Great Rann of Kutch

Rann of Kutch on the top left in turquoise colour. The Gulf of Kutch is further down below the Kutch region. Image:NASA Earth Observatory
Map of Gujarat showing the Greater Rann of Kutch and Little Rann of Kutch

The Great Rann of Kutch[1] also called Greater Rann of Kutch[2] or just Rann of Kutch, is a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India and the Sindh province of Pakistan.

The name "Rann" comes from the Hindi word ran (रण) meaning "salt marsh". The Hindi word is derived from Sanskrit/Vedic word iriṇa (इरिण) attested in the Rigveda and Mahābhārata.

Contents

Location and description

The Great Rann of Kutch, along with the Little Rann of Kutch and the Banni grasslands on its southern edge, is situated in the district of Kutch and comprises some 30,000 square kilometres (10,000 sq mi) between the Gulf of Kutch and the mouth of the Indus River in southern Pakistan. The marsh can be accessed from the village of Kharaghoda in Surendranagar District.

In India's summer monsoon, the flat desert of salty clay and mudflats, averaging 15 meters above sea level, fills with standing waters, interspersed with sandy islets of thorny scrub, breeding grounds for some of the largest flocks of Greater and Lesser Flamingoes, and is a wildlife sanctuary [7]. At its greatest extent, the Gulf of Kutch on the west and the Gulf of Cambay on the east are both united during the monsoon.

During the flooding wildlife including the Indian Wild Ass shelters on islands of higher ground called bets.

The area was a vast shallows of the Arabian Sea until continuing geological uplift closed off the connection with the sea, creating a vast lake that was still navigable during the time of Alexander the Great. The Ghaggar River, which presently empties into the desert of northern Rajasthan, formerly emptied into the Rann of Kutch, but the lower reaches of the river dried up as its upstream tributaries were captured by the Indus and Ganges thousands of years ago. Traces of the delta and its distributary channels on the northern boundary of the Rann of Kutch were documented by the Geological Survey of India in 2000.

The Luni River, which originates in Rajasthan, drains into the desert in the northeast corner of the Rann and other rivers fedding into the marsh include the Rupen from the east and the West Banas River from the northeast.

This is one of the hottest areas of India.

Flora

The plant life of the marsh consists of grasses such as Apluda and Cenchrus species along with dry thorny shrubs.

Wildlife

The Rann of Kutch is the only place in Pakistan and India where flamingoes come to breed. There are 13 species of lark in the Rann of Kutch. The Little Rann of Kutch is famous for the Indian Wild Ass sanctuary, where the worlds last population of Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur or khar) still exists. Other mammals of the area include the Indian Wolf (Canis indica), Desert Fox (Vulpes vulpes pusilla), Golden Jackal (Canis aureus), Chinkara (Gazella bennettii), Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), and the threatened Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra).

The marshes are also a resting site for migratory birds, and are home to over 200 species of bird including the threatened Lesser Florican (Eupodotis indica) and Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata).

Threats and preservation

Although most of the marsh is in protected areas the habitats are vulnerable to cattle grazing, firewood collection and salt extraction operations, all of which may involve driving road vehicles and this disturbing wildlife. There are several wildlife sanctuaries and protected reserves on the Indian side in the Rann of Kutch region. From the city of Bhuj various ecologically rich and wildlife conservation areas of the Kutch/Kachchh district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve, etc.

On the Pakistani side in the Sindh province the Pakistani Government has created the Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary.

Indo-Pakistan international border

In India the northern boundary of the Greater Rann of Kutch forms the International Border between India and Pakistan, it is heavily patrolled by Border Security Force (BSF) and Indian Army conducts exercises here to acclimatize its troops to this harsh terrain.[2][1]

This inhospitable salty lowland, rich in natural gas is part of India and Pakistan's ongoing border dispute concerning Sir Creek. In April 1965, a dispute there contributed to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, when fighting broke out between India and Pakistan. Later the same year, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Wilson successfully persuaded both countries to end hostilities and set up a tribunal to resolve the dispute. A verdict was reached in 1968 which saw Pakistan getting 10% of its claim of 9,100 square kilometres (3,500 sq mi). The majority of the area thus remained with India. Tensions spurted again in 1999 during the Atlantique Incident.

Chir Batti

In dark nights an unexplained strange dancing light phenomena known locally as Chir Batti (ghost lights) is known to occur here in the Rann[3] and in the adjoining Banni grasslands and its seasonal marshy wetlands[4].

In popular culture

J. P. Dutta's Bollywood film Refugee is shot on location in the Great Rann of Kutch and other locations in the Kutch district of Gujarat, India. This film is attributed to have been inspired by the famous story by Keki N. Daruwalla based around the Great Rann of Kutch titled "Love Across the Salt Desert"[5] which is also included as one of the short stories in the School Standard XII syllabus English text book of NCERT in India[6]. The film crew having traveled from Mumbai was based at the city of Bhuj and majority of the film shooting took place in various locations around in the Kutch District of the Indian state of Gujarat including the Great Rann of Kutch (also on BSF controlled "snow white" Rann within), Villages and Border Security Force (BSF) Posts in Banni grasslands and the Rann, Tera fort village, Lakhpat fort village, Khera fort village, a village in southern Kutch, some ancient temples of Kutch and with parts and a song filmed on set in Mumbai's Kamalistan Studio.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fighting for the Great Rann - It's a desolate, barren tract of land, but the armed forces guard it with a fierceness that inspires nothing short of awe. By Gaurav Raghuvanshi; Feb 25, 2005; Business Line; Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Far from the focus - Villages along the India-Pakistan border face official neglect and inadequate assistance. By PRAVEEN SWAMI in Bhuj; Volume 18 - Issue 04, Feb. 17 - Mar. 02, 2001; Frontline Magazine; India's National Magazine from the publishers of THE HINDU
  3. ↑ Stark beauty (Rann of Kutch); Bharati Motwani; September 23, 2008; India Today Magazine, Cached: Page 2 of 3 page article with these search terms highlighted: cheer batti ghost lights rann kutch[1], Cached: Complete View - 3 page article seen as a single page [2]
  4. ↑ Ghost lights that dance on Banni grasslands when it’s very dark; by D V Maheshwari; August 28, 2007; The Indian Express Newspaper
  5. ↑ Love Across the Salt Desert; by Keki N. Daruwalla. Pdf of full story posted at Boston University at [3]. Bollywood connection - J. P. Dutta's "Refugee" is said to be inspired by this story; learnhub, University of Dundee
  6. ↑ (iii) Supplementary Reader; Selected Pieces of General English for Class XII; English General - Class XII; Curriculum and Syllabus for Classes XI & XII; NCERT. Also posted at [4] / [5], [6]

Encyclopædia Britannica  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

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