Yadgir has been blessed by the incessant flowing of two main rivers, “Krishna’ and ‘Bhima’. In addition to these two, a few tributaries flow in this region. Pigeonpea, cotton, jowar and paddy are the major crops grown in this district. Major commercial crops grown are cotton and Sugarcane. District has a net-sown area of 85.1 percent of the total cultivable land area, which is 13,821.94 Square kilometers.
Socio-Economic and Cultural Characteristics
It is predominantly an agricultural district divided into two agro climatic zones namely eastern transition and north eastern dry zone. The zones indicate the predominance of rain dependent dry land agricultural area. The normal rainfall of the district is 636 mms. The climate of Yadgir District is generally dry and healthy. The net sown area in the district is 72.1 per cent of the total cultivable land area, which is 3239.1 square kilometers.
The major crops grown in the district are jowar, red gram, sunflower and groundnut. In terms of productivity the yields of principal crops is lesser than the state average. The variation in rainfall and endemic pest attack has affected productivity of tur (red gram). The production and productivity of jowar has been improving because of better use of fertilizer and plant protection measures. In case of oil seeds the area and production has been decreased.
Agriculture
Agriculture in the district mainly depends upon the rainfall and the net area irrigated to net area sown is 14%, which is below the state average of 24%. Krishna, Bhima rivers flow in the district. The medium irrigation projects in the district are Hattikuni and Soudha ghar.. There are 36 lift irrigation schemes and 445 minor irrigation tanks in the district.
Shahapur and Shorapur both Taluka have been fully irrigation Yadagiri Taluka having 65% irrigated area.
Cattle, Poultry, Sheep, Goats and Buffaloes constitute the major livestock of the district. It is to be noted that poultry and goat-rearing activities will increase the burden of work for children.
Though 18.73 percent of men and 25.86 per cent of women are agricultural laborers, they do not have yearlong employment. There is also temporary migration of full families or male workers. The migration is more in Shahapur, Shorapur and Yadgir blocks they are migrating in the month of November. In the former case children get enrolled to school but fail to attend thereafter when they move out of their villages with their parents for employment. In the latter case, females left behind by the males in the family hardly evince any interest in schooling of their children or participate in Gramsabha meetings, SDMC meetings etc,.
Rivers
Krishna and Bhima Rivers drain the district. They constitute the two major river basins of the district. Kagna and Amarja are the two sub – basins of Bhima River, which occur within the geographical area of the district.
Rainfall & Climate:
The southwest monsoon sets in the middle of June and extends till the end of September. Bulk of the annual rainfall occurs during this season, which constitutes over 77% of the annual rainfall. Significant rainfall occurs during the winter monsoon owing to north eastern monsoon, which constitutes 7% of the annual rainfall. Normal Rainfall of the district is699 mm (2001 – 2010) and actual rainfall is 633 mm (2011). Yadgir district lies in the northern plains of Karnataka and has semi – arid type of climate. Dry climate prevails for most part of the year. December is the coldest month with mean daily maximum and minimum temperatures being 29.5oC & 15o to 10oC respectively. During peak summer, temperature shoots up to 45oC. Relative humidity varies from 26% in summer to 62% in winter.
Geomorphology & Soil Types
The northern part of the district represents a plateau, typical of Deccan Trap terrain and is deeply indented with ravines. The southern part represents undulating terrain with sparsely distributed knolls & tors. The prominent hill ranges in the district at Shorapur and Shahpur have an altitude of 567 & 604 m amsl respectively. The ground elevation varies significantly from 340 m amsl in southeast to 620 m amsl in the north. The regional slope is towards south and southeast. The soil types in the district are deep black, medium black soil, shallow soil and lateritic soil. The deep & medium black soil covers practically the entire district’s area, except a small portion towards the northern part of the district. Black soil has been derived from basaltic rocks and varies in colour from medium to deep black. Its thickness varies from 0.5 to 3.6 m. Infiltration rate of shallow, medium and deep black soil is moderate to poor. Infiltration rate of medium black soil recorded in the district is 2.5 cm/hr. Lateritic soil occurs in small extent towards the northern part of the district and its thickness varies from 1.0 to 5.0 m. It has moderate to good infiltration characteristics.
Population
Yadgir District : Census 2011 data
https://www.census2011.co.in/census/district/270-yadgir.html
An official Census 2011 detail of Yadgir, a district of Karnataka has been released by Directorate of Census Operations in Karnataka. Enumeration of key persons was also done by census officials in Yadgir District of Karnataka.
In 2011, Yadgir had population of 1,174,271 of which male and female were 590,329 and 583,942 respectively. In 2001 census, Yadgir had a population of 956,180 of which males were 482,347 and remaining 473,933 were females. Yadgir District population constituted 1.92 percent of total Maharashtra population. In 2001 census, this figure for Yadgir District was at 1.81 percent of Maharashtra population.
There was change of 22.81 percent in the population compared to population as per 2001. In the previous census of India 2001, Yadgir District recorded increase of 20.12 percent to its population compared to 1991.
The administrative blocks in the district
1. No. of Talukas :03 (namely Shahpur, Shorapur and Yadgir)
2. No. of Hoblis :16
3. No. of Inhabited &Un-Inhabited villages :519
5. No. of City &Muncipal Corporation: 04
6. No. of Town Panchayaths :01
8. No. of Taluk Panchayaths: 03
9. No. of Gram Panchayaths : 117
10. No. of Assembly Constituencies : 04
11. No. of Zilla Panchayat: 01
12. No. of Parliamentary : 04