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History
| Demographics | Geography &
Climate | Sukkur Barrage |
Economy | Education |
Sites of- interest
 Sukkur district ( Urdu: سکھر ) is a district in Sindh Province in
Pakistan. It is divided into 4 administrative strata (tehsils), namely;
Sukkur City, Rohri, Saleh Pat and Pano Aqil. Among them Sukkur city and new
Sukkur are urban centre while Pano Aqil is famous for having one of largest
military cantonment of the country. Rohri is the smallest tehsil of the
Sukkur district, both in area and population but is has one of ancient and
important railway junction
One conjecture is that when Arabs invaded Sukkur (Sindh) in the 8th century,
they found an extreme climate (hot and cold), and called it Saqar, which
means intense. However, the word Sakharu in Sindhi means "superior", which
the spelling of the city's name in Sindhi suggests is the origin of the
name. Sukkur is nicknamed Darya Dino ( meaning the gift of
river), as without the Indus the city would be a desert.
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Places of Interest
| Hotels |
Eating & Dining
| Parks & Gardens |
Educational Institutes |
Hospitals |
Sport Centers |
Banks |
ATM |
Fuel Stations |
CNG Stations |
Police Stations |
Shopping /Trade
History
Sukkur has been an important strategic centre and trading route from time
immemorial. Alor (or 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, the Arabs invaded Sindh, led by 17 years old Muhammad bin Qasim, and
Sukkur (including all of Sindh and lower Punjab) became part of the 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 battles of Miani and Dubbo near Hyderabad.
Sukkur, along with the rest of Sindh, was under British rule until the
independence of Pakistan in 1947. 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 the 1930s, when the British built the world's
largest barrage here on the Indus River. After the independence of Pakistan
in 1947, thousands of Muslim refugees escaping from pograms and genocide in
India arrived in Sukkur, while a large number of Hindus left for India.
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Demographics
At the time of Pakistan's independence in 1947, Sukkur district 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 compared to Pakistan's, except in late 1960s 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 district is chiefly populated by Muslims, that constitute 96% of the
total population, of which, the Sunni form a clear majority, about (80%). It
also has a sizeable population of Shias (16%), Hindus (3.28%) and
Christians(0.51%). Hindus are mostly settled in urban areas and are engaged
in the trade and services sectors. Ethnically,Sindhis share the biggest
segment of population in Sukkur and Rohri city areas(70.50%), followed by
Urdu (15.50%); Punjabi (7.50%); Pashto (2.50%); Seraiki (1.00%); Baluchi
(1.00)and others (2.00). Baloch tribes include, Mirani Rind, Chandio, Gabol,
Khoso and Leghari. Others include Indhar, Ansaris, Mahers, Syed, Mughals,
Soomro, Mangrio, chijjan, Phulpoto, Palh and many more. 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. Soomro are basically associated with
educational and social fields; for their development they perform steps
ahead day and night.Terhaily family are basically saraiki speaking,and
mostly are associated with profession of law, medical and education.
Following are the demographic indicators of the district (including Kashmore
Dist) as per the 1998 census of Pakistan:
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Religion
Islam: 96.13%
Hinduism: 3.28%
Christianity: 0.51%
Ahmaddiya: 0.04%
Others: 0.1%
Hindus and Christians are mainly concentrated in the urban areas
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Languages
Sindhi: 74.07%
Urdu: 13.82% (mainly concentrated in the urban areas)
Punjabi:6.63%
Pashto:1.53%
Baluchi:1.47%
Seraiki:0.99%
Others:1.49% (mainly Memon and Gujarati)
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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 its northern border with Shikarpur and the recently
constituted Kashmore districts. Ghotki is located on the north-eastern side
while Khairpur on the south. Sukkur also shares its border with India (Jaisalmer,
Rajasthan). Sukkur is also connected by road and by air with all major
cities of Pakistan.
The climate of the Sukkur is characterized by hot and hazy weather during
summer days with dry and cold weather in winter. During January, the
temperature ranges from 7 to 22 °C (45 to 72 °F). The summer (month of June
before the monsoon) temperature averages 35 °C (95 °F) though it often
reaches up to 42 °C (108 °F). Generally the summer season commences in March
- April and ends before October. The average rainfall of the district is 88
mm, and ranges from 0.59 mm to 25.62 mm per month.
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Sukkur Barrage
The Sukkur Barrage has 66 Gates. The Sukkur barrage (formally called Lloyd
Barrage), built under the British Raj on the Indus river, controls one of
the largest irrigation systems in the world. Construction of 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 seven large 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 was 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.
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Economy
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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.
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Agriculture
Sukkur had a large fertile and cultivable land area until a few decades ago,
when the Indus river was not as barren as today. Now its agricultural
productivity has been much reduced. It has not achieved a reasonable yield
per unit area over time, on account of continuous shortages of water and
ignorance of modern irrigation systems. Despite the lack of water, during
kharif, rice, bajra, cotton, tomatoes and peas are cultivated; whereas
during rabi the main crops are wheat, barley, graham and melons. Sukkur is
famous, world over, for its delicious dates. Sukkur also has a large
Riveraine forest along the course of the Indus. These tropical forests are
found within the protective embankments on either side of the Indus. During
1997-98 the total area under forests was 510 km2 which yielded 55,000 cubic
feet (1,600 m3) of timber and 27,000 cubic feet (760 m3) of firewood besides
other mine products.
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Education
Some important educational institutions in Sukkur.
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Institute of Business Administration, Sukkur
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Sukkur (IBA) Institute of Business Administration Air Port Road Sukkur,
Sindh, PAKISTAN.
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Jamia Hammadia Mazhar-ul-Uloom Manzilgah
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Sukkur Institute of Science & Technology
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Bunder Road Sukkur, Sindh, PAKISTAN.
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Computer Age Career Institute, Sukkur
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Affiliated with Sindh Board of Technical Education, Karachi
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Sites of interest
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Manzilgah, Bundar road
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Rohri
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Aror ( ruins of historical city )
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Shrine of Syed Sadar-Ur-Din-Shah
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Tomb of Shah Khairuddin Jillani
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Tomb of the Seven Maidens Sateen Jo Aastan
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Kot Mir Yakoob Ali Shah Rohri
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Tomb of Abdul Baqi Purani, Ex-Governor of Bukkur.
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Bukkur Island
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Tomb of Syed Hakim Ali
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Minaret of Masum Shah
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Sadh Belo Temple on River Indus
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Thermal Power Station Sukkur
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Lansdowne Bridge Rohri
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Sukkur (Lloyd) Barrage
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Shikarpur Road connecting Quetta via Shikarpur
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Shrine of Qazi Baba
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Adam Shah je Takri
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Degree College
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Islamia College
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Dadu Choke conneting Shikarpur Road, Waritar Rd & Hussaini Rd
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Lab-e-Mehran
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Lansdowne Bridge
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Minara Road
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Shahi Bazaar, Frere Road
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Ayub Gate
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Ladies and Children Hill Park
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Looks Park/Qasim Park
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Acher Ghitti
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Bhutta Road (old Garden Road)
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Bunder Road
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Barrage colony
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Purana Sukkur (Old Sukkur)
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Sheikh Shee Road Sukkur
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Raharki sahib
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Jinnat (Genie's) Building, Old Sukkur
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Hyderi Masjid, Old Sukkur
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Tomb Syed Mukhdoom Shah Badshah
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Shah Khair ud din Shah Badshah (G. A. Shah) - Old Sukkur
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