Nahan

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  ?Nahan
Himachal Pradesh • India
Map indicating the location of Nahan
Thumbnail map of India with Himachal Pradesh highlighted
Location of Nahan
 Nahan 
Coordinates: 30°33′N 77°18′E / 30.55, 77.3
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area
• Elevation
• 559 m (1,834 ft)
District(s) Sirmaur
Population 25,972 (2001)

Coordinates: 30°33′N 77°18′E / 30.55, 77.3 Nahan is a town in Himachal Pradesh in India and is the capital of the Sirmaur District.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Nahan is located at 30.55° N 77.3° E[1]. It has an average elevation of 559 metres (1833 feet).

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census[2], Nahan had a population of 25,972. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Nahan has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 77%. In Nahan, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Nahan Town

The Fort of Nahan, the capital of princely-state of Sirmur, c.1850
The Fort of Nahan, the capital of princely-state of Sirmur, c.1850

A well-laid out picturesque town, Nahan is situated on a hill top in the Shiwalik Hills, overlooking green hills. Traditionally, saints and princes are linked with the origin of Nahan. The city was founded as a capital by Raja Karan Prakash in 1621. Another version recalls a saint who lived with a companion named Nahar on the site where the Nahan palace now stands. "Nahar" means Don't kill and the town probably takes its name from an incident when a king was trying to kill a lion and the saint said Nahar, that is do not kill it. The name of the saint was Baba Banwari Das.

At an altitude of 932 m, Nahan is a good base for visits to the surrounding areas such as Renuka, Paonta Sahib, Trilokpur temple and the Suketi Fossil Park. It has a pleasant climate throughout the year and is watered by a man-made lake and decorated with temples and gardens. Nahan has got the crown to organize the second Municipal Corporation in India, after Kolkata.

Underground sewerage system in this town is unbeatable and hence it bears the title to be a neat and clean town. Well planned streets make all the long distances calm and traffic free. The narrow fields are used by the pedestrians to move fast on foot to avoid traffic.

The Municipal Corporation Office is also situated near to the Pakka Tank only. The Sirmour district has been extensively criss-crossed by rivers and the streams and most of them having perennial water flow of considerable volume. With the result, fishing on the rivers and streams has been a pretty old past time in the district. The mulle, Masheer, Gid and Mirror cap varietiesare found on large scale, helping in the economic well being of the people.

Industrially, Sirmour district was not much advanced. The first such unit was set up in 1875, which was taken over by the govt.

In 1964 A.D. The Chief items of this foundry are cane crusher, cast iron and black sheet panes flour mills, centrifugal pumps mono-block pump sets and other agricultural implements and accessories. This Foundry was over taken bu the Britishers During the British Rule in INDIA. This foundry is situated near famous Kalisthan Temple. Also there is a house opposite to Nahan Foundry which was constructed by Britishers for the general manager of the foundry in 1945, currently in possession of government as Sessions House where the District & Sessions Judge of Nahan resides.

[edit] Places of interest

The gentle level walks of Villa Round, Military Round and Hospital Round are evocative of the city's past. The hub of Nahan's activities is Chaugan. The Mall Road is one of the favourite place of the youngsters after the college campus to walk along, specially in evening. Evening walk is one of the most common habit found in the citizens of Nahan. People regularly go for evening walk in the market and on The Mall. People like to meet in market and also visit the homes of friends on regular bases, mostly during this evening walk. Gift shops, Rosin & Turpentine factory and local temples are among the other major attractions. In the heart of Nahan town is Rani Tal, where a large temple and a tank from the days of ex-rulers of Sirmaur state can be seen. Ducks and cranes are seen playing in the Ranital Tank, and Ranital Garden further adds to the charm. Pakka Talab is also being developed as a place to visit. A big fountain adds up to the beauty of the Pakka Tank, and the garden seats are being installed. Pakka Tank is also the place to celebrate two most important festivals of the town, that is BamanDwadshi Fair and Gugga Peer Fair. Pakka tank is also well known for its whole sale vegetable market, which is under operation in all the mornings. The one and only Railway reservation centre of Nahan is also situated in the Panchayat Ghar, Pakka Tank.

[edit] Famous religious places

  • Kalisthan Temple
  • Jagannath Temple
  • Sanatan Dharm Temple
  • Rani Tal Shiv Temple
  • Shri Krishna Temple, Cantt.
  • Miyan Madir
  • Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Upper Stre

[edit] Suketi Fossil Park

Suketi Fossil Park, at a distance of 21 km from Nahan, displays lifesize fiber reinforced plastic(FRP) models of pre-historic animals whose fossil skeletons were unearthed here. The park is the first of its kind in Asia to be developed at the actual discovery site of fossils. The Park is located on the left bank of the Markanda river and is approachable by a link road 4 km from highway from Haryana. Located on upper and middle Shiwaliks, consisting mainly of soft sandstone and clay rocks, the park at present has six sets of life-size models, of Stegodonganesa, Sivatherium, Hexaprotodon sivalensis, Colosschelys atlas, Paramachaerdus and Crocodilia, Mesozoic animals which once thrived in the region.

