Sindh-Tando Mohammad Khan

Brief History of Tando Muhammad Khan district

The district was part of Hyderabad district till 2005, when the existing tehsil—Tando Muhammad Khan—was designated as a district by the Chief Minister of Sindh, Mr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim. The history of the district, thus, is the same as the history of Hyderabad, and has been recounted in the relevant chapter.

1. W. Huges, in the Sindh Province Gazetteer, shows that

The town of Tando Muhammad Khan was founded about eight years after commencement of Mir Fateh Ali Khan’s rule [1783] by Mir Muhammad Khan Talpur Shahwani. Soon after this event the lands around the town came into his possession as “Jagir.” Mir Muhammad Khan died in 1813 and was succeeded by his son Mir Karam Khan, and he again by Mir Ghulam Shah, who was killed in the battle about the time British took Sindh (1843). (p. 836)

The town became a municipality in 1856. Before the British conquest of Sindh, the town of Tando Muhammad Khan was made the headquarters/ capital of Guni Taluka, once it was founded and developed by Mir Muhammad Khan Talpur. Mir Ghulam Ali Khan Talpur (1909-1963) continued to develop the town’s infrastructure, and not only did he establish educational institutions for the provision of quality education, he also personally helped provide social services in the area. His grave is in Tando Muhammad Khan.

The name and boundary of Guni Taluka remained untouched till 1955 when the Bill for One Unit Policy was passed by the Pakistan National Assembly. This bill merged the four provinces and all districts of West Pakistan into one province which was called West Pakistan, with its capital at Lahore. In 1970, the province of West Pakistan was dissolved by the President and Chief Martial Law Administrator, Yahya Khan, and four new provinces were created, along with some changes in Pakistani Kashmir. At the time of the restoration of Sindh province, the name of Guni Taluka was changed to Tando Muhammad Khan Taluka because the town Tando Mohammad Khan was the headquarters.

Governmental Structure;Tando Muhammad Khan district

At the Federal level, Tando Muhammad Khan district is allocated a set number of representatives in both the National Assembly and the Provincial Assembly:

• Number of seats in the National Assembly 2
• Number of seats in the Provincial Assembly 2

The district has one Municipal Committee:

• Tando Muhammad Khan

It has 2 Town Committees:

• Bulri Shah Karim
• Tando Ghulam Hyder

Administrative Divisions;Tando Muhammad Khan district

There are 3 Talukas of Tando Muhammad Khan district as follows:

Tando Muhammad Khan	6 Union Councils
Tando Ghulan Haider	4 Union Councils
Bulri Shah Karim	6 Union Councils

Table 1.2 TMK Administrative Divisions

Heritage Buildings/Recreational Areas;Tando Muhammad Khan district

A Buddhist Stupa (Guja) or Sudheranjo-Dar, located a few miles from Tando Muhammad Khan Town is a Protected Heritage Area under the Government of Pakistan’s laws. A square plan of the plinth, or the heavy base of the stupa, as well as the steep hard core of the superstructure have survived. The curved bricks used in the structure help date it to the Gupta era.

Topography; Tando Muhammad Khan District (TMK)

Tando Muhammad Khan district is part of the lower Indus plain formed by the alluvial deposits of the Indus River. The district is situated at the foot of Ganjo Takkar Hills Range that runs nearly due South, parallel to the Indus for about 22.5 km (14 miles). The hills have an elevation of just 31 meters (100 feet). Fuller’s earth[1] is mined in these hills. There are 2 small hillocks on the North of Tando Muhammad Khan town, called Budhaka Takkar. The rest of the district is fertile plain with an elevation of about 11 meters above sea level.

Rivers, Streams, and Lakes; Tando Muhammad Khan District (TMK)

The River Indus flows through the district, in the Northwest. There are a few intermittent streams that flow during rainy season; these[2] include Dhadhko Wah, Mulchand Wah, Sapa Wah, and Mir Wah. There are a few small dhands/ lakes in the district. These include Chhari dhand, and Kulab lake/dhand.

Forests; Tando Muhammad Khan District (TMK)

Tando Muhammad Khan district is a forest deficient area. Total forest cover in the district was 620 HA up until 2011. There were 2 important forests, the Mula Katiar Reserved Forest (381 HA) and the Budhka Reserved Forest (598 HA). These forests have since been encroached upon, and converted into agricultural land.

Soils; Tando Muhammad Khan District (TMK)

The soils of the district mainly consist of loamy and clayey soils of older river plains and are very fertile.

