Usta Mohammad

Coordinates: 28°10′20″N 68°2′38″E / 28.17222°N 68.04389°E / 28.17222; 68.04389

Usta Mohammad is a city and sub-division of the District Jaffarabad of Balochistan Province, Pakistan. The subdivision has an area of 978 km² and had an estimated population 160,230 in 2008. The city has an area of 3.3 km² and an estimated population of 35,000.

People

More than 99% of the people of the district are Muslims. Major Baloch tribes in the district include Korai, Rind, Soomro, Kulachi, Lashari, Mahesar, Bohar, Lehri, Mastoi, Kumbhar, Abro, Nausherwani, Bohar, Siyal, umrani, Bhangar, Jamali, Khoso, Qaisrani, Mengal, Marri, denari rind, Jattak and Daya.

The Usta Mohammad sub‑division was a part of Sindh until recently. Usta Mohammad is named after death of namedMula Mohammad Khan UstoMohammad is Name and Usto is cast Maulvi Usta Mohammad.^[1] The sub-division center is the city of Usta Muhammad. Unions in the district are Ali Abad, Faiz Abad,Khan Pur, Mehrab Pur, Piral Abad, Qabula, Samaji, Sobarani-II, Usta Muhammad I, Usta Muhammad II, Usta Muhammad III.^[2]

Climate and economy

Usta Mohammad is in the Kachhi plain basin, with an average altitude of about 55 meters. Annual rainfall is only about 90mm, of which 60mm falls in Winter (November–May).^[3] Winters are cold, and summers are dry and extremely hot. The people of the district are poor, with inadequate access to medical supplies and facilities.^[4]

The area is sometimes subject to flooding, as happened in June 2007 after Cyclone Yemyin. The Kachhi Canal Project, started in 2002, is expected to have a significant impact in conserving floodwater and controlling water flows.^[5]

Crops include rice, wheat and sorghum. A survey in 2002 determine that the incidence of S. sorghi, the causal organism of grain smut of sorghum, reached 7% in Usta Mohammad.^[6] A recent survey of rice farmers in the district found that 33% were illiterate, 55% farmed from 12-40 acres of land, and 58.3% were tenant farmers.^[7] Some farms raise cattle, sheep and goats.^[8]

The city has an Agri-Development Institute^[9] and a Government Degree College.

Baba Kot incident

The city gained unwelcome attention when, on 13 July 2008, five women from the village of Baba Kot about 80 km away were kidnapped by armed men who objected to three of them wanting to marry men of their choice in defiance of the Umrani tribal elders. The women were about to leave Baba Kot for a civil court at Usta Mohammad. They were forced into a jeep, driven to a remote area, beaten and buried alive, according to the Asian Human Rights Commission.^[10][11]

References