Pali district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Pali, Rajasthan. For the district in Taiwan, see Bali District.

Pali District in Rajasthan

Pali district
District
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District	Pali
Area
• Total	12,387 km2 (4,783 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	2,037,573
• Density	165/km2 (430/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Marwari, Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	306401
Telephone code	02932
ISO 3166 code	RJ-IN
Vehicle registration	RJ-22
Literacy	63.23%
Lok Sabha constituency	Pali (Lok Sabha Constituency)
Avg. annual temperature	22.5 °C (72.5 °F)
Avg. summer temperature	45 °C (113 °F)
Avg. winter temperature	00 °C (32 °F)
Website	pali.rajasthan.gov.in

Pali District is a district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The town of Pali is the district headquarters.

History

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	393,837	—
1911	456,627	+1.49%
1921	403,318	−1.23%
1931	473,063	+1.61%
1941	555,586	+1.62%
1951	660,856	+1.75%
1961	805,682	+2.00%
1971	970,002	+1.87%
1981	1,274,504	+2.77%
1991	1,486,432	+1.55%
2001	1,820,251	+2.05%
2011	2,037,573	+1.13%
source:

In 120 AD, during the Kushana Age, King Kanishka conquered the Rohat and Jaitaran areas, parts of today's Pali district. Until the end of seventh century AD this area was ruled by the Chalukya King Harshavardhana along with other parts of the present state of Rajasthan.

During the period from the 10th to the 15th century, the boundaries of Pali extended to adjoining Mewar, Godwad and Marwar. Nadol was the capital of the Chauhan clan. All Rajput rulers resisted the foreign invaders but individually fought for each other's land and leadership. After the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan, against Mohammed Gauri, the Rajput power of the area was disintegrated. The Godwad area of Pali became subject to the then ruler of Mewar, Maharana Kumbha; however Pali city—which was ruled by Brahmin rulers with the patronage of neighbouring Rajput rulers—remained peaceful and progressive.

The 16th and 17th centuries saw a number of battles in the surrounding areas of Pali. Shershah Suri was defeated by Rajput rulers in the battle of Giri near Jaitaran, Mughal emperor Akbar's army had constant battles with Maharana Pratap in the Godwad area. After the Mughals had conquered almost all of Rajputana, Veer Durga Das Rathore of Marwar made organised efforts to redeem the Marwar area from Aurangzeb, the last Mughal emperor. By then Pali had become subservient to the Rathore clan of Marwar state. Pali was rehabilitated by Maharaja Vijay Singh and soon it became an important commercial centre.

During the British era in India in 1857, various Thakurs of Pali under the stewardship of the Thakur of Auwa fought against British rule. Auwa fort was surrounded by the British army and the conflict lasted many days.

Geologists trace the settlement at Pali back to prehistory and maintain that Pali emerged from the vast western sea, which was spread over a large part of present-day Rajasthan. In the Vedic age, Maharshi Javali stayed in this area for meditation and interpretation of Vedas. In the Mahabharata age, the Pandavas also made this area (near Bali) their resting place during exile. As a part of ancient Arbuda Province, this area was known as Balla-Desh.

Geography

The Aravalli Range forms the eastern boundary of the district; the southern boundary ends at Bamnera village in Sumerpur Tehsil. A zone of foothills lies to the west, through which run the many tributaries of the Luni River. The western portion of the district includes the alluvial plain of the Luni. It is bounded by eight districts, Nagaur District to the north, Ajmer District to the northeast, Rajsamand District to the east, Udaipur District to the southeast, Sirohi District to the southwest, Jalore District and Barmer District to the west, and Jodhpur District to the northwest. The major part of the district has elevations ranging from 200 to 300 m above mean sea level, but in the east—toward the Aravalli Range—the elevation increases and the average is nearer 600 m and at some places the elevations exceed 1000 m.

National geological monument

Pali Barr Conglomerate in this district has been declared the National Geological Monuments of India by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), for their protection, maintenance, promotion and enhancement of geotourism.

