Gujranwala
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| Gujranwala گجرانوالہ |
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| General Information | |
| Province | Punjab |
| Location | |
| Altitude | 700 metres AMSL |
| Area | 3,198 km² |
| Calling code | 055 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| No. of Towns | |
| Population | 3,500,000 1998 |
| Government | |
| City Mayor (Nazim) | Fayyaz Ahmad Chattha |
| No. of Union Councils | 192 |
| Emblem | |
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| Website | |
| Gujranwala Government Website | |
Gujranwala (Urdu: گجرانوالہ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan with a population of more than 4 million. It is located at 32.16° North, 74.18° East and is 700 feet above sea-level. The division of Gujranwala, with a population of about 11 million has an area of 3198 km². Gujranwala is the 5th largest city in Pakistan. It borders with Ghakhar Mandi and some small towns and villages. Punjabi is the local language, however English and Urdu are also common, particularly in schools and offices, as is the case in almost all over Pakistan. It's home to the international cricket stadium called Jinnah Stadium and has many hospitals and several colleges affiliated with the University of the Punjab. Recently, the University of the Punjab's Gujranwala campus has also started working. Rachna Engineering University Gujranwala now stands fourth best public engineering university in the country.
The city is renowned all over Pakistan for its food, especially Barbecue meat dishes like "Mutton Tikka" of "Haji Allah Rakha". Gujranwala has always been famous for its pehlwans (wrestlers) which is why it is also called pehlwanoo ka shehar (The City of Wrestlers).
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[edit] History
The city of Gujranwala is about 500 years old. The first name of the settlement, according to the compilers of the first edition of the district Gazette, was Khanpur Shansi after an individual of the Jat caste called Khan Shansi who founded 11 villages in the region. Later, a sardar gujjar khan of jat tribe named it after him. It seems likely that the district once contained the capital of the Punjab at an epoch when Lahore had not begun to exist. The famous Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh was born in this city. The manor in which he was born still stands today in the center of the city. The city contains a number of important sites of Sikh history including the brithplace of Ranjit Singh, the "Samadhi" (place of cremation) of Ranjit Singh's father Mahan Singh, the haveli (courtyeard residence) of Hari Singh Nalwa and a dilapidated baradari (open house) of Mahan Singh in Sheranwala Bagh.
The city also contains a large number of Sikh and Hindu places of worship, all of which are now private residences following the partition of the Punjab in 1947 and the mass exodus of Sikhs and Hindus to East Punjab. After the partition of India in August 1947, Gujranwala became the capital of the district 1951.
[edit] Economy
The rural areas around Gujranwala produce a large variety of agricultural goods, the main crops grown here are wheat, cotton, rice, barley and millet. Today, Gujranwala is playing a major role in supporting the economy of Pakistan. It is a large industrial city with numerous textile mills, Cutlery industry and large agricultural processing plants. Gujranwala's major exports are rice, textiles, carpets, transformers, clothing, glass goods, electric fans, surgical equipment, hosiery, leather products, metal utensils, auto parts and sanitation equipment. Gujranwala's hydro-electric project provides power from the Chenab River.
Gujranwala is one the most important industrial cities of Pakistan. Especially Steel and Electric products of Gujranwala are famous in all over the world.
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