallow Soil (7.5 – 25 cm.) The shallow soil is associated with small hillocks in north – western part of tahsil and occupies 58.71 percent area. It is well drained clayey soil on gently sloping lands with moderate erosion 3) Medium Deep Soil (25-50 cm.) The medium deep soils are associated with isolated hills which covers 11.48 percent of area in the study region. These soils are found in the north -eastern part and to the southern part of hill range. These soils are mainly medium deep, fine textured, well drained and calcareous with moderate erosion. 4) Deep Soil (50 -100 cm.) The deep soils are observed in the basins of major rivers Hanga, Dev and the mainly on the right bank of rivers Ghod and Bhima. The depth of soil is 50–100 cm. The soils are deep, well drained, fine textured along gentle sloping plains and valleys with slight erosion. It covers 18.89 percent part of the tahsil in basin area of Hanga and Dev rivers. 5) Very Deep Soils (more than 100 cm.) These soils are occupied about 10.52 percent of the area of tahsil. These soils are mainly distributed in south and south-western part along the right bank of river Ghod and river Bhima. The soils are very deep, clayey, gentle sloping, slight saline with moderate erosion. 27 Table - 2.1: Soil Classification of Shrigonda Tahsil Sr. Area No. Depth Class surveyed Estimated area Cultivable (Cm) (ha) (ha) Land (% ) 1 00-7.5 Very shallow 168 487.95 0.4 2 7.5-25 Shallow 25063 72794.87 58.71 3 25-50 Medium deep 4903 14240.64 11.48 4 50-100 Deep 8063 23418.78 18.89 More 5 than 100 Very deep 4487 13032.38 10.52 Total 42648 123974.65 100 (Source – Soil Survey and Testing Department, Ahmednagar -2010) The type of soil has a direct bearing on the agricultural landuse which has been discussed at the end of this chapter. 28 Fig. No. 2.4 Types of Soil 29 2.6 Climate Climate is one of the important aspects of agricultural landuse and allied activities like dairy farming, Sugar industry etc. There are three seasons experienced in the study area, namely, winter, summer and rainy season. The study region receives rainfall from the south-west monsoon. Monsoon sets in the month of June and lasts upto October. The average annual rainfall is 400 -500 mms. The study area experiences dry summer, mild dry winter and semi humid rainy season. Shrigonda tahsil covers mostly semi-arid tract of the Deccan peninsula. It comes under the rain shadow region of monsoon zone of Ahmednagar district. The climate of the study area is characterized by a hot summer and generally dryness except during the southwest monsoon. 2.6.1 Rainfall Agro climatically, the study region comes under a scarcity zone.