Pathankot
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| Pathankot | |
  Pathankot
|
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| State - District(s) |
Punjab (India) - Gurdaspur |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Population (2007) - Density |
139000
population_density = |
| Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle |
- 145001 - +0186 - |
Pathankot (Punjabi: ਪਠਾਨਕੋਟ, Hindi: पठानकोट, Pashto: پٹھان ڪوٽ) a city and a municipal committee in Gurdaspur district in the Indian state of Punjab. It is a meeting point of the three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Due to its ideal location, Pathankot serves as a travel hub for the three northerly states. Pathankot is the fifth lagest city in the state of Punjab in terms of population. It is the last city in Punjab on the national highway that connects Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India. This bestows strategic importance on the city. Situated in the picturesque foothills of Kangra and Dalhousie, with the river Chakki flowing close by, the city is often used as a rest-stop before heading into the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, Dalhousie, Chamba, and Kangra, deep into the Himalayas.
Pathankot is also used as a gateway to the Himachali hill stations of Dalhousie, Dharamsala, Mcleodganj, Kangra Valley, Jwalaji, and Chintpurni.
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[edit] Geography
Pathankot is located at .[1] It has an average elevation of 332 metres (1089 feet).
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India census,GRIndia Pathankot had a population of 159,559. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Pathankot has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 73%. In Pathankot, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. In Pathankot, Punjabi, Hindi are spoken .
80% of the population are Hindus, 15% are Sikhs and 5% are Christians.
[edit] Places of Interest
Pathankot is famous for its four 'M's. They are military, matchar, makhi, mahajan. Places worth visiting near Pathankot include Shahpur Kandi with a hanging resthouse, Ranjit Sagar Dam, which is the highest gravity dam in Asia, Madhopur Headworks which date back to the Mughal era. Church, Head works of Upper Bari Doab, Shahpur Kandi are the attractions of this area. There are some caves on the way to Shahpur Kandi which date to the time of the Mahabharata. According to a legend, the Pandavas stayed in those caves for a night during their "Agayatwas". A carnival or mela, called Mukesran da mela is held there each year in the month of April to mark Baisakhi.
One of India's foremost hydraulic research stations in Malikpur is 7 km from Pathankot, where varoius models of national as well as international models of Dams and irrigation canal used to be made before actual work upon them starts. There is a fort, called Nurpur Fort built by a Nurpur king, 25 km from Pathankot.The famous road is the mission road, CNI church is on the mission road which is also the heart of city.
The economy of the city is highly dependent upon the Army directly as well as indirectly. As It has large concentration of Army personnel. Pathankot also acts as a distribution hub for Himachal Pradesh for all sorts of goods and services. There are lots of crushers in the Pathankot area whose sand, stones and other concrete material are ISI marked, which is unique in the whole of India; perhaps in Asia also.
[edit] Transport
Pathankot is well connected by rail and road with the rest of the country.
It has direct train links with Delhi, Jammu and other Indian cities. All trains going to Jammu pass through Pathankot. The important trains include Jammu Tawi-Mumbai Express, Pooja Express from Jammu-Jaipur. Super fast trains like Jammu Tawi-Mumbai Express do not enter city Pathankot. They stop at outer Railway Station called 'Chakki Bank'. The distance from main Railway station & Chakki Bank is just 4 km.
Pathankot is also connected by a vast network of private and public-sector bus services to other cities in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir. Important destinations include Delhi, Shimla, Chandigarh, Jammu, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, and Amritsar.
Now the Domestic airport is fully functional which connects the city with Jammu, Delhi and Jaipur.
Distance From:
Jammu - 110 km
Amritsar - 109 km
Jalandhar - 112 km
Chandigarh - 269 km
New Delhi - 485 km
[edit] Education
Pathankot also serves as education hub for the nearby areas of J & K and Himachal. Many students basically from rural areas of these states come to study here. Now Pathankot has also got an Engineering College at Bughal Badani. It has famous colleges like SD College, SRPAAB College,RRMK Arya Mahila Mahavidyalaya,Ptk etc. It has some of the famous schools like GOVT SENOIR SECONDARY SCHOOL(A BIG INSTITUTE IN NORTHERN INDIA, OCCUPIED APPROX. 23 ACRES OF LAND , BIG BUILDINGS, SERVED THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS OF PATHANKOT AREA), LAMINI(PTK), AIR FORCE SCHOOL St. Joseph Convent School,MCM DAV Public School,vivekanand high school Pathankot. Some of the residential schools have also sprung up near Pathankot because of its scenic beauty like, Montessary, etc.
[edit] 1965 War
PAF’s air strike on 6th September, 1965 on the Indian Air Force base of Pathankot has been rated by historians and defence analysts of both India and Pakistan as one of the most successful air raids of contemporary history. Not only did the PAF pilots achieve complete surprise but they also executed the attack with text-book precision. Its details make fascinating reading. PAF’s airfield strike plan for the dusk of day one of the war in 1965 comprised of just 8 F-86 Sabres.
