INTRODUCTION OF JACOBABAD

Jacobabad is the capital city of Jacobabad District, Sindh, Pakistan. The city is also the administrative centre of Jacobabad Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district, the city is subdivided into 8 Union Councils.[1] Jacobabad is located at 28°16'37.32¨N 68°27'05.04¨E. The city is crossed by the Pakistan Railways and many main roads of the province. Jacobabad is said to be one of the hottest cities in Pakistan.

During British rule, as part of British India, the town was the administrative headquarters of the Upper Sind Frontier District of the Bombay Presidency; with a station on the Quetta branch of the North-Western Railway, 37 m. from the junction at Ruk, on the main line. It was famous for consistently having the highest temperature in the Sub-Continent. During the month of June the thermometer ranges between 120° and 127°F (49 to 53°C). The town was founded on the site of the village of Khangarh in 1847 by General John Jacob, for many years commandant of the Sind Horse, who died here in 1858. It has cantonments for a cavalry regiment, with accommodation for caravans from Central Asia. It is watered by two canals. An annual horse show is held in January. The town was founded near the village of Khangarh in 1847 by Brigadier General John Jacob, for many years Commandant of the Sindh Horse. Jacob who died and was buried there in 1858, and left a marvellous Victoria Tower in his remembrance in the heart of the city.

The commercial airport at Jacobabad, about 300 miles north of Karachi and 300 miles southeast of Kandahar, is located on the border between Sindh and Balochistan provinces. The Shahbaz Air Base is co-located with the commercial airport in Jacobabad. The Shahbaz Air Base was one of three Pakistani air bases used by U.S. and allied forces to support the Operation Enduring Freedom campaign in Afghanistan. Pakistan agreed to an American request for a long-term, logistics and support base presence at the Shahbaz Air Base in Jacobabad following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The US forces, mainly from the United States Air Force, were stationed there from Oct 2001 to Nov 2004.

An annual horse and cattle show is held in January. Jacobadad is highly multicultural, with ethnic and tribal groups including Dashti, Pechuho, Banglani, Sunderani, Unar, Abro, Soomro, Khoso, Bhayo, Mangrio, Surhio, Jakhrani, Marri, Gabol, Jarwar and Brohi. The area is predominantly Muslim with Hindu and Christian minorities.

History

The Jacobabad town was founded near the village of Khangarh in 1847 by General John Jacob, for many years commandant of the Sindh Horse. Jacob who died and was buried there in 1858, and left a marvellous Victoria Tower in his remembrance in the heart of the city. A book was also written on John Jacob of Jacobabad.

Area and Population

Jacobabad district shares northern border with Shikarpur and (recently constituted) Kashmore districts. Ghotki is located on the north-eastern side while Khairpur on the south. Jacobabad also shares its border with India (Jaisalmir, Rajasthan). Jacobabad is also connected by road air with all major cities of Pakistan. Jacobabad has a population of about 137,700 (1998 approx)

Industries

Industries include cotton ginning, silk and food processing, rice and flour milling, textile dyeing, metalworking, boatbuilding, tanning, tobacco processing, shad fishing, and the manufacture of chemicals, cement, candy, tiles, hosiery, and playing cards.

Jacobabad is the site of a technical school and of the Jacobabad Industrial Trading Estate, which supplies local products to factories.

Attractions

To the south is Jacobabad Barrage (about 1525 m/5000 ft long), one of the world's largest dams, built from 1923 to 1932. From it radiate seven canals, irrigating a region where wheat, rice, millet, and oilseeds are grown. The city was under British rule from 1842 to 1947.

Some other places of interests include Tomb of Shah khairuddin jillani GEA SHAH, Tomb of the Seven Maidens Sateen Jo Aastan, Tomb of Abdul Baqi Purani, Minaret of Masum Shah, Lansdowne Bridge, Shahi Bazaar, Frere Road, Ayub Gate, Looks Parak/Qasim Park, Purana Jacobabad (Old Jacobabad), Sheikh Shaheen Road Jacobabad.

Agriculture

Jacobabad had a large fertile and cultivable land till few decades ago, when the Indus river was not as barren as today. Now its agricultural productivity has much reduced. It could not achieve reasonable yield per unit area over time, on account of continuous shortage of water and ignorance of modern irrigation system.

Despite lack of water, during kharif, rice, bajra, cotton tomatoes and peas are cultivated whereas during rabi main crops are wheat, barley, gram and melons. Jacobabad is famous world over, for its delicious dates. Jacobabad also holds a large number of Riveraine forest on the course of Indus.

These tropical forests are found within the protective embankments on either side of Indus. During 1997-98 the total area under forests was 510 km² which yielded 55,000 cubic feet (1600 m³) of timber and 27000 cubic feet (760 m³) of firewood besides other miner products.