Shikarpur

Shikarpur, an important trading-town and capital of a district in the north of Sind, stands 18 miles W. of the Indus, on the railway leading to Quetta and Pishin. Before the opening of this railway it was a place of very considerable commercial importance, owing to its situation on one of the principal routes between India and Khorassan—viz. that by the Bolan Pass. It occupies a very low site, the adjacent country being often inundated, but the soil is extremely fertile, and yields heavy crops of grain and fruits. Carpets, coarse cottons, furniture, baskets, &c. are made in the town. Pop. 42,496.—The district has an area of 10,001 sq. m. and a pop. of 852,986.