Agriculture (Flora and Fauna)

FLORA AND FAUNA

A. Flora:

          The climate conditions and weather phenomenon of the district are not conducive to the growth of dense jungles. Therefore there is no natural growth of dense forests either in the plains or on the Sulaiman Range. The lack of soil fertility does not allow the natural growth or even the under growth to take root in the sandy areas and barren hills. The climate conditions of Sulaiman mountains are, however, naturally suitable to the growth of a dwarf plant which is called ‘Pesh’ in the local language. This serves as a very useful raw material for the production of beautiful and strong mats. Women weave ropes at home which are used to make Cots for domestic purpose. The coarse leaves of this plant are also utilized to make sandals for everyday use. Another natural plant/tree is called ‘Jal’. It bears sweet and delicious fruit known as ‘Peelu’. It is as beautiful to look as it is sweet in taste. It has the appearance of a small round pearl in almost all colors. The other plants that grow naturally are called Dab, Jand and Frash in the local dialect.

          Besides these plants various trees are also found growing by the canal sides or at places where water is available. Among those trees ‘Kikar’ (acacia Arabic) is very widely grown in the water belt areas. This tree with long white thorns and short leaves remain green almost throughout the year. It is either used as fire wood sometimes consumed in building temporary mud houses. Shisham tree (Dalbergia Sissoo) is commonly grown along the Highway roads and canal banks. It grows in abundance along the Dajal and Link III canals throughout the district. Its wood provides raw material to the lacquer wood work which has been established as a domestic industry in Jampur Tehsil. It is also used in the construction of houses. Wagan loads of its logs are exported out of the district to the remotest part of the country. A soft wood tree found in the region is called ‘Siris’ (Albizia labbek). This umbrella shaped tree provides dense shadow to the travelers in the burning sun and scorching heat. The farmers also use its shade to protect their animals from the vagaries of hot weather.

          Lana, a thick bush, is generally found in tribal area. Cum and Gorkha is found all over the tribal area and it provides natural food for camels, goats, sheep and cows. Panir, a small plant, is commonly found in Chucha and Murunj areas which are found in medicines. Kahu and Hush are shady trees which provide a comfortable resort for travelling persons and animals and there are also used by the Tribal Balochs for the construction of their houses called ‘jub’ and ‘Kiri, as these are called in Balochi dialect.

B. Fauna:

The wildlife in the area is gradually becoming scarce, stray and scattered. The growth of population coupled with the lack of protective measures has led to the disappearance of the wildlife to a large extent. The remains of the wildlife still left are found in the jungles growing by the side of the Sulaiman range and river forests. However hares are still commonly found in pasture areas. Pigs wild boars are a common sight throughout the inhabited area causing great damage to the crops. Both the river Indus in the East and Kala Pani in the West contain a variety of good quality fish. The best type of fish found is ‘Rahu’ (). The famous fishing places are Harrand in Jampur and Wang and Noorpur in Tehsil Rajanpur and Rojhan in Tehsil Rojhan.

          Although the species of the partridges are vanishing fast yet they are still found in sizeable number in the Pachad area lying close to the foot of the Sulaiman Range. Partridges of grey colour are found in greater numbers than the black colour partridges which are becoming rare species. The ‘Reikh’ traots of the Pachad area is known for its falcons.

RIVERS:

The Indus is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South Asia. The total length of Indus River is 3,180 km. It covers 180 km in District Rajanpur and then enters the Sindh Province. The Indus River which lies on the East of the district Rajanpur begins to rise in May when the snow melts in the Himalayas and gradually swells, filling its bed and attains a breadth of 15 to 20 kilometers during summer. It flows high till the end of the August and then begins to subside, reaching its cold weather level at the end of the September.

Being closed to the river bed, the eastern part of the district (Kacha Zone) is frequently hit by flooding from the Indus River due to heavy monsoon rains in July / August and snow melt in the Himalayas. This riverine flooding inundates a large part of the low lying areas along the river belt in all three Tehsils (sub districts), namely Jampur, Rajanpur and Rojhan.