Sukkur - Gateway of Sindh Province (Sindh)

 

Sukkur is situated in Sindh Province on the left bank of the Indus River at a distance 489 km from Karachi on National Highway N-5. It is considered as the Gate of Sindh. It is an important railway junction in Pakistan Railway as well as in the British time. Sukkur is also famous for one of the largest military cantonments of Pakistan Army in the town of Pano Aqil.

The Sukkur was derived from the word of sugar due to the abundant production of sugarcane in the region in the history, whereas others suggest the name is derived from the word Sukh, meaning comfort. Sukkur was developed around a military garrison in 1839. The town of Rohri was busiest port along the Indus River during 1200s and was an important trade center for agricultural products.

Sukkur has boundaries with Khairpur, Ghotki, Kashmore, and Shikarpur districts. It also has boundary with Rajasthan on the border of Pakistan and India. Both the National Highway N-55 and the Sukkur-Multan Motorway M-5 run across the center of the district. The Sukkur-Hyderabad Motor M-6 leads toward Karachi from the city of Sukkur. It also connected to Balochistan province via Sukkur-Jacobabad Highway and Nara Road to access various towns in the Thar Desert. It is well connected with the railway with all of the major cities in Pakistan. It is a major junction in Pakistan Railway. Sukkur Airport is used to serve of the local flight service in Pakistan.

The land along the Indus River and canals originated from the Sukkur Barrage, is fertile to produce various crops such as cotton, sugarcane, wheat, rice, etc. The River Indus flows on the eastern side of the district in its narrowest channel in the lower Indus course along the limestone ridge. It has a large Riveraine tropical forests along the Indus River. These forests area also homeland for wildlife different kinds. Most of its eastern part along with Indian border is part of Thar Desert, therefore it is barren and just moving sand dunes. There are several orchards in which date orchards are famous and produce best quality dates. It also produces guava, mango, and banana. Sukkur is one of the main center for processing and trading agricultural products.

The Rohri Hills are structured of rocks of limestone stretching southeast of Rohri between the Indus River and the Nara River in the east. The range is about 40 km long and 16 km wide. There are several archaeological sites such as located on these hills. The Nara Canal is a delta channel of the Indus River that joins the the course of the old Nara River, a tributary of the Indus River from the dried-up Ghaggar-Hakra River. The Nara Canal is the longest canal in Pakistan having length of 364 km.

Aror, also known as Arorkot, is the medieval name of the Rohri city and was served as the Capital of Sindh. Aror was the capital of the Arorh Dynasty, ancient kingdom of the lower Indus Valley. It was also captured by Muhammad Bin Qasim in 711. The city was destroyed due a massive earthquake and change of the course of the Indus River in 962, therefore new settlements were formed at Rohri along the new banks of the Indus River. Most of ruins of the Aror city have been lost except some arches of a mosque of 8th century Arab invasion. The ruin of Kalka Cave temple is still there near the ruins. Another is the shrine of Chattan Shah Ji Takri on the top of a high rock. It is believed that he is a companion of Hazrat Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam.

Sateen Jo Aastan is situated on the left bank of the Indus River in the town of Rohri. The site was built by Mir Abu Al Qasim Namkeen and used this place of cultural gathering. It is the burial place of Mir Abu Al-Qasim Namkeen, a ruler of Sindh. His tomb was built in Makli Hill with inscriptions and Quranic verses on the interior and external walls. A small mosque is also constructed with blue, white, and turquoise title work. It is a good place for one-day picnic in the Sukkur district. It is also a resting place for the Seven Female friends. According to story, they are unmarried and lived in this region. They veiled themselves from all males. Due to fear of a tyrannical raja resulted in their disappearance in a cave. Then became satti.

The Lansdowne Bride was built on the Indus River in 1889 to connect the Sukkur to Rohri and was one of the first bridges to cross the Indus River. The bridge was made of metal and has one of the unique design with two large pylons rather than a series of pillars.

The Sukkur Barrage, also known as Llod Barrage, was built by the British on the Indus River to irrigate the land of Sindh province with the largest irrigation system of the world. It has 66 gates to control the flow of water for irrigation need of various adjoining regions. The 1,524 meters feet long barrage is made of yellow stone and steel. Seven large canals are originated from the barrage to provide water to nearly 10 million acres of farmland that is larger than the Suez Canal.

Sadh Belo is located on an island in the Indus River in the district of Sukkur. It is famous and highly revered Hindu temple and is considered as the biggest Hindu temple in Pakistan. The building of temple has eight temples, a library, a huge garden, dining area, and residences for monks. It was founded by a Hindu saint known as Baba Bankhandi Maharaj. It is an island on the downstream of the Indus River from the Bukkur island. On the death anniversary of Baba Bankhandi, a three day festival held there in which thousands of Hindu participate. No body can visit the temple without getting proper permission from Pakistan Hindu Panchayat.

Mir Muhammad Masoom Shah Bakhri was a 16th century Sindhi Muslim historian and known as a writer of the Sindh history, Tarikh-i-Sind published in 1600. He was appointed as Governor of Sindh as well as the Nawab of Sukku. The Minaret of Mausum Shah was built in 1607 with red bricks in conical shape. It has circumfernce of 26 metres and 84 steps to access the top. It has height of 31 meters, so can be visible from distance. In the courtyard of the minaret, Mir Mausum Shah and his family member are buried in the cemetery.

Lakhan-Jo-Daro is the second largest city of the Indus Valley Civilization and an archeological site located on the outskirts of the city of Sukkur on the right bank of the Indus River. It covers an area of more than 300 hectares with several mounds. The articles found there indicate that it is older than the mature Harappan period.

The weather of Sukkur district is normally hot and dry in the summer season, whereas winter is moderate cool. It receives little rainfalls in the monsoon period from July to September.