Sukkur (; ) is a city in the

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

i province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of

Rohri Rohri (Sindhi: روهڙي; ur, ) is a city of Sukkur District, Sindh province, Pakistan. It is located on the east bank of the Indus River, located directly across from Sukkur, the third largest city in Sindh. Rohri town is the administrative ...

. Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, and 14th largest city of Pakistan by population. New Sukkur was established during the British era alongside the village of Sukkur. Sukkur's hill, along with the hill on the river island of

Bukkur Bukkur Fort (Urdu, Sindhi: بکر) is an island located in Rohri, Sukkur District of Sindh province in Pakistan. Named Bukkur (Dawn) by Sayyid Muhammad Al-Makki in the seventh century of Hijri, this island is a limestone rock, oval in shape, long ...

, form what is sometimes considered the "Gate of Sindh".

Etymology

The name Sukkur may derive from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

word for "sugar," ''shakkar'', in reference to the sugarcane fields that have historically been abundant in the region. This may be an allusion to the relative prosperity of the region at the time. Others have suggested the name may derive from the word ''Suukh'', derived from a Sindhi word for "comfort."

History

The region around Sukkur has been inhabited for millennia. The ruins of

Lakhan-jo-daro Lakhan-jo-daro is an archeological site and one of the largest cities of the Indus Valley civilization. It is located within an industrial zone on the outskirts of the modern city of Sukkur and situated at the distance of mere 75 kilometers from ano ...

, located near an industrial park on the outskirts of Sukkur, date from the Mature Harappan period of the Indus Valley Civilization, between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE covers more than 300 Hectares of area and is touted to be second largest city of the Indus Valley Civilization just 75 Kilometers away from another major city of Indus Valley Civilization,

Mohenjo Daro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men'; "Old Sukkur" was initially a small village prior to the establishment of a military garrison in 1839. Sukkur was built on a low limestone ridge on the banks of the Indus River. The city was once surrounded by groves of date palms that were traditionally believed to have grown from the discarded date-pits from Arab invaders in the 8th century. Mir Masum's Minar and tomb 3

The village of Sukkur was directly across from the larger town of

, which served as a busy port along the Indus by the 1200s, and was a major trading centre for agricultural produce. An tall minaret was built at Sukkur's shrine of Mir

Masum Shah Mir Muhammad Masoom Shah Bakhri also known as Syed Nizamuddin Mir Muhammad Masoom Shah was a sixteenth-century Sindhi Muslim historian from Bakhar, Sindh (modern-day Pakistan). He is known for writing a history of Sindh, ''Tarikh i Sind'' (als ...

in 1607.

British

Modern Sukkur, or New Sukkur, was built during British rule alongside what was once a small village directly across from the historic city of

. The British established a military garrison here in 1839, which was abandoned in 1845, though Sukkur continued to grow in importance as a trading center. The Sukkur Municipality was constituted in 1862. Completed in 1889, Sukkur's Lansdowne Bridge connects the Sukkur to

across the Indus, and was one of the first bridges to cross the river. The bridge made the journey between

and

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...

easier. The bridge was built with two large pylons rather than a series of pillars extending across the river - a cutting-edge design for such an expansive span. The bridge was also made of metal, and features an unusual design.

Sukkur Barrage Sukkur Barrage ( sd, سکر بئراج, ur, ) is a barrage on the River Indus near the city of Sukkur in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The barrage was built during the British Raj from 1923 to 1932 and was named Lloyd Barrage. The Sukkur Ba ...

(formerly called Lloyd Barrage), built under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

on the Indus River, controls one of the largest irrigation systems in the world. It was designed by Sir Arnold Musto KCIE, and constructed under the overall direction of Sir Charlton Harrison between 1923 and 1932. The long barrage is made of yellow stone and steel and can water nearly 10 million acres (40,000 km²) of farmland through its seven large canals. On the eve of the

Partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

in 1947, Sukkur's old town was home to about 10,000 residents, while New Sukkur was home to 80,000.

Modern

After the formation of

most of the city's Hindu population migrated to India, though like much of Sindh, Sukkur did not experience the widespread rioting that occurred in Punjab and Bengal. According to the 1941 census, about 70% of the population of Sukkur was Hindu, this number decreased to 2% by the 1951 census as a result of the partition. However, less than 500 Hindus were killed in all of Sindh between 1947 and 1948 as Sindhi Muslims largely resisted calls to turn against their Hindu neighbours. Hindus did not flee Sukkur ''en masse'' until riots erupted in Karachi on 6 January 1948, which sowed fear in Sindh's Hindus despite the fact that the riots were local and related to Sikh refugees from Punjab seeking refuge in Karachi. Muslim refugees from India settled in Sukkur. The Sindh Industrial Trading Estate in Sukkur was established in 1950. The

Ayub Bridge Ayub Bridge ( Sindhi: ; ur, ), named after Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan ( President of Pakistan), is a railway bridge over the Indus river between Rohri and Sukkur in Sindh province, Pakistan. The bridge is about 806 feet long, 247 fee ...

was built in 1962, and spans the Indus River alongside the British-era Landsdowne Bridge. The city suffered major flooding during the

2010 Pakistan floods The floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and, Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's tot ...

which inundated large parts of the city.