Politics

Lok Sabha

Pali Lok Sabha constituency is spread over two districts, Pali and Jodhpur. The present member of parliament is P P Choudhary, who is from the Seervi community, and represents the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Vidhan Sabha

The Pali district is divided into 6 Legislative Assemblies. The members are as follows:

• Sojat Constituency - Present MLA is Shobha Chauhan (BJP)
• Jaitaran Constituency - Present MLA is Avinash Gehlot (BJP)
• Bali constituency - Present MLA is Pushpendra Singh Ranawat (BJP)
• Sumerpur constituency - Present MLA is Joraram Kumawat (BJP)
• Pali constituency - Present MLA is Gyan Chand Parakh (BJP)
• Marwar Junction constituency - Present MLA is Khushveer Singh (IND)

Panchyat Samiti

Total 10 Panchyat Samiti in Pali District 5 are reserved for ST, SC & OBC and 5 are General. Zila Pramukh Pali is Pemeram Sirvi.

• Raipur (reserved) - Shobha Chauhan
• Bali (reserved) - Kapuraram Meghwal
• Desuri (reserved) - Bheraram
• Pali (reserved) - Sharwan Banjara
• Rani (reserved) - Navratan Choudhary
• Sojat - Girja Kanwar Rathore
• Jaitaran - Rasal Kanwar Rathore
• Marwar Junction - Sumer Singh
• Sumerpur - Rajendra Singh Deora Koliwada
• Rohat - Rashmi Singh Rathore

Hydrology

The area under irrigation is 2824.02 km², which is about 22.79 percent of the total geographical area of the district. Wells are the main sources of irrigation in the district, which constitute the source for 75% of the total irrigated area, followed by ponds tanks (20%), and tube wells (5%). In all, the district has ninety-two dams, of which three dams are broken: one each at Gajni, Potalia and Chipatia. The total catchment area of all the dams is 238,150.14 acres (963.7594 km²). In 1990, the capacity of the eighty-nine dams was 20197.3 million cubic feet.

There are forty-eight dams in the district, named with completion date where known:

• Jawai Dam (1957)
• Sardar Samand dam (1905)
• Hemawas dam (1911)
• Phulad dam (1972)
• Sindroo (1977)
• Sadri dam
• Babra (1981)
• Kana (1961)
• Ker (1977)
• Juna Malari (1978)
• Dandiya (1978)
• Shivnath Sagar (1971)
• Giri-Nanda Dam
• Bankli Dam
• Kharda Dam
• Rajpura dam
• Takhatgarh dam
• Mithari dam
• Kalibor dam
• Vayad
• Sali ki Dhani
• Khiwandi
• Baniyawas
• Endla
• Giroliya
• Borinada dam
• Siriyari
• Kantaliya,
• Jogdawas I
• Jogdawas II
• Saran
• Sindarli
• Chirpatiya
• Kot Baliyan
• Dantiwara
• Latara
• Futiya
• Peepla
• Sewari
• Rajsagar Chopra
• Malpuriya
• Kanawas
• Muthana
• Bandi Nehara
• Bomdara
• Kesuli
• Lodiya
• Hariom Sagar
• Sali ki Nal

Some of the reservoirs created by these dams are used for irrigation purposes, as well as drinking water and flood control. Jawai Dam is the largest dam in western Rajasthan, which is very useful source of drinking water for the district in summer days.

The biggest river in the district is the Luni and its major tributaries in the district are the Jawai, the Lilri, the Mithari, the Sukri, the Bandi and the Guhiya.

Luni

The river Luni originates near Ajmer in the western slopes of the Aravalli Range at an elevation of about 550 m. About 495 km after the flow in a south-western of Rajasthan, it disappears in the marshy land of Rann of Kutch. The total catchment area of the Luni River Basin in Rajasthan is 37,363 km², covering parts of the Districts of Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Barmer, Jalore and Gujarat in Rajasthan 330 km and in Gujarat 20 km<nandkishor tak>

Guhiya

Guhiya river originates near Khariyaniv and Tharasani villages in Pali District in the hillocks. It merges with Bandi River near Phekariya village. The catchment is about 3,835 km², which is situated in Pali district. Its tributaries are Raipur Luni, Radia Nadi, Guria Nadi, Lilri Nadi, Sukri and Phunpharia Bala.

