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Aravalli Range
The Aravalli Range is a range of mountains in western India and eastern
Pakistan running approximately 800 km from northeast to southwest. The
Aravalli hills range covers the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat and Pakistani provinces of Punjab and
Sindh. The northern end of the range in India are an isolated hills
into Haryana state, ending near Delhi. The Aravalli hills southern end is at Palanpur near
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
.
History and Geology
The Aravali hills Range are oldest hills of this planet.The Aravalli Range is the eroded stub of a range of ancient folded mountains.
In ancient times the hills range were extremely high but since have worn down almost completely by millions of years of
weathering. |
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Mining in Aravalli hills
Mines in Aravalli hills
in Rajasthan contains immense mineral wealth
including Jasper, Zinc,
Fluorite, Gypsum, Marble, Asbestos, Soapstone, Lead, Phosphate rock,
Ball clay, Calcite, Sandstone, etc .
Nearly 25 years ago a large scale mining began here for
marble and granite. Due to this large scale mining the forest cover
has been depleted 90 percent. When a mine reaches below the
underground water level, a cone of depression is formed that sacks
water from the surrounding areas, drying up wells and affecting
agriculture. Thus the manual drainage system and groundwater table of
the entire region have been badly affected over the years
The
mining industries employ about 175,000 workers and 600,000 others are
indirectly dependent on the mining operations. The workers including
child laboures and women workers employed in mining without any health
care. Hence lung disease like TB and silicons were found common among
them. The owners generally mine in much larger areas that are
legally allocated to them. The government remain silent in these years.
Due to media and public protest the Supreme Court on February 20, 2010 directed cancellation of 157 mining leases operating in
Rajasthan’s eco-sensitive Aravalli Hills. |
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Water Resources
Numerous seasonal rivers arises amidst
the ranges including, Banas River, Luni River, Sakhi, Sabarmati River.
Banas river
The Banas originates in the Khamnor Hills of the Aravalli Range, about 5 km from
Kumbhalgarh in Rajsamand District. It flows northeast through Mewar region of
Rajasthan, meets the Chambal near the village of Rameshwar in Sawai Madhopur
District. The cities of Nathdwara, Jahanpur, and Tonk lie on the river. Major tributaries include the Berach and Menali on the right, and the
Kothari, Khari, Dai, Dheel River, Sohadara, Morel and Kalisil on the left.
The Banas drains a basin of 45,833 km², which lies entirely within Rajasthan. It
drains the east slope of the central portion of the Aravalli Range, and the
basin includes all or part of Ajmer, Bhilwara, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Dausa,
Jaipur, Pali, Rajsamand, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, and Udaipur districts.
The Banas is a tributary of the Chambal River, which in turn flows into the
Yamuna, a tributary of the Ganges. The Banas is approximately 512 kilometres in length.
Berach River
The Berach River, a tributary of the Banas River, is a river of Rajasthan
The Berach originates in the hills of Udaipur District, northeast of Udaipur city. The river has a length of 157 km, and drains a basin of 7,502 km². It flows northeast through Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Bhilwara
districts, joining the Banas near Bigod village of Bhilwara district. The fortress city of Chittorgarh lies on the Berach. Its chief tributaries are the
Ahar, Wagli Wagon, Gambhiri and Orai, which join it from the right. The Ayar
flows through the city of Udaipur, joining the Berach at the reservoir of Udai
Sagar.
Sabarmati river
The Sabarmati originates in the Aravalli Range of the Udaipur District of
Rajasthan. It is approximately 371 km in length. In its initial course it is also called as Wakal. Most of the river
flows in Gujarat state. It empties in the Gulf of Cambay of Arabian Sea.
Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar are established on the banks of Sabarmati river.
During India's independence struggle, Mahatma Gandhi established Sabarmati
Ashram as his home on the banks of this river.
Luni River
The Luni is a river of western Rajasthan originates in the Pushkar valley of the Aravalli Range, near
Ajmer and ends in the marshy lands of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, after travelling a distance of 530 km. It is first known as Sagarmati, then after passing Govindgarh, it meets its
tributary Sarsuti, which originates from Pushkar Lake, and from then on it gets
its name Luni It is also known as Lavanavari river means Salt River in Sanskrit, due high salinity of its water.
The Luni flows ts 37,363 km², which includes all or part of
Ajmer, Barmer, Jalor, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali, and Sirohi districts and Mithavirana Vav Radhanpur region
of Banaskantha North Gujarat. Its major tributaries are the Sukri, Mithri,
Bandi, Khari, Jawai, Guhiya and Sagi from the left, and the Jojari River from the right. Rising in the western Aravalli Range in the state of
Rajasthan, it is a major river in the region and serves as a primary source of irrigation in spite of the high salinity,
Chambal River (चम्बल)
The Chambal River (चम्बल) flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a
time through Rajasthan, then forming the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh before turning southeast to join the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh
.Chambal is utilized for hydropower generation at Gandhi Sagar dam, Rana Pratap
Sagar dam and Jawahar Sagar Dam and for annual irrigation of 5668.01 square
kilometres in the commands of the right main canal and the left main canal of
the Kota Barrage. On December 26, 2009, a large bridge over the Chambal at Kota, Rajasthan
collapsed. Initially, 45 people were feared to have died.
