Rajanpur (Punjab)
Rajanpur is located at the distance of 555 km from Lahore on the right bank of the Indus River. Ranjanpur was founded in 1770 by Makhdoom Sheikh Rajan Shah and the name of the city was derived by his name. It is accessed via Dera Ghazi Khan on the Indus Highway N-55.
Rajanpur has common boundaries with Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Bugti, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, and Kashmore districts. It is situated between the Indus River and Koh Sulaiman Range that is located to the west of the district. The Indus Highway N-55 runs across the district along the Indus River side. It can also accessed via Sukkur-Multan Motorway M-5 by turning right from Zahir Pir Interchange to move on the Indus Highway N-55. It is also connected with railway track.
Rajanpur is an agricultural area, but mostly it depends upon canal irrigation as rainfall is negligible in the area. Another main source of water for irrigation as well as for domestic usage it the Indus River. In case of heavy rainfalls in the country. it will become the reason of heavy floods in the district. These floods are due to the water coming from Sulaiman Mountains and torrents as well as water of the Indus River. The main crops in the Rajanpur district are cotton, sugarcane, and wheat. Due to cotton production, there few industries related to cotton processing to make raw material for textile mills.
The major part of the district area is hill torrents, also known as Rod-Kohi, those are basically riverine path of water flow from the hills. The rain in these region is negligible, but flow of flood water is unexpected. There is no scientific system to manage the flood waters in these hill torrents. If heavy flood is there, then it will damage all of the crops in the passage. Hill Torrent cultivation, a unique system of agriculture, is being applied in this area. In Punjab, this system is practiced in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts.
The Panjnad River, a combined stream of fiver rivers Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas, finally merges into the Indus River near Mithankot in Rajanpur district. After this point, the Indus River is also called Satnad carrying the water of seven rivers including panjnad, Indus, and Kabul rivers. There is a shrine of Khawaja Ghulam Farid, a great Sufi Saraiki poet, in Mithankot. It is a historical place to visit and thousands of his followers visit every year for annual celebrations of Khawaja Ghulam Farid.
Fazilpur is an important town in the Rajanpur for all types of business activities. There is also a shrine of great Sufi saint known as Chan Charagh Shah Sain.
Maari is a hill station in the Rajanpur district at an altitude of 4,800 feet in the Suleiman Range. It has cool and freezing weather in the summer season and good place to visit. The highest mountain in this area is Dragai Mountain at an elevation of 5,400 feet.
Harrand Fort is an historical fort located opposite to Chachar Pass in the Sulaiman Range and between the Suleiman Mountains and the Indus River in the Rajanpur district. The fort was built in the British regime. The structure of fort is still there, but its current condition is not good. It is built on a sixteen-sided plan over the area of 50 acres. The outer wall is around one kilometer long. Most of the fort sections are in ruin now and just there is a pile of bricks.
Rojhan is a town in the Rajanpur district that is located at the foot of the Suleiman Range. Most of the population is rural and related to agriculture in the hill torrents of Suleiman Range.
The shrine of Hazrat Khawaja Noor Muhammad Narowala is a great Sufi saint. It is the most frequently visited place, especially on the event of annual celebrations.
The weather of Rajanpur is extreme hot and dry in the summer season, whereas it becomes much cold in the winter season. It receives much less but unexpected rainfalls in monsoon period.