Khari (Hemawas)

River Khari is formed by the confluence of small streams namely Somesar (origination: near Somesar village in the western slopes of the Aravali), Khari Kherwa, Umrawas Ka Nala (origination: Near Bagol Kanklawas in the western slopes of the Aravali) and Kotki Nadi (origination: Dewair Reserved Forest Bhakar, after flow of about 30 km). After joining of all these small streams, the river is called Khari. After flowing for about 25 km, it joins Bandi River downstream of Hemawas reservoir . Its catchment area is 1,232 km².

Bandi (Hemawas)

Near Bombadra pickup weir Khari and Mithari rivers join and form the Bandi River. Later Bandi river joins the Luni near the Lakhar village, after flowing for about 45 km. The catchment area is about 1,685 km² and situated in Pali District.

Mithari

Mithari river originates by confluence of local nalas in the south-western slopes of the Aravali range in Pali district only. It disappears in sandy plains near Sankhwali village in Jalore district. It flows in a north-west direction through Jawai, Bali, India and Falna for about 80 km. The catchment area is in Pali and Jalore Districts and the catchment area of this river is 1,644 km².

Sukri

Sukri river is formed by the confluence of several small nalas - Ghanerav Nadi, Muthana ka Bala, Magai Nadi etc. originating from the Aravallis in Pali and Udaipur Districts. It flows in south-east to north-west directions for about 110 km and feeds Bankli Dam on the way. Near Samdari in Barmer District, it joins Luni river. The Jalore, Pali and Barmer Districts are covered in this Sub-Basin. Its catchment area is 3,036 km².

Jawai

Jawai river originate in Udaipur district with its main tributary Sukri in the western slopes of the Aravallis. It joins Khari river in Jalore district near Sayala. This river flows in a north-west direction for about 96 km before that. Its catchment area is 2,976 km². Report

Divisions

Sub-divisions

Pali District have ten sub-division Sojat, Marwar Junction, Jaitaran, Raipur, Sumerpur, Bali, Pali, Rohat, Rani, Rajasthan and Desuri.

Tehsils

There are nine Tehsils: Sojat, Marwar Junction, Jaitaran, Raipur, Sumerpur, Bali, Pali, Rohat and Desuri. Rani is declared to be made 10th Tehsil in Rajasthan budget-2012-13.

Civic bodies

There are eight municipalities (Nagar Palika) in the district are Sojat, Jaitaran, Sumerpur, Sadri, Bali, Falna, Takhatgarh and Rani, Rajasthan, while Pali is a Municipal Council (Nagar Parishad).

There are 1,030 villages in the Pali District comes under 320 Gram panchayats.

Legislative assembly areas

The district is represented in the State Legislature by six MLAs (Sojat, Jaitaran, Sumerpur, Bali, Pali and Marwar Junction) and One Member of Lok Sabha in Parliament (Pali (Lok Sabha Constituency)).

Transport

Pali to Balotra via Majal.

Main article: Roads in Pali district

The only two modes of travel available in the district are roadways and railways.

Almost all of the villages are connected by roads. There are two depots of government-owned state transport: Pali and Falna.

The only railway junction in the district is Marwar Junction, which is connected with Jodhpur, Ajmer, Ahmedabad and Udaipur. Pali railway station is on the Jodhpur route while the second highest earning railway station in the Ajmer division, Falna is on the Ahmedabad route. Other important railway stations in the district are Rani railway station, Jawai Bandh, Sojat Road and Falna.

The district got the railway in the early age of Indian Railway in 1881, when the Ahmedabad-Ajmer line opened at Rajputana State Railway. Pali got connected to Marwar Junction on 24 June 1882 and to Luni on 17 June 1884. Jodhpur was connected to the district via Luni in 1885 by the Rajputana-Malwa Railway network and the first train started on this route on 9 March 1885. This line later becomes part of the Jodhpur-Bikaner Railway.

