General.

Akola District has an area of four thousand square miles and a population of three-quarters of a million, and pays twenty-five lakhs of rupees as land revenue. It is tenth in regard to size, and fourth in population, among the Districts of the Central Provinces and Berar. The Districts which have a larger population are Raipur, Amraoti, and Bilaspur; Nagpur is slightly less in population and considerably less in area. Akola occupies roughly the middle of Berar, and is perhaps the most typical of the Berar Districts. The greater part of it is fertile plain country, but the Satpura plateau rises abruptly on its northern border and a range of steep hills runs across the middle of the southern taluks. The people everywhere belong mostly to true agricultural castes long settled in the country, so that Kunbis form one-third of the whole population, but there are a certain number of more aboriginal descent, besides numerous recent immigrants; a few castes have pronounced criminal traditions.

Position and boundaries.

2. The District lies between latitudes 21° 16' N. and 19° 51' S. and longitudes 77° 44' E. and 76° 38 W.; its area is 4,110 square miles. Its length, measuring due north and south, varies at different points between 80 and 90 miles, and its breadth, taken east and west, is about 30 miles across Akot taluk in the north, 60 across the middle of the District, and 45 across Basim taluk in the south. Across the northern border lies the Melghat taluk of Amraoti District; on the east are the Daryapur, Amraoti, and Chandur taluks of Amraoti District, and the Darwha and Pusad taluks of Yeotmal District; the Nizam's Dominions lie to the south; and the Mehkar, Chikhli, Khamgaon, and Jalgaon taluks of Buldana District occupy the west. The border is marked on the north by the Satpuras, and on half of the south by the Penganga river, but elsewhere no physical feature, as a rule, distinguishes it. The District is divided into six taluks; Akot occupies the area between the Satpura ghats and the Purna river; Balapur (on the west), Akola, and Murtizapur (on the east), lie immediately south of the Purna, with the Nagpur branch of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway running through them; and Basim and Mangrul lie to the south again.

Physical features.

3. The chief hills are the Satpuras in the north and parts of the Ajanta system to ward the south. The Satpura plateau bounds the view to anyone travelling north from Akola. It appears from a little distance as a long broken ridge springing precipitously from the plain; the sides are in fact generally very steep, but there is an intermediate strip of small foot-hills, with numerous valleys or gorges running up into the hills. A legend recounted in the classics about the Vindhyadri or Vindhyan range is told locally about these hills. They are personified as a being who, in jealousy of the heavenly Mount Meru, raised himself in such gigantic bulk that neither could sunlight reach men nor prayers and sacrifices reach the gods; he now lies prostrate at the bidding of his spiritual guide Agastya, waiting only till that sage and his wife, ingenious pair, returning from Benares, shall free him from this humility. The boundary of the District lies as a rule along the foot of the plateau, but a narrow strip runs three miles into the hills to Narnala, where a large ancient fort is situated. The Satpuras form the northern sides of a great valley, or small plain, 40 or 50 miles in breadth, called the Payanghat; the river Purna flows westward through the midst of it. South of this plain lies the Balaghat, a region hilly in most parts but containing some considerable expanses of plain. In Akola District the southern wall of hills runs along just where Basim taluk, on the south, meets Balapur and Akola on the north; it then passes eastward in distinguishable ranges through Murtizapur and Mangrul taluks. These hills are by no means on the scale of the Satpuras, but they rise in many parts in ghats, that is almost in precipices; for instance, the road from Akola to Basim climbs, in the south of Balapur taluk, a steep ascent of more than a mile in length cleverly cut along a recess in the line of hills. In the south-east of Mangrul taluk the hills form two very abrupt ranges with the river Arnawati flowing between them; the ground on the south, where Mangrul and Pusad taluks meet, is especially rugged, and forms a great obstacle to traffic. Hills again occupy the south-east and south-west of Basim taluk, and run northwards at a few points into Balapur, and along the east of Akola taluk while the north-east of Murtizapur is also hilly. Basim taluk, lies mostly on high ground, which seems to extend, though without any marked ridge, north-east between Mangrul and Akola taluks and past Karanja town in Murtizapur taluk. This forms one of the great watersheds of the Indian continent. Streams on the northwest flow north to the Purna and are carried by it west to the Tapti and thence into the Gulf of Surat in the Indian Ocean; those on the south and east flow into the Penganga, which joins the Godavari and flows into the Bay of Bengal. The great plain of the Payanghat, occupying most of the northern half of the District, consists chiefly of rich black soil, though as the hills in any direction are approached the ground begins to become rough and stony and the soil gets shallow and light; however, the western part of the middle of Basim, which is by far the largest of the taluks, and the level, parts of Mangrul have also good black soil. The plain country again is not entirely flat, but forms very broad and gentle undulations. Rabi was formerly grown on a large scale in the good land, but cotton and jawari are now the most common crops in all parts; rice is grown in the poor land in the east of Akola taluk. In the north-east, about Dahihanda, Kutasa, and Ghusar, salt-wells used to be worked, but the industry has now died out. Trees and groves are found in certain neighbourhoods all over the District, but there is also a great deal of unshaded ploughed land, especially in the rich soil which extends for ten miles or more north and south of the Purna. Thin forest covers most of the ridges of the Satpura and Ajanta hills.

