District Profile

Barmer

Area

28,387 sq.kms. (8.29 per cent of the State)

Location

Barmer district is situated in the western part of Rajasthan and forms part of the Thar desert. It is surrounded by Jaisalmer in the north, Jalore in the south, Pali and Jodhpur in the east and Pakistan in the west.

Distance from major cities

Jaipur-565 kms.
Delhi-887 kms.

Climate and Rainfall

The temperature varies between minimum of 9 degrees celsius to the maximum of 45 degrees celsius.
The normal rainfall 27.75 cms.

Administrative Setup

Barmer is the headquarter of the district, which is also the principal town. The district is divided into two sub-divisions viz., Barmer and Balotra. The district has 3 municipalities, 8 panchayat samitis, 225 gram panchayats, 1,640 revenue villages and 853 inhabited villages.

Human Resources

Indicators of Human Resources
Population	persons	19,63,758
Density of population	persons per sq.kms	69
Literacy	per cent	59.65
Total working population	per cent	33.37
Percentage distribution of work force
Cultivators	per cent	79.5
Agricultural labourers	per cent	3.67
Manufacturing, processing servicing and repairs	per cent	1.32
Other workers	per cent	15.51

Major Crops and Their Production

Production: 2004-05
(Tonnes)
Kidney bean (moth)	217192
Bajra	181303
Cumin seed	29996
Wheat	23465
Rapeseed & Mustard	20052
Guarseed	16017
Psyllium seeds	14940
Green gram (Moong)	1830
Jowar	1041
Rapeseed	274
Groundnuts	149
Barley	148
Fenugreek seed	116
Maize	31
Gram	12

Minerals

Production: 1999-2000
(Tonnes)
Gypsum	1,85,954
Saliceous	2,709
Salenite	1,917
Masonary Stone	1,02,298
Bentonite	31,813
Limestone	1,000

Infrastructure

Electricity

The power supply in the district comes from Debari Grid Station near Udaipur via Jalore. The 132 KV Grid Station of the district is located at Balotra and the 33 KV station is located at Barmer. Of the 1,625 villages, 1,500 villages were electrified.

Water

The Indira Gandhi canal is being extended upto Gadra Road in the district. This is likely to provide adequate quantity of not only drinking water but also to irrigate about 0.1 million hectares of agriculture land. The flow of the canal would also improve water level of the wells in the area covered by the flow.

Road Transport

The district is linked by road with Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Pali, Jalore, Jaipur, Ajmer and Ahmedabad. The total length of roads in the district was 5,109 kms as on 31 March 2000.

Rail Transport

The district is linked with neighbouring districts of Jodhpur, Jalore and Jaipur in the State and with Agra in UP and Munawa in Pakistan, by railway line. The total length of rail line in the district is 254 kms with 30 railway stations.

Air Transport

The nearest airport is at Jodhpur (222 kms.)

Communication Facilities

(No.)
Post offices	479
Telegraph offices	104
Telephone exchanges	64
Public call offices	894

Educational Facilities/Institutions

(No.)
Primary Schools	2,714
Middle Schools	451
Higher Secondary and Secondary Schools	130
Colleges	2
Polytechnics	1
ITI	2
STC	1

Industrial Scenario

No. of Small Scale Units : 3,185
No of Industrial Areas: 5

1.        Balotra

2.        Barmer

3.        Barmer (Automobile)

4.        Mokalsar

5.        Samdari

Main Industries

Bentonite grinding, cement bricks, embroidery and tailoring, flour mills, granite cutting and polishing, guar gum, non-edible oil, oil mills, plater of Paris, stone crushing, textile dyeing and printing, wooden furniture.

Export Items

1.        Guar gum

2.        Handicraft items

3.        Hand embroidered items

4.        Woollen carpets