Climate; Tando Muhammad Khan District (TMK)

The climate of Tando Mohammad Khan district is moderate. However, the summer months—April, May, and June—are very hot during the day. The mean minimum and maximum temperatures during this period are 25 °C and 45 °C respectively. December and January are the coldest months, with maximum and minimum temperatures of 30 °C and 10 °C respectively. The temperature falls abruptly at night. The climate is tempered by the West and South winds, which blow for 8 months, from March to October, making the hot weather tolerable. The autumn season starts in September and lasts for about 2 months. The maximum recorded humidity at Tando Mohammad Khan is 55%. Rainfall is highly erratic, with an annual average of 130 mm. The Monsoon dominates from July to September.

Seismic Activity/Seismicity; Tando Muhammad Khan District (TMK)

The district falls under Zone 2 A of the Pakistan Seismic Zone Map which means that there will be moderate to low damage by earthquakes.

[1] Imperial Gazetteer of India, v.13 p.317

[2] From travelingluck.com

Population; Tando Muhammad Khan District (TMK)

The following table shows the population figures for the district as per the 2017 census:

District/Taluka	Area km2	Population	Male%	Female%	Urban %	Growth Rate %
TMK District	1,554	677,228	51.7	48.3	21	2.3
TMK Taluka	311	255,662
Bulri Shah Karim	770	236,913
Tando Ghulam Haider	490	184,653

Table 1.3 TMK Population Statistics

Religions; TMK district[1]

Muslims	80.9%
Christians	0.3%
Hindus	17.6%
Qadianis	0.1%
Scheduled Castes	0.9%
Others	0.1%

Table 1.4 TMK Religions

Languages; TMK District[2]

Urdu	2.8%
Punjabi	2.3%
Sindhi	91.5%
Pushto	0.9%
Balochi	0.1%
Seraiki	0.7%
Others[3]	2.3%

Table 1.5 TMK Languages

[1] 1998 Census; 2017 Census Data has not been made public yet.

[2] 1998 Census; 2017 Census Data has not been made public yet.

[3] This includes Brahvi also

Economic Activity – Economic Infrastructure

Economic Activity; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The major economic activities[1] of the district are:

• Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (47.9%)
• Construction (14.5%)
• Wholesale, Retail, Hotels/Restaurants (18.8%)
• Community, Social & Personal Services (18.8%)

Land Use; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The following table shows the main land use statistics of the district as per Sindh Development Statistics 2017-18:

Land Use	Area	Land Use	Area
Total Area	195,000 HA	Reported Area	195,000 HA
Cultivated Area	144,000 HA	Current Fallows	94,000 HA
Net Area Sown	50,000 HA	Culturable Waste	24,000 HA
Forest Area	– HA

Table 1.6 TMK Land Use Statistics

Irrigation Network; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Tando Muhammad Khan district is irrigated by canals off-taking from Sukkur and Kotri Barrages. The Phulleli canal, Akram Wah, Pinyari Canal and Guni Wah are the main canals supplying water for irrigation as well as for domestic and other uses. In addition, there are 296 wells and tube wells in the district. The following table shows the mode of irrigation and area irrigated by each mode as per Sindh Development Statistics 2017-18:

Mode of Irrigation	Area	Mode of Irrigation	Area
Irrigated Area	30,780 HA	Un-Irrigated Area	19,223 HA
Canal Irrigated	21,132 HA	Well Irrigated	– HA
Tube Well Irrigated	9,648 HA

Table 1.10 TMK Irrigation Statistics

Agriculture; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Nearly 70% of the rural population of the district is employed in agriculture and its allied livestock breeding as its main occupation. Main crops are cotton, rice, sugarcane, jowar, bajra, maize, wheat, barley, gram, rapeseed & mustard, moong, masoor, arhar, and maash.

The vegetables produced in the district are onions, peas, okra, tinda, brinjal, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, pumpkin, melon pumpkin, luffa, cucumber, long melon, purslane, beans, field vetch, arum, lotus roots, turnip, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, sweet potatoes, radish, garden peas, fenugreek, lettuce, chilies, garlic, coriander, ajwain, and fennel.

The fruits produced in the district are bananas, chikoo, guava, jaamun, mango, musk melon, papaya, citrus, ber, and mulberry.

Livestock Breeding; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Livestock breeding contributes roughly one-third to the total share of agricultural production.

