Thar coalfield The area is accessible by a 410-kilometre metalled road from Karachi to Islamkot via Hyderabad-Mirpur Khas-Naukot and Thatta-Badin-Mithi-Islamkot. A road network connecting all the major towns with Thar Coalfield have been developed. The rail link from Hyderabad is up to Naukot, which is about 100 kilometres from Islamkot. Thar coalfield is a part of the Thar Desert of Pakistan, the ninth-largest desert in the world. It is bounded in the north, east and south by India, in the west by flood plains of the Indus River. The terrain is sandy and rough with sand dunes forming the topography. The relief
Thar Desert or man-made (johads), are often the only source of water for animals and humans in the true desert areas. The lack of a constant water supply causes much of the local population to live as nomads. Most human settlements are found near the two seasonal streams of the Karon-Jhar hills. Potable groundwater is also rare in the Thar desert. Supplies are often sour due to dissolved minerals, and are only available deep underground. Wells that successfully bear sweet water attract nearby settlement, but are difficult to dig, possibly claiming the lives of the well-diggers. According to 1980 housing census in