Geography

The small

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

limestone outcropping upon which Sukkur was founded is the most significant land deformation on the vast plains along the Indus Valley in Sindh and Punjab. The outcropping is part of the "Jacobabad-Khairpur High" and

Rohri Hills The Rohri Hills in Upper Sindh, Pakistan are scarped rocks of limestone running southeast of Rohri between the Indus river in the west and the Nara river in the east. The hills are about long and wide. These hills are home to a large number of a ...

. The outcropping, along with the similar outcropping on Bukkar Island are sometimes referred to as the "Sukkur Gorge," and has historically served as the traditional northern boundary of Sindh.

Climate

Sukkur has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''BWh''), characterised by extremely hot and hazy summers with warm winters. Sukkur is known for its extremely hot summers, and was described as the hottest city in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Wind speed is low throughout the year, and sunshine is abundant. Summer temperatures regularly surpass . Dry heat is experienced starting April to early June until the

Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

season starts to arrive. Monsoons in Sukkur are not very wet, but bring high

dew point The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...

s, resulting in high heat indices. Monsoons recede by September, but it is not until late October that the short lived autumn season is experienced before the onset of the region's cool winters. The average annual rainfall of Sukkur is and mainly occurs in the monsoon season. The highest annual rainfall ever is , recorded in 1978 and the lowest annual rainfall ever is 0 mm in 1941.

Demography

Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after

and

. The population of Sukkur is 551,357 according to the

2017 Census of Pakistan The 2017 Census of Pakistan was a detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population which began on 15 March 2017 and ended on 25 May 2017. It was the first census taken in the country in the 21st century, nineteen years after the previous one in ...

. Around 70% of the population speaks Sindhi natively, while 20% of the population speaks Urdu natively. Roughly 96% of the city is Muslim, while the remaining 4% comprise other minorities, overwhelmingly Hindus.

Economy

Sukkur Skyline along the shores of the River Indus

Sukkur's economy is largely reliant upon the agricultural produce from northern Sindh's farms, and serves as a trading and processing center for agricultural goods. The city also once had a bustling shipbuilding industry. Sukkur is well-connected to the rest of Pakistan by road and rail, which in turn has attracted new industries such as chemical manufacturing, metalworking, and cement manufacturing.

Agriculture

Sukkur had a large fertile and cultivable land area. During ''kharif'', rice, bajra, cotton, tomatoes and peas are cultivated; whereas during ''rabi'' the main crops are wheat, barley, graham and melons. Sukkur is famous, world over, for its dates. Sukkur also has a large Riveraine forest along the course of the Indus. These tropical forests are found within the protective embankments on either side of the Indus. During 1997–98 the total area under forests was which yielded of timber and of firewood besides other mine products.

Transportation

Road

The city will be connected to

by M-5 motorway, with onwards motorway connections to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

, and

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

. Sukkur will also be connected to

by the M-6 motorway, with onwards connections to Karachi via the M-9 motorway. The M-5 and M-6 are being built as part of the wider China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Rail

Sukkur railway station serves as the city's main rail station. Passenger services are provided exclusively by

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger servi ...

. The city's station is serviced by the Jaffar Express that runs between Rawalpindi and

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...

, the Sukkur Express that runs between

and

Jacobabad Jacobabad ( ur, and sd, جيڪب آباد; formerly Khanger or Khangarh) is a city in Sindh, Pakistan, serving as both the capital city of Jacobabad District and the administrative center of Jacobabad Taluka, an administrative tehsil, subdi ...

, and the Akbar Express that runs between Quetta and

Air

Sukkur Airport, located 8 km outside of the city, is served by

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

, with direct flights to

, and

Administration

The city of Sukkur is the capital of

Sukkur Division Sukkur Division ( sd, سکر ڊويزن) is one of the seven administrative Divisions of the Sindh Province of Pakistan. This level of administration was abolished in 2000 but restored again on 11 July 2011. Sukkur is the divisional headquart ...

and

Sukkur District Sukkur District ( sd, سکر ضلعو, ur, ) is a district in Sindh Province in Pakistan. It is divided into 5 administrative townships (''tehsils'', also called "talukas"), namely: Sukkur City, New Sukkur, Rohri, Saleh Pat and Pano Aqil. Amon ...