There is a large Red Sindhi cattle breeding farm in the district, which is managed by the Animal Husbandry Department of the Government of Sindh. Red Sindhi cattle is indigenous to the North and northwestern parts of Karachi and Hyderabad, including Kohistan area (Sindh province) and Lasbella district in Baluchistan province.

Red Sindhi cow, cross-breed cattle, kundi buffalo, kamori goat, barbary goat, and thorough bred horses are native breeds of the district, as they are of Sindh. The following table shows the livestock statistics[2] for the district:

Cattle	57,000 Heads	Buffaloes	158,000 Heads	Sheep	24,000 Heads
Goats	136,000 Heads	Camels	2,000 Heads	Asses	8,000 Heads
Horses	– Heads	Mules	– Heads

Table 1.7 TMK Livestock Statistics

Poultry Farms; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Most farmers keep a few head of poultry for their eggs and meat. Most of the poultry farms are located in the urban areas of the district. There are 159 poultry farms[3] in the district.

Fishing; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Inland fishing is carried out in River Indus and the water canals of Tando Muhammad Khan district. A large number of both full-time and part-time fishermen engage in this activity in the district.

Bee Keeping/Api Culture; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Honey-bee keeping was introduced in Pakistan in the 1980s, when IUCN and UNDP introduced apiculture in the coastal villages of Sindh, especially in Badin and Thatta. This project aims to protect the mangroves of the districts.

Minerals and Mining; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The district has 110 oil and gas wells which are producing oil and gas for the country. Coal has been discovered near Bulri Shah Karim Taluka and Mullakatiar Union Council. Fuller’s earth, limestone, and alum are also mined in the district.

Industry and Manufacture; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Tando Muhammad Khan is primarily an agro-based district and thus, its industrial base is dependent on its agricultural production. This district has established industries, the raw material for which is provided by the agriculture sector. Tando Mohammad Khan is the second largest producer of Ajrak (a special Sindhi hand block-printed fabric mostly used as a shawl) in Pakistan and a small scale Ajrak manufacturing industry is well-established in this district. Sugar mills, flour mills, and rice mills as well as factories producing detergents are also operating in this district.

The following table shows the major industries and number of units[4] located in various areas of the district:

Flour Mills,	18 Units
Sugar Mills,	5 Units
Rice Mills,	20 Units
Ice Factories,	8 Units
Cotton Ginning	1 Unit
Ajrak	80 Units

Table 1.8 TMK Industrial Units

According to the official website of National Vocational & Technical Training Commission there are 2 sugar mills, 1 polymer packaging mill, 1 Distillery, and 1 cotton ginning mill in the industry[5].

Handicrafts; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The district offers unique handicrafts such as handmade carpets, and Ajraks. In addition to being the second largest producer of Ajraks, Tando Muhammad Khan is a leading producer of Soosi cotton cloth. Mats, baskets, and other crafts made of reeds and bamboo, clay, terracotta, and ceramics work are also produced in the district.

Figure 1.3 Ajrak Making in TMK district

 

Economic Infrastructure; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Roads link Tando Muhammad Khan district with its Taluka headquarters and other parts of the country, and are the most important mode of communication. The district is linked with other parts of Pakistan via railway.

Road Statistics; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The road list issued by Sindh Government in 2009 does not contain data about the roads in Tando Mohammad Khan district, but the Sindh Development Statistics 2017-18 reports the statistics of the roads in the district as follows:

High Type Roads	408 km
Low Type Roads	– km

Table 1.9 TMK Road Statistics

Some of the important roads of the district are:

• Tando Muhammad Khan‒Mirpur Bathelo Road
• Hyderabad‒Badin Road
• Tando Allahyar‒Tando Muhammad Khan Road
• Tando Muhammad Khan‒Matli Road
• Roads to Tando Allahyar, Matli, Bulri, and Sujawal

Railways and Airways; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The district is linked with Hyderabad and Karachi through a railway line. There is a railway station at Tando Muhammad Khan town, called Tando Muhammad Khan Railway Station.

Radio and Television; Tando Muhammad Khan District

TV can be viewed through boosters and cable, and there is a radio channel called Indus FM in the district.

Telecommunications; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Internet is available in all Talukas of the district. Telephone connections are also available; there are 3,181 telephone connections[1] in the district. There are 139 public call offices and nearly all the major cellular companies operate in the district.

Post Offices/ Courier Services; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Hyderabad GPO is responsible for distributing mail in Tando Muhammad Khan district. There is a main post office in each Taluka of the district and branch offices in other areas.

