Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : 376
Sex Ratio Rank : 304
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : C
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 261 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 376 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD
Earthquake : Bhuj (Kutch) : measuring 6.9 in 2001 & 8.0 in 1989
Water : Flouride in Groundwater above permissible limits
Challenges of the
district : Our research with local communities
The literacy rate is very low.
People do not find good jobs due to illiteracy.
There are no skilled and technical schools or colleges that will
help people to find good work.
Villages only have schools till higher secondary. For further studies
children go to other places in search of jobs.
Agriculture is the only source of livelihood. Due to reduced rainfall
this year the farmers are facing huge losses.
Brief About Kutch District
Kutch (also Cutch or Kachh) is a district of Gujarat state
in western India. It is the largest district of the state of Gujarat
and the second largest district in India covering an area of 45,612
km2. The name Kutch apparently comes from the shape of the area
which is shaped like a tortoise Kaachbo in Kutchi and Gujarati
languages.
History
Kutch was formerly an independent state, founded in 1270.
It was ruled by the Hindu Jadeja dynasty. In 1815, Kutch became
a British protectorate, and ultimately a princely state whose
local ruler acknowledged British sovereignty in return for local
autonomy. After Indian independence in 1947, Kutch became a state
of India, and in 1956 was merged into Bombay state, which in 1960
was split to form the state of Gujarat. The earliest earthquake
recorded in Kutch dates back to June 16, 1819. After the 1947
partition, Sindh province and the port of Karachi ended up in
Pakistan, and the Indian Government constructed a modern port
at Kandla in Kutch to serve as the main port for western India
in lieu of Karachi. It became an Indian state in 1950. On November
1, 1956, Kutch became part of Bombay state, which in 1960 was
divided into the new linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The epicenter of 2001 Gujarat Earthquake was in this state. It
was the most severe earthquake (out of more than 90 earthquakes)
to hit Kutch in 185 years.
Geography
The administrative headquarters of Kutch district is Bhuj.
Kutch is virtually an island, bounded by the Arabian Sea to the
west and the Gulf of Kutch, which separates Kutch from the Kathiawar
peninsula, to the south and southeast, and by the Rann of Kutch,
a huge wetland that forms the northern and eastern part of the
region. Centuries ago the Rann of Kutch was an extension of the
Arabian Sea. A range of hills runs east-west, parallel to the
Gulf of Kutch. The border with Pakistan follows the northern edge
of the Rann of Kutch, and the northeastern border with Pakistan
along Sir creek is the subject of a border dispute.
Language
The languages spoken predominantly in Kutch are Kutchi and
Gujarati. The main tribe of people living in kutch are known as
'kanbis', although other tribes exist. A large portion of the
kanbis from kutch migrated to Africa in the early 1960's and therafter
to the United Kingdom.
