Dausa District :

Dausa District is situated in Rajasthan. The district is named after a hill called Devgiri. Dausa District is situated at about 55 kilometers far from Jaipur on NH-11. It is also known as Devnagri and is famous for Mehandipur Balaji Temple. A worship place of Lord Shiva with beautiful and natural water-fall at Jhajhirampura is also a major attraction of the Dausa District.

History :

Dausa is named after a hill near the city that was called Devgiri. On the top of hill is situated a fort, built by Badgujar kings, who were the orininal rulers of this area. Later, Dausa was given by Chauhans to Kachwahas, but the centre of their power shifted to Amber.

When Akbar went to Ajmer as a pilgrim to Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in 1562, he stayed in Dausa and met with Rupsi Baragi, Hakimof Dausa at the time and brother of Bharmal. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of Dausa. The main crops of the district are wheat, bajra, rapeseed, mustard and groundnuts.

Dausa District was constituted on 10 April 1991 by separating four tehsils, namely Dausa, Baswa, Sikrai, & Lalsot from Jaipur district. Mahwa Tehsil of Sawai Madhopur was included in this district on 15 August 1992.

Geography of Dausa District :

It is one of the districts belonging to the Jaipur Division and is surrounded by 6 districts, namely, Jaipur, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Karouli, Bharatpur and Alwar. It has a total area of 3404.78 sq. kms. The history of Stone Age dates back to the Stone Age. The antiquities found in Dholpur can be dated to pre-Gupta period, and the site remained under the occupation up to the late mediaeval period. 

It is surrounded by 6 districts, namely- Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Karouli, Bharatpur and Alwar. Occupying a total area of 3404.78 sq. kms, the district is roughly semicircular, or C-shaped, tapering towards the eastern and western corners. The hills found in the district belong mainly to the Aravalli Mountain ranges. The Lalsot-Bayana Hill range, runs from Lalsot to Bayana, and demarcates the boundary between Dausa and Sawai Madhopur districts. The Aravalli exposures have a perfect concordant sequence of beds from Lalsot to Bayana ridge. A belt of crystalline quartzite is found in the hills from Dausa to Bhankari, schistose quartzite is also predominately exposed. Morel and Ban Ganga are the major rivers located in the district. 

The soil of the district is yellowish to dark brown, mostly fine textured, generally suitable for all type of crops. Further, a watershed scheme has been implemented in the district to avoid erosion. The district has 219575 hectares of arable land of which about 128169 hectares 58.92 percent is under irrigation. Crops are grown here according to the Kharif and Rabi season. The principal crop of the district in Kharif is Bajra.

The most important food grain crop in Rabi is wheat. During Kharif season; groudnut is produced in irrigated areas. Maizealso requires irrigation. Generally other crops are sown at the commencement of the rainy season. Groundnut, maize and cotton are sown by broadcasting the seeds. Fertiliser is applied before sowing of groundnut and cotton. During Rabi, mustard and gram is sown from September to October, in unirrigated land, while in the irrigated land, barley, gram and mustard are sown in October-November and wheat in November-December. The district has 94652 hectares of double cropped area with crop cycles of moong-wheat, groundnut-wheat, moong-mustard, bajra-mustard, bajra-gram etc. The major sources of irrigation in the district are wells and tube wells. A large part of the irrigation in the area is covered by these sources. Besides this, a very limited area is irrigated through small rivers and ponds. There are a total of 36 dams in the district. The most important ones are Sainthal Sagar, Kalakho Bandh, Madhosagar Bandh and Moral Bandh. 

Dausa district falls under the Indus Plains floristic region of India. Each region has its distinctive species. This district is endowed with Acacia nilotica ( Babool ), Asenegal (Kumta), Anogeissus (Dhok), Prosopis (Khejadi), Capparis(Kair) and Caotropis (Ak). This vegetation is typical of tropical thorn forests. The district is endowed with a variety of habitats. Although not rich in dense forest growth, Dausa sustains considerable biological diversity. As far as the fauna is concerned, the district falls under the Oriental region. Of the characteristic wildlife of the region, the wild animals still surviving in the district include the monkey, lemur (langur), panther, black buck and peafowl. 

Demography :

According to the 2011 census Dausa district has a population of 1,637,226, roughly equal to the nation of Guinea-Bissau or the US state of Idaho.This gives it a ranking of 305th in India (out of a total of 640).The district has a population density of 476 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,230/sq mi) .Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 24.31%. Dausa has a sex ratio of 904 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 69.17%.

Culture:
The folk art of Hela-Khayal is a unique singing style of this region. Its uniqueness lies in its traditional singing which is highly stylised yet it has now been skilfully employed to comment on the current socio-economic-political scenario in a satirical manner. Extremely popular among the village folk of Dausa, Hela singers demonstrate and typify the undying spirit and zest for life of its people. 

Tourism :
Abhaneri is famous for its Post-Gupta or early medieval monuments. It is situated at about 33 Kms from the district headquarter towards Bandikui. The Chand Baori (Step Well) and Harshat Mata Temple are the important places to visit. The temple is an excellent example of intricate carving on stone whereas the Baori has stairs with unparallel artistic and architectural beauty.