BITSAT Question Paper

About Sirsa District :

The name of the district is derived from its headquarters Sirsa. It is said to be one of the oldest places of North India and its ancient name was Sairishaka, which finds mention in Mahabharata, Panini’s Ashatadhayayi and Divyavadan. In Mahabharata, Sairishaka is described as being taken by Nakula in his conquest of the western quarter. It must have been a flourishing city in the 5th century B.C. as it has been mentioned by Panini.

Location :

The district lies between 29 14 and 30 0 north latitude and 74 29 and 75 18 east longitudes, forming the extreme west corner of Haryana. It is bounded by the districts of Faridkot and Bathinda of Punjab in the north and north east, Ganga Nagar district of Rajasthan in the west and south and Hisar district in the east. Thus it touches the interstate boundaries on three sides and is connected with its own state only in the eastern side.

The terrain of Sirsa district may be broadly classified from north to south into three major types i.e. Haryana Plain, alluvial bed of Ghaggar or Nali and Sand dune tract. The characteristics of the three are briefly described below :

Haryana Plain – The Haryana Plain is a vast surface of flat to rolling terrain and extends southward to the northern boundary of the alluvial bed of the Ghaggar. It covers over 65 percent of the area of the District. The elevation of the surface from east to west varies from 190 to 210 meters above the mean sea level. The most diagnostic feature of the Haryana Plain is the presence of palaeo channels which set the occurrence of sand dunes in this terrain unit apart from those in the dune tract. The plain is traversed by numerous dune complexes and shifting sands.

Alluvial bed of Ghaggar – Nali : A clayey surface of almost flat, featureless plain bordered in the north and west by the Haryana Plain and in the south along the sound dune tract, is a manifestation of the misfit nature of the present day Ghaggar. Waterlogging is a serious problem in many parts of this flat surface of impervious clay of great thickness. At places, swamps support a high density of tall grass.

Sand dune tract – Third tract covers the southern most part of the district. The area is northward extension of the sand dunes of Hisar District and GangaNagar District of Rajasthan. The dunes are locally called tibbas. Tibbas around Ellenabad are 9 Meters high; Naugaza Tibba at the border of Rajasthan is 17 Meters high; Tikonta tibba is some 14 Meters high and one south of Shahpuria is 13 Meters high. All tibbas are broad based transverse ridges, some more than 3 Kilometers long without a break. Linear to complex ridges, short to fairly long but narrow at the crests, and generally 2 to 5 Meters high are also present throughout the sandy stretch of the land

At a Glance :