Phulera-Marwar Junction line was converted from Meter Gauge to Broad Gauge in 1995, while the Ahmedabad-Ajmer line was converted in 1997. During 1997–98, the 72 km Jalore-Falna route was also surveyed by the Indian Railway, however, the line has still not been laid.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Pali district has a population of 2,037,573, roughly equal to the nation of Slovenia or the US state of New Mexico. This gives it a ranking of 225th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 165 inhabitants per square kilometre (430/sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 11.99%. Pali has a sex ratio of 987 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 63.23%.

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 99.55% of the population in the district spoke Hindi as their first language.

Males constitute 50.32% of the population and females 49.67%. Pali has an average literacy rate of 62.39%, lower than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 76.81%, and female literacy is 48.01%. In Pali, 14.6% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Economy

Main existing industries of the district are Mehandi manufacturing units, textile dyeing and printing, umbrellas and wire netting, cotton ginning, ACSR conductors, agricultural equipment, conduct pipes, cement (Portland), Guar gum, handle manufacturing units, medicines, pesticides, steel furniture.

To promote the industries, there are 15 industrial areas developed by the state government: Mandia road (Pali), Old Industrial Area (Pali), Pali I Phase, Pali II Phase, Pali IVnd Phase, Marwar Junction, Punayata Road (Pali), Piplia Kalan, Sojat City I & II Phase, Sojat City III Phase, Sumerpur Industrial Area, Sumerpur Industrial Estate, M/s DLF Cement Ltd. Rabariyawas, Industrial Area Bar, Industrial Area Saradhana, Rani Industrial Area and Falna- Zadri.

Industries

Pali has been famous for its textile industries. Cotton and Synthetic clothes and yarn was exported to other states of India on very cheap rate. Some new industries have also been developed like Bangles, Marble cutting, marble finishing etc. There is a cotton mill here named as Maharaja Shree Umaid Mills. This is the biggest cotton mill of Rajasthan. It employs 3000 workers.

One of the biggest composite textile mill of India 'Maharaja Shri Umaid mills' (Estt. in the year 1940) is also situated at pali. Main production of this mill is cotton, Hank yarn etc. which is used for preparing different cloths. Main cloth production are cotton, 2* 2 rubia etc.

There are 3 industrial areas there in Pali. Mandia road industrial area, Industrial area phase 1& 2 and Punayata industrial area. Mandia road Industrial area is the biggest and oldest off all. Industries like D.Pawan Fab Tex, sunlight industries, Kundan Tex, K.B Shah, Nakoda Prints, Tulsi Cotton Mills, Mayank Process, Aadeshwar Process, Shree Ganesh Fab Tex, B.B. shah, Shree Rajaram Group of Industries, Kohinoor, Kamal Agencies, Manidhari Impex, Sidhi Vinnayak Petro Chem, Shree Roopmuni Industries, Vam India Organics, Vidhya mills (India), Vidhya industries pvt ltd., Metro industries, Vijaya Fabrics, Manoj textiles, minerwa industries, Sikhwal fabrics, Mohini Process, Jov(Tex) Link, Sonu Group of Industries, Lodha Fabrics, Mega Tex Print, Vinod Group of Industries, M.B finishing, Mahaveer fab tex etc. are among well known and reputed Textile Industries situates at Mandia Road, Pali. Punayata industrial area has been always a question mark on local administration and RIICO because of its setup and evolution. But from last few years Punayata Area turned out to be major landmark for Industrialist to set up their new business.

Besides this, many more industries are situated at different areas of Pali district i.e. leather based industries, agriculture instruments, Chemical Industries, cement industry, minerals based units like stone crashers etc. Among these granite industries have also flourished recently due to easy availability of raw material and geographical location .

The problem of pollution is also eminent here. Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) have been established few years back for the treatment of discharged water from various industries.

Culture

Architecture

Ranakpur Jain Temple - Ranakpur is a village located in Desuri Tehsil near Sadri town in the Pali District of Rajasthan in western India. It is located between Jodhpur and Udaipur, in a valley on the western side of the Aravalli Range. The Ranakpur Jain Temples command huge respect from the Jain community worldwide. Built during the rule of Rana Kumbha, these temples have included Ranakpur in the list of five main pilgrim destinations of Jains in India. History has it that Rana Kumbha donated a vast stretch of land to Dhanna Shah so as to enable him to realise his dream of building a great temple. Today, these temples attract thousands of visitors every year from across the country and abroad.

