Mansa district, Punjab

Geography

The district is roughly triangular in shape, and is bounded on the northwest by Bathinda district, on the northeast by Sangrur district, and on the south by Haryana state. It is situated on the Bathinda-Jind-Delhi railway and the Barnala-Sardulgarh-Sirsa road. The district is divided into three tehsils, Budhlada, Mansa, and Sardulgarh. The Ghaggar River flows through the Sardulgarh tehsil in the southwestern corner of the district.

Punjabi is the mother tongue as well as the official language of the district.

History

Mansa District was formerly a part of Phulkia Sikh Dynasty (1722–1948) then part of Kaithal Sikh Kingdom (1762–1857). The present district was formed on 13 April 1992 from the erstwhile Bathinda district. The town is said to have been founded by Bhai Gurdas who hailed from Dhingar, Distt. Mansa. He is said to have been married at this place among the Dhaliwal Jat Sikh. Once he came to his in-laws to take his wife along with him but they refused to send her. At this, Bhai Gurdas sat in meditation before the house of his in-laws. After some time, the parents of the girl agreed to send their daughter with Bhai Gurdas. But he refused to take her along with him, stating that he had now renounced the worldly way of life. In his memory, his Smadh was constructed where a fair is held every year in March–April. People in large numbers attend the fair and offer Laddus and Gur at Smadh. Class ‘A’municipality has been functioning in the town since 1952.The town has two Colleges, viz. Govt. Nehru Memorial Post Graduate College and S.D. Kanya Mahavidyala College, 3 Senior Secondary School, 90 High School, 1 Middle School and 1 Primary School and one Distt. Library and has one civil hospital, 3 dispensaries and 1 Ayurvedic and 1 Homeopathic dispensary. There are two police stations i.e. PS City and PS Sadar and also a railway station.

Ancient period

The ancient history of the Mansa district has been traced to the Indus Valley civilization. The archaeological finds at different villages of Mansa district are almost similar to those of Harappa and Mohanjodaro. It is divided into three parts Pre-Harappa, Harappa and Late Harappa.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Mansa district has a population of 7,68,808, roughly equal to the US state of Alaska. This gives it a ranking of 489th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 350 inhabitants per square kilometre (910/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 11.62%. Mansa has a sex ratio of 880 females for every 1000 males and a literacy rate of 62.8%.

Agriculture and industry

Mansa is situated in the cotton belt of Punjab and therefore popularly called the "Area of white gold". Indeed, agriculture forms the backbone of the district economy.

Mansa is home to the largest Thermal Power Plant of Punjab.The Thermal Power Plant has a capacity to produce 1980MW of electricity

Industrially, the district is very deficient, yet some trade and industry is being carried out in urban areas.

BARETA

It is situated on Bathinda-Delhi railway line. It is cleanest city in Mansa district.

Budhlada

Budhlada was named after the two brothers, Budha and Ladha, who were khatri by caste. It is also situated on Bathinda-Delhi railway line. It was the largest market of Eastern Punjab and a very big recruitment centre for military personnel.

Notable people

London Olympics was the maiden Olympics appearance for the Jharkhand National Games gold medallist.