[edit] Trilokpur Temple

Raja Dip Prakash built Trilokpur Temple in 1573 and is situated at a distance of 23 km from Nahan and 6 km from Kalka-Ambala highway, the gateway to Nahan from Haryana. Trilokpur is a place of great religious importance. The temple of the goddess Mahamaya Bala Sundri is very famous and attracts lakhs of pilgrims from all over northern India, especially from Haryana and Himachal. A fair is held twice a year during the Navratras in April and October when a large number of devotees visit this temple and pay their respects to the goddess.

[edit] Dhaula Kuan

On the road to Paonta Sahib 20 km from Nahan, it is worth while to stop and see a sprawling orchard consisting of citrus plants and mangoes and a fruit canning factory of various kinds of juices, jams, pickles and canned fruits. A little away from Dhaula Kuan is Kastasan Devi temple where Raja Jagat Singh defeated the advancing army of Rustam Qadir Rohilla in a great battle. Their victory is commemorated in the Devi Temple, built in gratitude by the Raja. Dhaula Kuan also has a research station of H.P., KVV where useful research on tropical fruits is carried out.

[edit] Giri Nagar

Situated at a distance of 7 km from Dhaula Kuan, this town has a power house of 60 MW capacity, constructed after diverting the Giri river through a 6 km long tunnel.

[edit] Transport infrastructure

[edit] Air

The nearest airport is Chandigarh, with Dehradun as an option

[edit] Rail

The nearest railway stations are Ambala, Chandigarh and Kalka, which are connected by a regular bus service. Yamunanagar is another rail station close to the town

[edit] Road

Nahan is approachable from many directions by road: via Dehra Dun through Paonta Sahib; via Panchkula-Naraingarh-Kala Amb from Chandigarh, via Yamunanagar -Hathanikund from Haryana and via Solan- Kumarhatti from Shimla. There are regular bus services linking it to the other towns like Shimla, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Delhi and Haridwar.

[edit] Fairs and Festivals

[edit] Bawan Dwadshi

Nahan celebrates Bawan Dwadshi towards the end of the monsoon, when fifty-two cult images of local gods are carried in procession to Jagannath temple, where they are floated ceremoniously in a pool and are restored at midnight to their niches.

[edit] Bala Sundari fair

The Bala Sundari fair is held at Trilokpur near Nahan, this coincides with the sacred days of the Navratras.

[edit] Gugga Peer Fair

A fair is celebrated in Nahan to mark the honour of Gogaji (गोगाजी) also known as Gugga (is a folk deity of Rajasthan state in India). He is an eminent warrior-hero of the region. Hindus and Muslims alike honor him. He is also venerated as a saint and even as 'snake-god'. He is known as Goga among the Hindus and Jahar Peer among the Muslims. The Kaimkhani Muslims claim descent from him and regard him as a peer (saint).

[edit] Nearby Places

[edit] Education facilities

Recently, quite a few schools have sprung up in this small hilly town. However the more reputed ones are A.V.N. Senior secondary school, D.A.V. School, Government Shamsher Senior Secondary School for boys and Government Girls Senior Secondary School. A.V.N. School also provides Hostel Facility to the students. Also many coaching institutes have started offering guidance to students preparing for entrance examinations. Along with this Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalay is the boarding school available in judda ka johar which is about 7 k.m. from the main town. Students from distant places come to get education in this institute.

Govt. Post Graduate College is the only centre for the Graduation and Post Graduation Courses of H.P University. Students from distant places come here for there higher education. The college provides the Hostel Facility to the girls.

Near to this town two engineering colleges namely IITT KalaAmb (20 K.M.s) and Green Hills Engg College, Kumarhatti (About 60 K.M.s) are available.

Town also has number of Computer Education centres. Famous ones are ICED Computer Chota Chowk, APTECH, RCE and ESCOL.

Other schools available are

  • A.V.N public school
  • D.A.V Public School
  • Army School
  • Carmel Convent School
  • Sirmour Public School
  • Holy Heart Public School (for primary classes)
  • Silver Bells School (For primary classes)
  • S.V.N Public School
  • MRP public school
  • Model Primary School
  • Shamsher Primary School
  • Cantt Primary School
  • Mandir Primary School
  • Parangat Primary School

[edit] References

  1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Nahan
  2. ^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.

[edit] External links