Banking/ Financial Institutions; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Banks that have their branches in the district include[2]:

• National Bank of Pakistan
• United Bank Ltd.
• Habib Bank Ltd.
• Allied Bank Ltd.
• Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd.

In all there are 18 branches of conventional banks and 1 branch of Islamic bank in the District.

Electricity and Gas; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Tando Muhammad Khan district gets its electricity through the grid stations and transmission lines provided by Hyderabad Electricity Supply Corporation which is a subsidiary of WAPDA and is responsible for supplying electricity. There are 2 grid stations in the district each with capacity of 132 KV.

Educational Institutions; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The following table shows the number of educational institutions in the district as per Sindh Development Statistics 2017-18:

Institution	Boys/Girls	Institution	Boys/Girls
Primary Schools	841/97	Middle Schools	27/07
High Schools	28/12	Higher Secondary Schools	-/-
Colleges	01/01	Technical Institutions	01/-
Commercial Training	-/-	Vocational Training	-/01
Medical Colleges[3]	01	Engineering Colleges	–

Table 1.11 TMK Education Institutes

In addition, there are nearly 21 private schools and 4 private colleges[4] in Tando Muhammad Khan district.

Healthcare Facilities; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The following table shows the Government Health Care Institutions in Tando Muhammad Khan district as per Health Profile Sindh District 2017-18:

Institution	No./Beds	Institution	No./Beds
Government Hospitals	01/30	Dispensaries	06/-
Rural Health Centers	03/34	Basic Health Units	15/32
T B Clinics	03/-	Mother Child Health Centers	-/-
Private Hospitals	03/100	Private TB Clinics	-/-
Private Dispensaries	11/-	Private MCHC	01/-

Table 1.12 TMK Health Care Institutes

In addition, there is a Unani Shifa Khana[5] in the district.

Policing; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The Provincial Police Officer (PPO) Sindh is responsible for policing the entire province of Sindh. This PPO is assisted by 6 Additional Inspector General (AIG) Police. The AIG Police Hyderabad Division is in charge of Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Badin, and Nawabshah districts. The District Police Officer Tando Muhammad Khan is responsible for policing of the district. There are 3 police stations[6] in the main towns of the district.

Figure 1.4 A Mosque near Tando Muhammad Khan

Figure 1.5 A Monument in Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur Public Park

Figure 1.6 TMK Sugar Mill

Figure 1.7 TMK‒Matli Road

Figure 1.8 Shiv Mandir TMK

[1] Data retrieved from TMK District Government official website.

[2] List of Reporting Bank Branches 2019, State Bank of Pakistan.

[3] Indus Medical College (Privately owned)

[4] TMK District Government Site

[5] Herbal Medicines are used for treatment.

[6] Tando Muhammad khan District Development Profile by District Government of TM Khan

[1] This includes data for Tando Allahyar, Matiari, and Tando M Khan Districts also, from 1998 Census; 2017 Census Data has not been made public yet.

[2] 2006 Livestock Census as recorded in Sindh Development Statistics 2017-18

[3] Table 17 Number of Commercial Poultry Farms and Number of Birds by Size of Flock

[4] A Profile of TMK by USAID (Pakistan Emergency Situation Analysis) Feb. 2013

[5] http://www.skillingpakistan.org/employer/province/9/district/64 retrieved July 2010.

Environment and Biodiversity; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Tando Muhammad Khan is an agro-industrial district. In urban areas, ambient air quality, supply of contaminated water, unsafe disposal of municipal waste and solid waste, unsafe disposal of infectious hospital waste, and congested houses have created severe environmental degradation.

Flora and Fauna; Tando Muhammad Khan District

The district belongs to the Irrigated Agro-Ecological Zone of Pakistan. The type of soil (sandy, loamy, water logged or saline), and the amount of moisture available mainly governs the vegetation species. Mostly, both sides of the roads are covered with thick vegetation which fulfills its water requirements from the seepage of farmlands, agricultural fields, and canals of the irrigation water network. Sweet water is available in the ground, which supports a large variety of vegetation.

