Rann of Kutch

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Rann of Kutch on the top left in turquoise colour. The Gulf of Kutch is further down below the Kutch region. Image:NASA Earth Observatory

Map of Gujarat showing the Greater Rann of Kutch and Little Rann of Kutch

The Great Rann of Kutch^[1] also called Greater Rann of Kutch^[2] or just Rann of Kutch, is a seasonally marshy saline clay desert located in the Thar Desert biogeographic province in the Kutch District, state of Gujarat situated 8 km away from village Kharaghoda located in the Surendranagar District of northwestern India and the Sind province of Pakistan. The name "Rann" comes from the Hindi word ran (रण) meaning "salt marsh". The Hindi word is derived from Sanskrit / Vedic word iriṇa (इरिण) attested in the Rigveda and Mahābhārata.

It is close to Little Rann of Kutch and Banni grasslands in Kutch.

Kutch is the name of the district wherein it is situated. The Rann of Kutch comprises some 30,000 square kilometres (10,000 sq mi) between the Gulf of Kutch and the mouth of the Indus River in southern Pakistan. The Luni River, which originates in Rajasthan, empties into the northeast corner of the Rann.

In India's summer monsoon, the flat desert of salty clay and mudflats, averaging 15 meters above sea level, fills with standing waters, interspersed with sandy islets of thorny scrub, breeding grounds for some of the largest flocks of Greater and Lesser Flamingoes, and is a wildlife sanctuary [7]. At its greatest extent, the Gulf of Kutch on the west and the Gulf of Cambay on the east are both united during the monsoon.

The area was a vast shallows of the Arabian Sea until continuing geological uplift closed off the connection with the sea, creating a vast lake that was still navigable during the time of Alexander the Great. The Ghaggar River, which presently empties into the desert of northern Rajasthan, formerly emptied into the Rann of Kutch, but the lower reaches of the river dried up as its upstream tributaries were captured by the Indus and Ganges thousands of years ago. Traces of the delta and its distributary channels on the northern boundary of the Rann of Kutch were documented by the Geological Survey of India in 2000.

Wildlife

The Rann of Kutch is also the only place in Pakistan and India where flamingoes come to breed. There are 13 species of lark in the Rann of Kutch.

Wildlife Sanctuaries and Reserves of Kutch

There are several wildlife sanctuaries and protected reserves on the Indian side in the Rann of Kutch region. From the city of Bhuj various ecologically rich and wildlife conservation areas of the Kutch / Kachchh district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve etc..

On the Pakistani side in the Sindh province the Pakistani Government has created the Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary.

Little Rann of Kutch

The Little Rann of Kutch is located close by and is famous for the Indian Wild Ass sanctuary, where the worlds last population of Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur or khar) still exists along with the Indian Wolf (Canis indica), Desert Fox (Vulpes vulpes pusilla), Golden Jackal (Canis aureus), Chinkara (Gazella bennettii), Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), and Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra).

Banni grasslands

The outer southern edge of the Greater Rann forms the famous Banni grasslands.

Indo-Pak International Border

In India the northern boundary of the Greater Rann of Kutch forms the International Border between India and Pakistan, it is heavily patrolled by Border Security Force (BSF) and Indian Army conducts exercises here to acclimatize its troops to this harsh terrain.^[2][1]

This inhospitable salty lowland, rich in natural gas and a resting site for migratory Siberian birds, is part of India and Pakistan's ongoing border dispute concerning Sir Creek. In April 1965, a dispute there contributed to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, when fighting broke out between India and Pakistan. Later the same year, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson successfully persuaded both countries to end hostilities and set up a tribunal to resolve the dispute. A verdict was reached in 1968 which saw Pakistan getting 10% of its claim of 9,100 square kilometres (3,500 sq mi). The majority of the area thus remained with India. Tensions spurted again in 1999 during the Atlantique Incident.

Chir Batti

In dark nights an unexplained strange dancing light phenomena known locally as Chir Batti (Ghost lights) is known to occur here in the Rann^[3] and in the adjoining Banni grasslands and its seasonal marshy wetlands^[4].

In popular culture

J. P. Dutta's Bollywood film Refugee is shot on location in the Great Rann of Kutch and other locations in the Kutch district of Gujarat, India. This film is attributed to have been inspired by the famous story by Keki N. Daruwalla based around the Great Rann of Kutch titled "LOVE ACROSS THE SALT DESERT"^[5] which is also included as one of the short stories in the School Standard XII syllabus English text book of NCERT in India^[6]. The film crew having traveled from Mumbai was based at the city of Bhuj and majority of the film shooting took place in various locations around in the Kutch District of the Indian state of Gujarat including the Great Rann of Kutch (also on BSF controlled "snow white" Rann within), Villages and Border Security Force (BSF) Posts in Banni grasslands and the Rann, Tera fort village, Lakhpat fort village, Khera fort village, a village in southern Kutch, some ancient temples of Kutch and with parts and a song filmed on set in Mumbai's Kamalistan Studio.

See also

• Little Rann of Kutch
• Kutch
• Kori Creek
• Atlantique Incident
• Banni grasslands
• Chhir Batti (Ghost lights) from Banni grasslands, its seasonal wetlands and the adjoining Rann of Kutch
• Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve adjacent to Banni Grasslands
• Salt marsh
• Salt flat

References

Encyclopædia Britannica This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

• The Great Run of Kutch; Dec 10, 2006; The Indian Express Newspaper
• Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh (IM0901); Ecoregion Profile, Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; World Wildlife Fund Report; This text was originally published in the book Terrestrial ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a conservation assessment from Island Press. This assessment offers an in-depth analysis of the biodiversity and conservation status of the Indo-Pacific's ecoregions. Also see: Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh (IM0901); Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; WildWorld; All text by World Wildlife Fund © 2001; National Geographic Society

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Great Rann of Kutch

• World Wildlife Fund: Terrestrial Ecoregions: Rann of Kutch
• Satellite views comparing summer and winter conditions in the Rann of Kutch
• Little Rann of Kutch National Park
• Kachchh Portal a web portal about Kachchh and the people who hail from there - the global community of Kachchhis / Kutchis.
• Worldwildlife.org website
• Desert (Rann of Kutch) wetlands; 06 February 2003; WWF Global website
• KACHCHH PENINSULA AND THE GREAT RANN; The Geological Survey of India, Ministry of Mines, Government of India
• Archived News Articles from India Environmental Portal on: Rann of Kutch
• Archived News Articles from India Environmental Portal for a Search made for: Banni grasslands
• Trip Record: Photos of Friends on a motorbike trip through Kutch visiting the Great Rann of Kutch passing through Kala Dungar (Black hill), snow white Rann, then they visit the Dholavira Harappan excavation site. Then biking through Banni grasslands they see Indian Wild Ass there and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve. They then Bike to Lakhpat fort village and also Mandvi beach.. Also see [8].

Coordinates: 24°05′11″N 70°38′16″E / 24.08639°N 70.63778°E / 24.08639; 70.63778