Naliya is a town, which is also the

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

headquarters of Abdasa Taluka of

Kutch District Kutch district (), officially spelled Kachchh is a district of Gujarat state in western India, with its headquarters (capital) at Bhuj. Covering an area of 45,674 km2, it is the largest district of India. The area of Kutch is larger than ...

(kachchh),

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is located on the western end of Kutch 19 km by road from ancient port of Jakhau.

History

Naliya was a prosperous trading town in past who had trading ties with

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

and

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. It had a population of 5238 in 1880.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2011 census, the village of Naliya had 11,415 inhabitants for a gender ratio of 939 females per thousand males.

Indian Air Force Station

Naliya is home to the

Naliya Air Force Station Naliya Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is located in Naliya in Gujarat, India. It is about 90 km from Sir Creek that forms the border with Pakistan. It lies on National Highway 41 or NH 41. It is about 90 km from Bhu ...

of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

, which was built here in view of the town's proximity to Pakistan.

Transport

National Highway 41 connects Naliya to

Bhuj Bhuj () is a city and the headquarters of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Etymology According to legend, Kutch (Kachchh) was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to King B ...

. A

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

railway line was laid in 1980 to connect the town with Bhuj. Passenger and freight trains ran on it from Naliya railway station to Bhuj. The track was abandoned later after Gandhidham-Bhuj section was converted to broad-gauge and this 101.52 km railway line became isolated. Gauge conversion to broad gauge was approved by the government in 2008. The gauge conversion of 28 km was completed up between Bhuj and Desalpur in 2018. The work in remaining 74 km is in progress. The Naliya Cantonment Station will be the rail station for Naliya town after the gauge conversion is completed. Due to security reason the railway line stretch between Naliya Cantonment and Naliya Town will not be made since Naliya is situated just from India-Pakistan border of Sir Creek marsh lands.

Tourism

Naliya Jain Derasar

Naliya is a century old town, which has Jain temples and mosques built several centuries ago. It is a famous Jain pilgrimage center and one of the five famous Jain temples of ''Abdasa ni Panchtirthi'' (meaning five-temples of ''Abdasa'') is in the town. This temple belongs to the

Śvetāmbara The Śvetāmbara (; also spelled Shwetambara, Shvetambara, Svetambara or Swetambara) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. ''Śvetāmbara'' in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practi ...

sect of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

. Other

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...

s are in nearby places in Abdasa Taluka. The main architects of these centuries old Jain temples were Mistris of Kutch.
Moolnayak Bhagwaan is

Chandraprabha Chandraprabha () or Chandranatha is the eighth Tirthankara of of Jainism in the present age (). According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Mahasena and Queen Lakshmana Devi at Chandrapuri to the Ikshvaku dynasty. According to Jain ...

. The main idol of Shri Chandraprabhu Bhagwan is Swet varn(white coloured) of about 72 cm in padmasanastha position.

Bustard Sanctuary

Naliya is also famous for Great Indian Bustard sanctuary also known as Lala–Parjan Sanctuary, which is located nearby the town. With an area of about only 2 square kilometers, it is the smallest sanctuary in the country. There are approximately 30

great Indian bustard The great Indian bustard (''Ardeotis nigriceps'') or Indian bustard is a bustard occurring on the Indian subcontinent. It is a large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs, and is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on th ...

s here, second only to Desert National Park,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

.Naliya Birds
/ref>

References

{{Clear Cities and towns in Kutch district