Page 85 - SST Class 04

Life in Coastal

19
Plains and Islands

Coastal Plains and I

The coastal plains lie all along South India. What attracts people
from our country and the world to visit these plains is the
presence of a number of tourist attractions: Kerala and Goa are

only two of them. It feels wonderful being between the sea on
the one side and rising hills on the other. Read Lesson 6 : Coastal
Plains and Islands again before proceeding further.

Coastal Plains

In the previous chapter, we have studied the states which have a larger part of plateau.
Now we shall study the states and union territories which have a larger part of the
coastal plains. The western coastal plains comprise Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli,
Daman and Diu, Goa and Kerala; while Puducherry lies in the eastern coastal plains.

Gujarat

Gujarat is a hub of industry and trade. Dairy-farming, machine tools, glass, cotton
textile, diamond-cutting are important industries. This state produces salt on a large
scale. Owing to rich black soil and rivers like the Narmada, Tapi and Sabarmati, cotton
has become the main crop. Other crops include groundnut, sugarcane, rice, maize and
millets. The people of Gujarat are accepted as fine businessmen and traders.

The capital of Gujarat is Gandhinagar . Other important
cities include Surat, Porbandar, Vadodara etc. Ahmedabad
is a place of tourist attraction for Gandhiji’s Sabarmati

Ashram. The Gir National Park is the only natural home for
the Asiatic lion .
The people in Gujarat speak Gujarati. Hindi and English
too are widely understood. Men wear dhoti-kurta-Gandhi

cap and women wear ghaghara-choli. Garba and Dandia
Dandia

Life in Coastal Plains and Islands 85