Hardwar district of Uttaranchal is spread over in an area of 2360 sq. kms. It is bounded on the north  by the districts of  Saharanpur and Dehradun, on the east by the districts of Derhadun and Garhwal, on the south by the districts of Bijnor and Muzaffarnagar and on the west by the districts of Saharanpur. The district headquarters is located at Hardwar town and is a place of Hindu pilgrimage.

The district has a population of about 1.1million (1991 census). There are 844 female population live in urban areas. The SC and ST contribute about 21.60% and about 0.18% of the population respectively. The decennial growth rate of population between 1981-1991 was 25.66%. The density of population is 562 per Sq.Km. Hindi is the main language spoken in the district.

Hardwar district comprises of 3 tehsils and 6 Community Development Blocks. It has 8 towns and 627 villages. (Table-1).

Amenities available in the villages are shown in table-2.

Hardwar lies immediately below the Siwalik range is known as the ghar tract intersected by numerous torrents that drain rainy water into the Ganga, and its tributaries. This submontane belt, once forested, stands almost denuded with the great extension of tillage. This ghar consists of the series of high broken spurs. The great bulk of the district consists of plains, known as khaddar or low land, which comprises the broad alluvial valleys of the Ganga. The Ganga Khadar varies greatly from place to place. There is considerable extent of forest and large expanses of open grass tract.

Ganga is the main river of this district. It enters the district at Hardwar, traversing for some distance through the Siwaliks, it enters the plains and forms the eastern boundary of the district. The other important river of the district is Solani.

Table 1.  Administrative Units in District

Table 2.  Villages having one or more amenities in the district (1991 census)

The district is well connected by rail and road transport. Two  broad gauge tract pass through the district. No National Highway passes through the district. The State Highway no.45 enters the district through Muzaffarnagar in southern side and goes to Rishikesh via Hardwar. In addition, there are other roads also which connect all the tehsils as well as Community Development Block headquarters.

Both Rabi and Kharif crops are sown in this district. The main kharif crop is paddy, maize and the main rabi crop is wheat. Sugercane is also extensively cultivated. The largest area is covered by wheat followed by sugarcane, paddy, maize, pulses, groundnut and cotton. Production of sugarcane provides good commercial prospects. Irrigation plays an important role and in bringing more area under agriculture. Ganga canal passes through the district. Tubewells and canals are the important source of irrigation.

Cattles, buffaloes, sheep and goats are the main livestock of this district. There are many veterinary dispensaries, livestock development centres and artificial insemination centres which look after the welfare of animals. The development of fishery units has also gained importance and new fishery units are being setup.

Industry has acquired a place of importance in the economy of the district. The establishment of a host of scientific and technical institutions like Engineering University Roorkee, Training centre for Ayurvedic System of  Medicines and Irrigation Research Centre etc. have induced the industrial development. The setting up of Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited and Indian Drugs and Formulations under public sector have also strengthened the industrial structure of the district. There are also numerous small units engaged in producing medicines, iron and steel goods, construction materials, household goods, survey and drawing instruments and woodcraft. The district is noted all over the country for the traditional wood carving industry and survey and drawing instruments.

Educational facilities one type or the other is found an 72.96% of the inhabited villages. Primary and middle class schools are found in almost all towns. Situated on the bank of Ganga, which descends from Siwalik hills, Hardwar is famous for its numerous temples, fairs and natural beauty.

Medical facility of one type or the other is available in 491 villages which constitute 97.61% of the total number of inhabited villages. Major government medical institutions and health personnel working in these institutions are given in Tables 3 and 4.

Table 3.  Govt. and Other Medical Institutions in Hardwar district

Table 4.  Health personnel working in Government sector in Hardwar district.

National Surveillance Programme for Communicable Diseases

The National Surveillance Programme for Communicable Diseases (NSPCD) was launched in the district in the year 1998 (1998 - 1999).  District Nodal Officer had been identified.  District RRT has been constituted and trained.  The training of Medical Officers, Health Supervisors, Health Workers and Laboratory Technicians has been undertaken partially.  District laboratory has been identified and upgraded.  Weekly and Monthly reports are being received regularly by NICD. Table 5 shows the list of the members of RRT in Hardwar district.

Table 5. Composition of Hardwar District RRT

The Public Health Laboratory, I.D.H. Campus, Hardwar, has been identified as the district laboratory to support the programme. Dr. S.N.Khan, Microbiologist is the in-charge of the laboratory and is looking after the work under NSPCD.

Routine Bacteriological, Serological and Haematological tests are undertaken in this laboratory. The tests performed under NSPCD are Gram’s stain, Hanging drop, Stool culture, Z.N.staining for AFB, Urine for routine & microscopy, Stool for Ova & Cysts, Blood smear for Malaria, Hepatitis B surface Antigen, and Widal. By the end of the year 2000 tests for HBsAG, HIV, and Serotyping of V.cholerae has been introduced.  Laboratory tests done during the year 2000 are shown in Table 6.

Table 6.   Number of tests done at Public Health Laboratory, I.D.H.campus, Hardwar, 2001.

Outbreaks investigated by the District RRT during 2000.

A total of 4 outbreaks were reported during the year 2000 from Hardwar district. Two outbreaks   due to Hepatitis in March and during April to June, 1 due to Fever in August and   one due to Diarrhoeal diseases during September. The detailed investigation  report  of   three outbreaks are not available.

Outbreak of Jaundice, April - June, 2000.

Certain urban areas of hardwar district experienced an outbreak of jaundice during April – June, 2000. A total of 100 cases were reported during these three months, primarily from urban areas of Hardwar city, Jwalapur, and Kankhal. Though few cases were reported from rural areas also, no death has been resulted among these cases. Most of the cases occurred among adults. Two of the four serum samples from jaundice cases tested positive for IgM antibodies against Hepatitis-E virus at NICD laboratories.