Lakes :
Sweet water lakes at
Udaipur and salt water lakes at Shambar are famous lakes surrounded by Aravalli hills range. |
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Aravalli Range hill stations
The town of Mount Abu, the only hill station in Rajasthan, is located at an elevation of 1220 meters.
Mount Abu had a population of 22,045. It has been a popular retreat from the
heat of Rajasthan and neighbouring Gujarat for centuries. Mount Abu is the highest peak in the Aravalli Range
of Rajasthan state in western India. It is located in Sirohi district. Mount Abu
is 58 km from Palanpur (Gujarat). The mountain forms a distinct rocky plateau 22
km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar, at 1722 meters above sea level.
The Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1960 and covers 290 km² of the mountain.Mount
Abu is home to a number of Jain temples. The Dilwara Temples are a complex
of temples, carved of white marble, that were built between the 11th and 13th
centuries AD. The Achalgarh fort, built in the 14th century by Rana Kumbha of Mewar, stands
nearby. Nakki Lake is another popular visitor attraction of Mount Abu.
The mountain is also home to several Hindu temples, including the Adhar Devi
Temple, carved out of solid rock; the Shri Raghunathji Temple; and a shrine and
temple to Dattatreya built atop the Guru Shikhar peak. |
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Aravalli Hills Environment
The Aravali Range is affected from human activities like stone crushing, cutting of trees in forest area of
Aravali, construction on large scale, mining, dispense and dumping of waste.
Such activities affect the environment of Aravali and its surrounding
areas environment. Some of the famous lakes like Badkhal lake, Dhauj Jheel, Surajkund
Lake, Damdama Lake on the aravali range had gone dry in last five
year because of illegal mining and change of pattern in the natural drainage system.
These lakes are dumped with waste material which affected ground water flow.
Drying of these lakes also indicates that in future ground water will be not available in this area if the relevant steps for recovery are not taken.
The mindless mining in one of the oldest hills in the world has devastated the
range. In several places, the miners have gone so deep that the water table has
been exposed, forming lakes amidst the blasted ranges. The
Rajasamand lake in Udaipur, which always had water dried up recently.
Udaipur lake surrounded by Aravalli hills
Economy
The Aravalli Hills forming the source of several minor and major
minerals. Minerals
in Rajasthan account for 70 percent or more of India’s total production. .
Aravalli hills range are the source of several seasonal rivers
including, Banas River, Luni River, Sakhi, Sabarmati River serves as a primary source of irrigation in that region.
Aravalli hills are the major source of tourist attraction. Famous forts of Chittor, Jaipur, Alwar, Bhartpur etc are built on
the hill top. Mount Abu is the beautiful hill station is the main attraction for tourists, |
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Important cities and Forts
Chittorgarh Fort the biggest fort of Rajasthan and Mehrangarh fort, one of the largest forts
in india and one of the most poignant and impregnable structures on the hilly terrain of Aravali Ranges.
Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh Fort and Amer Fort of
Jaipur are on the top of hills. Many famous Forts in Rajasthan
are built on the Aravalli hill range.
Pushkar in Ajmer,
Lord Brahma's dewlling place and only pilgrimage of Hindus in "Satayuga' has situated in Aravalli hills
.
Pushar tirth
Ajmer, Alwar, Pink
City Jaipur Kota, Bhartpur , Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bundi, Mount Abu are situated in Aravalli hill range.Many
Famous Jain temples as Ranakpur, Dilwara Jain temples, Kesariyaji jain temples are located on Aravalli hill rane. Famous hindu
temples as Nathadwara near Udaipur, Sakrai Mata, Jeen mata temples
near Sikar are situated on hill tops.
Udaipur is called the lake city. Its beutiful lakes are
surronded by Aravalli hills range. The gratest salt lake in Asia at Sambhar producing salt is also enclosed by hills. |
Chittorgarh Fort
Jodhpur Fort
Jaipur Fort |
Efforts to check illegal mining
In May 2009, after months of media and public protests, along with several
environmental groups, the Supreme Court banned mining in an area of 448 km2,
across Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat districts in Haryana, that was once supposed
to be set aside for a national park. This comes after SC's earlier judgment in
1994 that allowed limited mining on the basis of the sustainable development
principle and under strict guidelines, which were violated by local miners as the court ruled
The Supreme Court on February 20, 2010 directed cancellation of 157 mining leases operating in
Rajasthan’s eco-sensitive Aravalli Hills and asked the Forest Survey of India to carry out satellite imagery of the entire 50,000
sq km range spread across 15 districts of the State to assess the extent of ecological damage.Giving four months time to the FSI to complete the task, the Special Bench of Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, Justices SH Kapadia and Aftab Alam directed all mines in the area to stop operation till then.
The direction follows an earlier order passed by the Supreme Court in May 2009 freezing all mining activities along the Aravalli Range situated in Haryana.
References
^ The Geography of British India, Political & Physical, by George Smith.
^ Aravalli Range Britannica.com.
^ SC bans all mining activity in Aravali hills area of Haryana, May 9, 2009.
* "River in Thar desert, Western India". Record of the Geological Survey of India.
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