Kacchi Plain

The Kacchi Plains (Sindhi: ڪچي ميدان, Balochi: کَچِّ سَتَیْ زَمِیمْ), also known as Kach Gandava,[1] is a low-lying flat region in Balochistan, Pakistan separating the Bugti hills from those of Kalat, covering an area of 8,000 km2 (3,100 sq mi).[2][1] The addition of the latter "Gandava" is based on the name of the town of Gandava in the present-day Balochistan, Pakistan.

Kach Gandava is driven, like a wedge, into the frontier mountain system and extends for 150 miles from Jacobabad to Sibi, with nearly as great a breadth at its base on the Sindh frontier. The soil is fertile wherever it can be irrigated by the floods brought down from the surrounding hills; but much of the central portion is sandy waste.[1][3]

History

The Kachhi Plain is the home of the archeological site of Mehrgarh, one of the most important Neolithic sites in archaeology, in the Kachhi district of Pakistan.[4]

Until the end of the 15th century Kacchi had been part of Sindh. Around 1500, it was taken by Shah Beg of the Arghun dynasty from the Samma dynasty of Sindh. The territory was conquered by the Kalhora amirs of Sindh;[5] they were displaced by the Nadir Shah of Persia and awarded by him to the Kalat Khanate in 1740.[6][7] Kachhi was notified as a district in February 1965. At that time Naseerabad, Jhal Magsi, Jafarabad, Usta Muhammad and Sohbatpur districts were included; these were separated in 1987. Kacchi plains are also the site of Kacchi Canal Project.[8]

Geography

Plain

The Kacchi Plain is an arid plain with mountain ranges on three sides except to the southeast, located in:

Districts

Kachhi, Sibi, Nasirabad, Jafarabad, Jhal Magsi, Usta Muhammad, Sohbatpur districts of Balochistan.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kach Gandava". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 626.
  2. ^ a b Allah Bakhsh; Veldman, Reinier (12 December 2022). "A flood with a benefit: using the extensive moisture in Kachhi Plains". TheWaterChannel. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Study on the Ecosystem of the Kachi Plain with Focus on Spate Irrigated Areas of Bhag Narri, Balochistan - Pakistan" (PDF). Flood-Based Livelihoods Network. January 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  4. ^ Costantini, Lorenzo (1984). "The Beginning of Agriculture in the Kachi Plain: The Evidence of Mehrgarh". South Asian Archaeology 1981: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe: Held in Cambridge University, 5–10 july 1981. Cambridge University Press. pp. 29–33. ISBN 978-0-521-25599-8.
  5. ^ "Sibi  – The Hot Spot of Pakistan". PakistanPaedia. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Sibi District". Imperial Gazetteer of India. Vol. 22. p. 338. Retrieved 20 July 2025 – via Digital South Asia Library.
  7. ^ Baloch, N.A (2012). "Ḳandābīl". Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online. Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_sim_3856.
  8. ^ Abbasi, Arshad H. (14 April 2025). "How the Kachhi Canal project failed Balochistan?". Business Recorder. Retrieved 20 July 2025.

Further reading

28°32′00″N 67°32′00″E / 28.5333°N 67.5333°E / 28.5333; 67.5333

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