All-India rural credit survey: District monograph, Osmanabad

CHAPTER I
GENERAL FEATURES
1.1 Osmanabad is one of the districts in the Marathawada region of the former
HyderabadState. The area ofthe district is approximately 3,700 square miles. The
population in 1951 was about 8,07,000. Osmanabad is the headquarters of the
district and in 1951 had a population of about 15,000. Latur, a taluka town, is one
of the biggest marketing centres in Hyderabad State. Its population in 1951 was
about 35,000 and it was the largest town in the district. The total urban population
of the district was about 1,18,000, which is about 15 per cent of the total population.
For administrative purposes, the district is divided into eight talukas. These
may be grouped as under: (1) Bhoom, Paranda; (2) Kalam, Latur, Ansa;
(3) Umerga, Osmanabad, and (4) Tuljapur.
1.2 Bhoom and Paranda are the north-eastern talukas of the district lying to
the west of the Balaghat hill range. The river Therna flows across the rest of the
district with Kalam, Latur and Ausa to its north and Umerga, Osmanabad and
Tuljapur to its south. Tuljapur is the south-western taluka and also lies mostly to
the west of the Balaghat hill range.
1.3 Geologically, the district falls in what is known as the trappean blackcotton
soil region. The soil is highly retentive of moisture and is very fertile. There
is practically no forest in the district.
1.4 The district receives its rainfall mainly from the South-West monsoon
but also receives a substantial amount from the North-East monsoon. To the west
of the Balaghat hill range, particularly in Bhoom and Paranda talukas, the rainfall
is very uncertain and the tract is liable to droughts and famine. In the remaining
district, to the east of the hill range, the rainfall is more secure. Most of thct district
receives about 25 to 30 inches of rain. As in other parts of the Deccan, there are
two agricultural cropping seasons; the kharij, that is, the rainy season and the rabi,
that is, the winter season. Khan! extends from June. to the middle of October and
the rabi from the middle of October to the end of February.
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1.5 As mentioned earlier, there is practically no forest in the district. Nearly
93 per cent of the total area is, therefore, under cultivation. The principal food
crop of the district is jowar which is grown during both the seasons; the kharij crop
accounts for nearly 14 per cent and the rabi crop nearly 26 per cent of the total
cropped area. There are three important commercial crops, namely, cotton, groundnut
and linseed; these, respectively, cover 7, 11 and 5 per cent of the total cropped
area. There is also a large area under pulses which forms nearly 20 per cent of the
total cropped area .
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