Places of interest

Ranakpur

Jain Temple

Ranakpur village is home to important Jain temples. Over 400 marble pillars support the temple. Opposite the Jain temple is the much older Sun Temple. Temples of Ranakpur present a distinct style of their own. The ceilings of the temples are adorned with foliate scrollwork and geometric patterns. The top and bottom part of the domes are joined by Brackets with figures of deities on them. The most important amongst all the temples within the complex is the Chaumukha Temple. Dedicated to the first Jain Tirthankara, Adinath, it is a four faced temple which has a basement of 48,000 square feet (4,500 m²). The temple boasts of four subsidiary shrines, 24 pillared halls and 80 domes standing on the support of nearly 400 columns (the total number of columns in the temple complex, however, is much larger, around 1444). Each of the columns is richly carved and no two columns have the same design. Moreover, the columns change colour from golden to pale blue with the passage of every hour during the day.

Jain Temple, Nana

This place is associated with Jainism, where the life-size image of Mahavira was once worshipped. Nanavala or Jnanakiya gachchha (Jain saint community) was founded at Nanea by Prabhananda.Village Nana is also described in ancient Jain books. It is called as "NANA Diyana Nandiya...Jiwit Mahavir Swami Vihariya..." You can see ancient Jain temple of Lord Mahavir. It is said that this temple is around 2600 years old. This idol is 120 cm in height. Recently Shree Munisuvrat Swami temple is also established on 16 May 2013 by huge make over.

Shri Rata Mahaveer Jain Tirth

Shri Rata Mahaveer Jain Tirth or Hathundi Teerth was built in year 313 (370 VS). This temple has Bhagwan Mahaveer Swami as its primary deity. This idol is made of bricks, sand and calcium, having sanguine (Rata) red colour and hence also called as Rata Mahaveerji.

Shri Navlakha Parshwanath Jain Temple

The Jain temple is in the main city. Rs 9 lakhs were spent on raising the temple in 912( VS 969). It is said that the assumed cost of ghee was Rs. nine lakhs and the money later used for developing this temple, which later on called as Navlakha temple. Moolnayak of this temple is a White coloured idol of Navlakha Parshwanath in the Padmasana posture. This temple belongs to Shwetambar Sect. of Jainism. Dharamshala (Lodging) and Bhojanshala (Food) facilities are available.

Jain temples

Apart from Ranakpur has also famous Jain temples of Shri Varkana Parswanath Jain Tirth, Muchhal Mahavir Temple, Ghanerao, Shri Narlai Jain Tirth, Shri Nadol Jain Tirth, Shri Shantinath Jain Temple Sumer, Shri Chintamani Parswanath & Shri Shankheshwar Parswanath Bagol, Shri Astapadh Jain Tirth Rani, Shri Takhatgarh Jain Tirth, Shri Korthaji tirth at Bamnera, Shri Manmohan Parshvanath jinalaya Banta, Falna Swarn Temple, Sanderao Jain Temple, Khimel Jain Temple.

Jawai dam

Jawai Dam is one of the biggest dams in western Rajasthan. It is situated in Sumerpur Tehsil, Pali district, and has a capacity of 6000 million cubic feet. Jawai Dam is a good tourist spot.

Parshuram Mahadev Temple

Parshuram Mahadev Temple is in Desuri Tehsil and situated on the top of one of the hills of Aravalli. This is the famous temple of lord Shiva made by Parshuram with his axe. The temple is 14 km away from Sadri Town of Pali.

Om Banna

The Sacred temple (than) of Om Banna is 20 km away from the city on the Jodhpur-Pali highway. This is the site where Om Banna died in a road accident. The motorbike of Om Banna is kept there for devotional worship.

