CHANDRAPUR

Chandrapur district is part of a Nagpur division and one of the districts in Vidarbha region. Geographical location is between the 19o30’ north to 20o45’north latitude, and 78o46’ east longitude. Adjoining districts are Bhandara, Nagpur, Wardha, Gadchiroli and Yeotmal. There are 16 blocks in Chandrapur. Major rivers of the district are Wardha, Vainganga, Andheri, Irai, Painganga and Pranhita. Major crops taken are Paddy, wheat, gram, Soya bean, Cotton and Millets.

Climate: Owing to the geographical location and physical features, the climate of the district can be classified as tropical hot climate with high range of temperature through out of year. Primarily there are two prominent seasons in the district - the very hot summer and moderate winter. The summer months are very hot and prolonged while winter is short and mild. The monsoon season starts immediately after summer till late September. The southwest monsoon brings lot of rainfall during rainy season and there is no draught prone area in the district.

The temperature starts decreasing from the month of October. December is the coldest month. Mean maximum temperature during December is 28.2º and mean minimum is 11.6º. The southern part is comparatively warmer then the north, which ranges between 29.6º to 14.6º. The lowest recorded temperature is in the north is 3º and 8º in the south. The daily mean temperature starts rising from the month of February and May is the peak summer month when mean maximum temperature goes up to 43º and minimum temperature is 28º to 29º. In severe heat condition temperature raises up to 46º. However temperature starts reducing after May due to onset of monsoon, which last from June to September when it is hot and humid.

Rainfall: The average annual rainfall is about 1420 mm. The eastern part receives more rainfall then west. Average no of rainy days is 60 to 65 through out the district. The relative humidity is very high during monsoon season, which exceeds 70%, but after monsoon season it falls down rapidly and in summer it is only 20%.

The prominent wind direction is from south to north. In summer the wind direction is from east to and south and monsoon from south to east. During winter, the wind direction changes from north to east. Frequently is characterized by the blowing of wild and violent winds heralding the approach of hot season which last till middle of June.

Jivati and Pombhurna are two clusters selected in Chandrapur. Pombhurna is a block place. It located at the distance of 40 kms on the east of District place. Jivati is another block place, located approximately 125 kms from Chandrapur towards south. It shares boundary with Andhra Pradesh.

Major Crops at these clusters are cotton, Paddy, Soya bean, wheat and Gram.