Rivers.

4. The Purna is the chief river of the District; it flows all the year but is not navigable. It rises in Amraoti District and flows due west across Akola into Buldana. It forms the northern boundary of Murtizapur, Akola, and Balapur taluks, and the southern boundary of Akot. Its channel is in many places 100 feet deep and 200 yards wide; the banks are of soft earth but generally resist further encroachments successfully; trifling erosion, however, takes place at several points. The Penganga, which flows south-east across Basim taluk, maintains its current throughout the year, and is the chief channel by which water is conveyed toward the south-east; it has a very considerable channel in parts but does not, within this District, attain, to the size of the Purna. A good general description of the smaller streams is given in the Berar Gazetteer of 1870, p 36: 'First as the waters leave the hills they run under one bank or both banks of scarped rock, sometimes 100 feet high. Then the undulated light soil tract at the foot of the hills is passed, sometimes with banks overhung with trees, at others through quite bare rock and muram. Further on, the banks are bordered with gardens and vegetation. Lastly, the stream gets into the region of the deep black soil; the banks are hence rugged and unsightly; the bed is sandy, and usually with a deep black mud fringe.' All the streams of the northern part of the District flow into the Purna. At one time the Shahanur on the northern bank was of some importance, but during the famine of 1896-1897 it was diverted at Dahihanda in the south-east of Akot taluk so that it joined the Purna almost immediately after entering the District. The results of the diversion are somewhat disquieting but are not yet fully apparent; the new channel carries off the water so rapidly that it is always dry except in brief intervals of violent flood; it is proposed to turn the stream back into the old channel. The chief tributaries of the Purna on the south bank are the Pedhi, Uma, Katepurna, Lonar, Morna, Nirguna, and Man. Almost all of these, like the old Shahanur, bend to the west just before joining it. The Pedhi flows across the northeastern corner, and the Uma through the centre, of Murtizapur taluk, a well-watered area. The Katepurna, which is the largest of all the tributaries, rises within a few miles of Basim and flows across the eastern side of Akola taluk and the north-western corner of Murtizapur; in its upper course, in the north of Basim taluk, it passes through broken hilly country with some striking views. The Lonar flows through the northern half of Akola taluk and is interesting because of an old suggestion to form a large tank upon it. The Morna rises in Basim taluk and flows northward through Akola taluk a few miles from the western border, passing also across the extreme south-eastern and north-eastern corners of Balapur taluk. Akola town stands upon the Morna, and the wells of the town are probably much benefited by two dams which, though small, hold up the water of the river for three or four miles. The Nirguna river rises in Basim and flows north through Balapur taluk, being called Bhuikund in its lower course. The Man rises in the Chikhli taluk of Buldana District and flows through Balapur taluk, the town of Balapur standing at a point where the Mhais, on the west, joins the Man. Three miles further north the Bhuikund also unites with it, and the combined stream is known as the Man; this, for most of the rest of its course, forms the boundary between Balapur and Khamgaon taluks. The rivers formed additional defences for the old fort at Balapur, but now they interrupt the communications of the town, the Bhuikund in particular cutting it off from its railway station at Paras. All these southern tributaries hold water throughout the year, though the Purna itself is the only river in the northern system which maintains constantly a good running stream. The Adan, Arnawati, and Pus rise in Basim taluk and flow through parts of Mangrul, finally joining the Penganga. The two former pass through the whole length of Mangrul, but neither attains an important size before passing beyond its borders. The Penganga has numerous small tributaries which hold water for about four months in the year and are used to a slight extent for irrigation. The Bembala river nominally rises at a holy spot in Karanja town, in the south of Murtizapur taluk; after flowing north through half of the taluk it turns to the east and finally passes into the Wardha in Yeotmal District. The line of the Ajanta watershed can be traced for nearly 70 miles from Basim town north to Shelu, north-east to Karanja, north again to Kamargaon, and north-east past Kuram; at many points neighbouring watercourses could be found, the water of which flows into opposite seas.

Elevation.

5. The elevation of the plain portion of the District seems to vary between 900 and 1100 feet, but full information is not available; Akola is said to be 925 feet above sea-level, while Kuram, further east beside the railway, is 1013. Basim taluk in the south forms a plateau, the least heights recorded being 1560 feet at Wadi and 1582 at Khedkhed, in the north; the ground level at Basim circuit-house is 1840 feet; the greatest height recorded is 1877 at Jambrun in the middle, while other hills in the north of the taluk are also more than 1800 feet high. Mangrul taluk is also high, the least height recorded being 1393 feet at Karli in the east; the higher parts of the taluk vary between 1407 and 1800 feet. The hilly land in the south of Akola and Balapur taluks varies from 1200 to 1600 feet, land in Mahan and Rudrama in the former being 1206 and 1384 respectively, while in the latter Khanapur is 1521 and Gawandgaon 1579. In the east of Murtizapur are points of less than 1100 feet elevation, such as Bapori (1011), Hinganwadi (1041), and Pimpri (1087); the greatest height given in the taluk is 1500 feet at Kamatwada in the south-east.