Flora

The flora of the district includes[1] babul or gum Arabica (Acacia nilotica), Indian walnut or white sirin (Albizia procera), neem or ash-leaved bead tree (Azadirachta indica), amaltas or pudding pipe tree (Cassia fistula), Ethiopian teak or kono (Conocarpus lancifolius), shisham or tale (Dalbergia sisso), red gum or sufaida (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Indian fig or banyan (Ficus benghalensis), jungle jalebi (Pithecellobium dulce), silk cotton tree or simal (Salmalia malabarica), Egyptian pea or jantar/jinjerh (Sesbania aegyptiaca), arjuna or white marudah (Terminalia arjuna), tulip tree or parus peepal (Thespesia populnea), kandi or jand (Prosopis spicegera), devi or mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), karir or capparis (Capparis aphylla), ber (Zizyphus mauritiana), kikri or baveri (Acacia jacquemontii), khabar or peelu/ toothbrush tree (Salvadora oleoides), athel pine or frash (Tamarix aphylla), lai or salt cedar (Tamarix dioica), desert tamarisk (Tamarix articulate), and gum Arabic (Acacia senegal).

Shrubs and herbs of the district include phog (Calligonum palygonides), buh or kapok bush (Aerva tomentosa), munj or wild sugarcane (Saccahrum spontaneum), kanderi or katel/thorny nightshade (Solanum xanthocarpum) and kandero or camel thorn (Alhagi maurorum).

Various grasses growing in the district are gum or desert bunch grass (Panicum antidotate), khavi or jawarancusa grass (Chrysopogon jawarancusa), and dhub or halfa grass (Desmostachya bipinnata).

Ornamental flowers found in farms, gardens and elsewhere in the area are rose (Rosa damascena), jasmine (Jasminum officinale), and tuberose (Polianthes tuberose).

Fauna

Separate data for fauna of Tando Muhammad Khan is not available. At present, since there are no forests, and due to high population growth rate, the wildlife of the district is nearly non-existent. Jackals and foxes are seen in the dry rangelands. Birds of the area include black and grey partridges, buft-backed heron, Indian reef heron, Mongolian sand plover, little brown dove, cuckoo, Indian scoops owl, and Indian great-horned owl. Reptilian fauna includes Indian monitor, agama and garden lizard, cobra, and viper.

Protected Areas ; Tando Muhammad Khan District

There are no wildlife protected areas in the district.

Picnic Spots/ Recreational Areas; Tando Muhammad Khan District

Following are some areas of interest[2] in the Tando Muhammad Khan district:

• Shrine of Hazrat Shah Abdul Karim Bulri Waro
• Shahjehan Mosque, Sehrani, Taluka Bulri Shah Karim
• Sudhorol Jo Thul near Mulla Katiyar, Taluka Bulri Shah Karim
• Mir Ghulam Ali Khan Talpur Municipal Park, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Dhandi Mosque, UC Janhan Soomro
• Grave of Sheikh Mamo, UC Janhan Soomro
• Maqbara Mir Muhammad Khan
• Birthplace of Birbal, Tando Ghulam Hyder
• Red Sindhi Cattle Farm, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Nukerji Farm, Deenpur, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Ganjo Takkar Hill, Saeed Pur, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Hanuman Mandir and Shiv Mandir, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur Public Park, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Shah Latif Public Park
• Aslam Park

Shrines/ Dargahs in Tando Muhammad Khan[3]

• Dargah Sheikh Bhrakio Achari, UC Sheikh Bhrakio
• Dargah Mian Muhammad Ishaque Mullakatiar, Taluka Bulri Shah Karim
• Dargah Shah Abdul Fatah Shah, Taluka Tando Muhammad Khan
• Dargah Hyder Shah Bukhari, UC Lakhat, Tando Muhammad Khan Taluka
• Dargah Dullah Shah, Jural Shah, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Dargah Subhago Faqeer at Behrani Muhalla, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Dargah Sheikh Fareed at UC Lakhat, Tando Muhammad Khan
• Dargah Burhan Shah, Taluka Tando Muhammad Khan
• Dargah Jeya Shah, UC Saeed Matto, Bulri Shah Karim
• Dargah Paryal Shah, UC Saeed Matto, Bulri Shah Karim
• Dargah Noh Sarwar, Tando Ghulam Hyder
• Dargah Jumman Shah, Taluka Tando Muhammad Khan
• Dargah Malook Shah, Tando Muhammad Khan Taluka
• Dargah Sain Ibrahim Shah, Tando Muhammad Khan Taluka

[1] Environmental Assessment/ Environmental Management Plan for Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement Project (SIAPEP), by M/S Country Survey & Mapping Services and Fincon Services Inc.

[2] Development Profile TMK District by TMK Government

[3] Development Profile TMK District by TMK Government