Kapurthala which was formerly a
princely state is one of the smallest districts of Punjab both in terms of
area and population. Further the district is divided into two noncontiguous
parts viz. Phagwara block in one part and the remaining four blocks in the
other part. Kapurthala-Sultanpur Lodhi part lies between north latitude 31° -
07' and 31° - 22' and east longitude 75° - 36' while Phagwara lies between
north latitude 31° - 22' and east longitude 75° - 40' and 75° - 55' The
Phagwara block which lies on the National Highway No 1 is industrially much
more developed than the remaining Kapurthala. The district has three
sub-divisions/ Tehsils (1) Kapurthala, (2) Phagwara and (3) Sultanpur Lodhi.
The total area of the district is 1633 sq. kms. .(630.338 sq. miles) of which
909.09 sq. km (350.908 sq. miles) is in tehsil Kapurthala, 304.05 sq. kms.
(117.363 sq. miles) in tehsil Phagwara and 451.0 sq kms. (174.086 sq. miles)
area in tehsil Sultanpur Lodhi. The economy of the district is still
predominantly agricultural. The major crops grown are Wheat, Paddy, Sugarcane,
Potato and maize. The major portion of Kapurthala district lies in the river
interact between Beas and Kali-Bein and is called the ‘BET’ area. This area is
prone to floods. Water logging and alkalinity in the soil is the major problem
of the area. A flood protection ‘Bundh’ called ‘Dhussi Bundh’ has been
constructed along the left bank of the river Beas and it has saved the area
from the ravages of flood. The entire district is an alluvial plain. To the
south of the river Black Bein lies the tract known as ‘Dona’ meaning the soil
formed of two constituents i.e. the sand and clay.
The district lies between 31-08’
degree and 31-37’ degrees north latitude and 74-58’ and 75-54’ degrees east
longitude. In the north it is bound by district Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and
Amritsar, in the west by River Beas and district Amritsar and in south by
river Sutlej, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur. It is situated at a distance of 19
kilometers (11.08 miles) Southwest of Jalandhar. The Phagwara tehsil is
surrounded on all sides by Jalandhar district except in the north east where
it has common boundaries with Hoshiarpur district.
The climate is typical of the
Punjab plains i.e. hot in summers and cold in winters. It has sub-tropical
continental monsoon type climate. Intensive cultivation in the district leaves
no scope for forest cover and the wild life is practically nonexistent.