. Sukkur District has four Tehsils (Talukas) and many Union Councils. Sukkur is home to one of three circuit benches of the

Sindh High Court The High Court of Sindh ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest Court of Appeal for Sindh in ...

Education

Sukkur IBA University - academic block I (2)

The

Sukkur IBA University The Sukkur IBA University (''previously'' Sukkur Institute of Business Administration or Sukkur IBA) is a higher education institute in Sukkur, Pakistan. It was founded in 1994 by Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui. University is a public sector degree-awar ...

(''previously'' Sukkur Institute of Business Administration or Sukkur IBA) is a business school founded in 1994. The institute is ranked 3rd among the five independent business schools of Pakistan included in the Higher Education Commission Pakistan Business School Ranking 2013. Begum Nusrat Bhutto Women University is the public sector University exclusively for women. Established on 50 Acre of land at the

Bypass

N-5 National Highway The N-5 or National Highway 5 (Urdu: ) is a 1819 km national highway in Pakistan, which extends from Karachi in Sindh to Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Route The N-5 is the longest national highway in Pakistan and serves as an importa ...

The

Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College ( غلام محمد مہر میڈیکل کالج) or GMMMC in short is the sixth public sector Medical college under the Government of Sindh where 100 meritorious students of tagged districts, including Su ...

is a constituent College of

Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) ( sd, شهيد محترمه بينظير ڀٽو ميڊيڪل يونيورسٽي), established on July 9, 2009, is a public university of medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and allied health ...

. The

Aror University of Art, Architecture, Design and Heritages The Aror University of Art, Architecture, Design and Heritage ( اروڑ يونيوؤسٹى آف آرٹ، آركيٹكچر، ڈيزائن اينڈ هيريٹج) established near Sukkur at Rohri bypass N-5 National Highway in the vicinity of anc ...

is established near Sukkur at

bypass

. The University will offer the graduate, postgraduate an advance studies in the field of architecture, textile design, photography, interior design, communication design, ceramics and other disciplines. Islamia Science College Sukkur was founded by the Syed Hasan Mian Advocate and he remained the Chief Patron of the College till his death, Syed Hasan Mian advocate with the help of Noble families of Sukkur founded 25 Schools and Vocational centers in Sukkur. He was the General Sec of All India Muslim League and close associate of Founder of Pakistan Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Notable people

* Mir Muhammad Masum Nami (d. 1606): Born to Shaikh-ul-Islam of

Bhakkar Bhakkar ( ur, ), is the principal city of Bhakkar District located in Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus River. It is the 86th largest city in Pakistan. Administration Bhakkar city is also the administrative centre of Bh ...

of that time. He authored ''Tarikh-i-Masumi'' (aka ''Tarikh-i-Sind''), a book on history of the Sindh province from the start of Muhammad Bin Qasim's arrival in Sindh to the beginning of 17th century. ''Mufradat-i-Nami'' was book written on medicine by him. He wrote a ''Diwan'' of poetry and versified the translation of legend of ''Sassi Pannu''. *

Hemu Kalani Hemu Kalani (, 23 March 1923 – 21 January 1943) was a revolutionary and freedom fighter during the Indian Independence Movement. He was a leader of Swaraj Sena, a student organisation which was affiliated with All India Students Federation (AIS ...

, martyr * Sardar

Ghulam Muhammad Khan Mahar Sardar Ghulam Muhammad Khan Mahar (Urdu: سردار غلام محمد خان مهر) was chief of the Mahar tribe, and a prominent politician and philanthropist of the Sukkur District. He was first elected as a member of National Assembly of Pak ...

* Syed Nasir Hussain Shah * Abdul Hafeez Pirzada * Syed Khurshid Shah, Leader of Opposition for National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018. * Islam Ud Din Shaikh, Member of Senate of Pakistan since March 2015. * Nouman Islam Shaikh, Member National Assembly of Pakistan, NA-207 (Sukkur-II), NA-198 (Sukkur-cum-Shikarpur-I). * Dr Sana Ramchand Gulwani, first female Hindu civil servant from Pakistan Administrative Service.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
Sukkur

Ghulam Muhammad Maher Medical College, Sukkur

ADB Report on Sukkur Barrage 2001

An Overview of the History and Impacts of the Water Issue in Pakistan

Pakistan Floods Situation Report, 26 July 2005
{{Authority control Metropolitan areas of Pakistan Populated places in Sukkur District