Pathankot
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| ?Pathankot Punjab • India |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
• 331 m (1,086 ft) |
| District(s) | Gurdaspur |
| Population | 139,000 (2007) |
| Codes • Pincode • Telephone |
• 145 001 • +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 and is a hub for the defence forces - Indian Army and Indian Air Force. Pathankot is the fifth largest 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 and due to this strategic position Pathankot is also known as cock neck 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 also has the largest military base in the whole of Asia.
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,[2] 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,Dogri, Pashto are spoken .
80% of the population are Hindus, 15% are Sikhs and 5% are Christians.Pathankot and its people are very warm and cozy.The city itself reflects the affection of its people.Probably the only city in Punjab which was not affected by the dark period of terrorism during the eighties.
[edit] Places of interest
Places worth visiting near Pathankot include Shahpur Kandi with a hanging resthouse, Mamoon cantt which is Asia's largest military station,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.
India's foremost hydraulic research stations is situated at Malikpur which is 7 km from Pathankot, where various models of dams and irrigation canal are 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 dependent upon the Army ,3-Multipurpose Dams being constructed on river Ravi, as trading & distribution hub for Chamba & Kangra valley and parts of Jammu & Kashmir. There are lots of crushers in the area whose sand, stones and other concrete material are ISI marked, which is unique in the whole of India.
[edit] Transport
Pathankot is well connected by Road and Rail with the rest of the country. Despite being the city of such a strategic importance the road conditions are worse in the city.
It has direct train links with Delhi, Jammu and other Indian cities. There are two railway stations in Pathankot City- 1 Pathankot . 2 Chakki Bank.
Except for few trains most of the trains are use Chakki Bank . The important trains include Jammu Tawi-Mumbai Express( Sawraj Express), Jammu Tawi - Kolkata ( Sealdah Express), Jammu Tawi- Chennai ( Madras mail), J ammu Twai - Guwhati(Lohit Express), Jammu-Ajmer( Pooja Express), Jammu Tawi -Pune ( Jhelum express), Jammu Tawi -New Delhi (a=Jammu Mail , b=Pooja Express , c=Uttar Samprank Kranti, d=Shailmar Express, e= Jhelum Express , f= Madras Mail) .
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. This city also has a narrow line station just next to main city station from where trains to Kangra valley can be caught.
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, Dharamsala, Dalhousie, and Amritsar.
The domestic airport connects the city with Delhi and Dharamsala.
Distance from:
- Jammu - 110 km
- Amritsar - 109 km
- Jalandhar - 112 km
- Chandigarh - 269 km
- New Delhi - 485 km
[edit] Educational facilities
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Private institutions in Pathankot also serves as education hub for the nearby areas of J & K and Himachal. Many students from rural areas of these states come to study here. It has colleges like SD College, SRPAAB College, RRMK Arya Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Ptk etc. Among the secondary schools are Shri Guru Harikrishan public school,Kendriya Vidyalaya 1,2 3 &4. Other notable schools include Joseph's Convent School, Air Force School,Mela Devi kalra and MCM DAV Public School.
In spite of being the fifth largest city of Punjab ( population-wise),Pathankot does not have a government College.
[edit] External links
Adarsh Bhartiya College websiteAB College website
Famous Artists Connected to PathanKot Nek Chand (Sculptor) Deepak Walia (Artist) Shri Rajender Nath Rahbar (Poet) Puran Ahsaan (Poet) Shashi Bhushan Chiraag (Poet)
