Centarl City of Sindh Province-Sakkhar

 History Of Sukkur

Sukkur has been an important strategic centre and trading route from time immemorial. Alor (present 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 Talpurst 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 largest barrage here on te Indus River. After independence of Pakistan, thousands of Muslim immigrants arrived in Sukkur while a much larger number of Hindus left for India.


About Sukkur

/Port in Sind province, Pakistan, on the River Indus, opposite the town of Rohri; population (1998 est) 329,200. The nearby Sukkur River–Lloyd Barrage (1928–32) uses waters from the Indus to irrigate up to 2 million ha/4.9 million acres. The barrage has a length of 1.6 km/1 mi and crosses the Indus below Sukkur Gorge. Sukkur is linked by rail with Quetta via the Bolan and Nari passes.

Waters impounded by the barrage are used in a system of irrigation canals which make possible the cultivation of large crops of wheat, millet, cotton, rice, oilseeds, and fruit. Sukkur is the commercial centre for these products which are also used in industries of the city, such as cotton ginning, and rice and flour milling. Other industries include boatbuilding, tanning, and the manufacture of cement and cigarettes.

More Information

City Area 5165 Sq km
Tehsils (Pano Aqil, Rohri, Salehpat, and Sukkur)
Population ( Aprox. ) 908373 Male 483251 (53.19%) Female 425122 (46.81%)
Urban population 462105 (50.88%) ; Rural population 446268 (49.12%)
Population 0 - 4 years 144169 (15.87%) Population 5 - 9 years 144862 (15.94%)
Population Density 175.9 Persons/Sq. Km. Household size 6.5 Persons/HH
Sex Ratio 114:100 Growth Rate 2.88% Literacy Rate Overall 46.62%
Male 59.83% & nbsp; Female 31.22% & nbsp; Rural 31.32% Urban 59.76%



Institutions & Colleges In Sukkur


*Virtual University of Pakistan, Sukkur Campus
*Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Sukkur
*G.M Mahar Medical College
*College of Management Science & Information technology Sukkur (Affiliated with Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur)
*SiSTech Sukkur (Affiliated with University of Sindh, Jamshoro)
*Government Islamia Science/arts/commerce College Sukkur
*Public School and college Sukkur
*Government Degree College and Post Graduate Studies Centre
*Government Girls College Sukkur
*Government Degree Science College Pano Akil
*Government College of Physical Education
*Government College of Education
*Government M,P,L Boys high School.
*Agha Nizamuddin Girls Degree College
*Sayed Atta Hussain Shah Musavi Degree College Rohri
*Government Polytechnic Institute
*Government Modern High School
*Saint Mary's Church And High School
*Government Double Section High School
*Government High School
*Government Comprehensive High School
*Government Double Section High School Barrage Colony Sukkur.
*Army public school and college (federal board)



OLD SUKKUR

Originally Sukkur, Rohri and Bukher were all connected by land. A great earthquake during the 11th century changed the course of the river Indus from Arror to a different side of Rohri, with the result that the land, which connected Sukkur, Rohri and Bukher, was divided into three parts and the river flowed in between. Sukkur was on one side, Rohri on the other and Bukher was in between.

There are various versions as to how Sukkur was given its name. The popular version is that there were fields of Sugarcane and Sugar factories in the vicinity of Sukkur. So Sukkur seems to be the distorted version of the word ‘Shaker’ which means ‘Sugar’.

There is another version, which seems to be more authentic and convincing, thats because there was plenty to eat and plenty to enjoy, things were inexpensive and people at large were comfortable and happy. The word Sukkur seems to have been derived from the word ‘Sukh’ which means Comfort.

Sukkur was the third most important town of SINDH . It was an important commercial and industrial centre of upper Sindh. It is said that Sukkur became a very important Ship building port and two ships were built one in the year 1835 named Indus and the other in the year 1843 named Satellite. Sukkur assumed great importance in business, trade and other activities especially after the conquest of Sindh by the British in 1848.

Sukkur gained further importance after the construction of the famous Sukkur Barrage ( Dam ) on the river Indus making Sindh the granary of India.

Important Places of Sukkur.


A) Bunder Road

Among the important places of Sukkur was the Bunder Road which was beside the river Indus. It was somewhat similar to Marine Drive at Bombay

B) Sadhubela

The other important place of attraction was the temple known as Sadhubela which was on an island in the middle of the river Indus. It was built artistically of marble and was surrounded by a garden of great beauty which had varieties of birds including the peacock freely living in full protection. The head of the Sadhubela Ashram before Partition was a Saint known as Swami Harinamdasji, who besides being a religious scholar, was also a man of the people. He helped solve many disputes between the residents of Sukkur and prevented unnecessary litigation and expenditure . He was highly respected and admired by one and all.

C) Ghats

On the bank of the Indus river were beautiful ghats where people took bath and prayed on holy days like ChetiChand.

Sukkur Barrage

The Sukkur barrage is the largest in the world,the barrage is built across the Indus river near the city of Sukkur, Pakistan. It was built during the British Raj from 1923 to 1932 as the Lloyd Barrage to help alleviate famines caused by lack of rain. The barrage enables water to flow through what was originally a 6166 mile long network of canals, feeding the largest irrigation system in the world, with more than 5 million acres (20,000 km²) of irrigated land.
The retaining wall has sixty-six spans, each 60 feet wide; each span has a gate which weighs 50 tons.

Sukkur Airport

Sukkur Airport (IATA: SKZ, ICAO: OPSK) is a domestic airport situated about 8 km away from the city centre of Sukkur in the Sukkur District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is medium airport and caters mainly to the population of Sukkur, Khairpur and Rohri. It is the main alternate of Jinnah international airport in Karachi with the distance of about 220 miles. Sukkur airport ranks as second main operational airport in Sindh, after Jinnah international airport. The paved runway is about 2.7 kilometers long. It also handles international flights specially in the time of emergency and because of bad weather conditions.