Aai Mata Ji Temple

There are famous temples of Shri Aai Mata jiDham called as Jekalji dham in Narlai and Shree Aai mataji temple called as Shree Jijivad Dham, Dailana where A Jyoti has a continuous flame which produces Kesar (a saffron coloured soot) instead of Kajal (carbon black). Most of the followers of Aai Mata ji are members of the Seervi सीरवी community.

Nimbo Ka Nath Mahadev Temple

Nimbo Ka Nath Mahadev Temple is situated on Falna to Sanderao route. There is a myth which says that pandavas stayed here with mother Kunti during the exile. Kunti used to worship Shiva at this place.

Lawaji maharaj ka temple

Lawaji maharaj ka temple is situated on Sojat city to Marwar junction route, near to Khariya Sodha village. There is a myth which says Lawaji maharaj ( a Kshatriya warrior) sacrificed his life to saving the animals, such as cows.

Other places

Pali district has other tourist attractions such as Jadan Ashram, Bangur Museum, Lakhotia Garden, Manpura Bhakhari, and Maharana Pratap Smarak. Jadan Ashram is situated in Marwar Junction Tehsil of Pali district and is hardly 20 km from Pali and is famous for its 'ॐ' (Om-sacred syllable among Hindus) shape building.

Fairs

Shri Sonana Khetlaji's, at Aana Fair, Parshurama Mahadevji's Fair and Nimbo ka nath (Nimbeshwar Mahadev)'s fair are important fairs held in the district.

Notable personalities

• Meera Bai, born at Kudki, Jaitaran in 1498
• Adho Duraso (1538–1651), poet, born in Jaitaran
• Maharana Pratap, born in Pali at Nanihal near Dhanmandi kachedi

Education

There are many schools of primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary level. Under 1986 education policy, the Pali district has a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya the village Jojawar in the Marwar Junction Tehsil, named as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Jojawar.

Colleges

• Aishvarya College of Education, Pali
• Aravali College Sumerpur
• Mahaveer Bal Mandir Senior Secondary School (MBM), Pali, Rajasthan
• Bangur Government College, Pali
• Govt Girls College, Pali
• Lakshya Shikshan Sansthan, Pali
• S.P.U. College, Falna
• Shree Paramhans Swami Madhavanand College, (Jadan, Pali)
• Shri Jain Terapanth College, Ranawas
• Leeladevi Parasmal Sancheti Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Vidhyavadi, Rani
• Guman singh Memorial College, Sumerpur
• Marwar College, Sojat
• Govt. Polytechnic college, Pali
• Shri Aai Mata Mahavidyalaya, Sojat City
• Sajjan International College, Pali
• Gurukul Sanskar Kanaya Mahavidyalya, Sumerpur
• Women Teachers Training College, Pali
• R.C. Memorial Shikshak Prakshishan Mahavidhyalay, Marwar Junction
• Sajjan Shikshak T T College, Manpura Bhankari, Pali
• Saraswati Teachers Training College, Naya Gawn, Pali
• Bhartiya Vidhya Mandir Mahila T T College, Ram Nagar, Pali
• Guman Singh Memorial Mahila T T College, Sumerpur
• Kasturba Gandhi Mahila T T College, Jaitaran
• Shri Jain Shwetambar Terapanthi Manav Hitkari Sang, Ranawas
• Pramod Vidyapeeth, Pali
• Ramdev college of management and science, Pali
• Shree Vinayak Vidyapeeth, Pali
• ILink Educations,220-Janta Colony, Opp. Bangur College, Pali
• Balaji Polytechnic College, Jadan
• Public Academy of Computer Education, (PACE)
• CLG engineering college, Sumerpur
• Kanku-Vijay College of Higher Education, Pali, Rajasthan
• Kanku-Vijay Teacher Training College, Pali, Rajasthan
• Smt. Kanku Devi Girl School, Pali, Rajasthan
• Govt College of Bali, Rajasthan
• St. Paul's Sr. Sec. School, Pali

Notes

• Pali District official website
• "Pali District: Gram Panchayat, Samiti and Ward Map". Excise Department, Government of Rajasthan. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
• "Rivers: Luni Basin". Water Resources Department, Government of Rajasthan. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.

External links

• Geographical features
• Pali district
• Pali