pakistan geographical review 1954 - University of the Punjab

estimates of the Forest Department, Kandi occupies 40% of the total area while
Babul and Lai and Bhan cover 30%. Wherever in the area the forests have
been cleared this tract of plain land, which is loamy and fertile, productive
and rich in vegetation and which is being irrigated with the help of canals,
has been converted into good arable land. In the area besides the usual crops,
in many neighbouring villages of the town grow vegetables in common use such
as cabbages, cauliflower, turnips, green peas, onion, garlick, root vegetables
and other greens. In the neighbourhood of the town fruit gardens are found
almost everywhere. Mangoes, lime, berries are the common fruits of the area.
Date palms flourish at Sukkur and Rohri along the banks of the river.
HISTORICAL GROWTH OF THE TOWN
Historical evidence regarding the origin and early settlement of Sukkur
is lost in obscurity yet its past history is very closely connected with other
ruins of the area, which now form a part of Sukkur and its environs. Aror, a
ruin nearly 3! miles to the south east of the town of Rohri, was the first
historical town of the area, and used to serve the purpose of a capital of a
Hindu Raja. After the desertion of Aror, the population appears to have
migrated to Bukkur and Rohri. As the island of Bukkur has its own military
and stratigic importance, it has ~rved as an importanJ:. station in both Hindu
and Arab days. It seems probable that after the ruining of Aror, Bukkur was
selected as capital and it was fortified. Simultaneously with the fortification
of the island, the small village might have grown up as an annexe to the Bukkur
fort, and the miscellaneous population may have been asked to sett le there
under the royal protection and patronage. For this reason the small village
did not attract the notice of historians. The old village of Sukkur lies about
a mile away from the island on rocky ground where there is no fear of any flood.
In the neighbourhood of the island, the river flows slightly higher than ~he actual
ground level, and as there was no 'bund' to protect the area from the flood
waters of the river, people naturally selected the higher spot, for erecting
a village.
In
1839, the town of Sukkur was captured by the British forces and was
used as a base. In 1842, the town was made over to the British Government
in perpetuity. A description of Sukkur in those days has been given by
Rev. T.N. Allen, who found that the rocky portion of the area was surmounted
by officers' houses which were flat roofed and were built of sun-dried bricks.
In the centre stood the dome of a tomb. The best buildings were the shops