| Akhnoor | |
| — city — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Jammu and Kashmir |
| District(s) | Jammu |
| Population | 10,770 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 301 metres (988 ft) |
Akhnoor (Hindi: अखनूर) is a town in Jammu district in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Located 28 km (17 mi) from Jammu, Akhnoor is located in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is an extremely beautiful town. The picturesque town is located on the banks of the Chenab River.
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The popular story of how "Virat nagar" got its name converted to Akhnoor is that the Mughal emperor's wife had a vision problem. It was prescribed by a local Hindu priest that she wash her eyes with the holy water of the Chenab River. Using some ayurvedic medicines, her vision was restored. In Urdu noor means "vision/glow/shine" and aankh means "eye", so the town was renamed as Aankhon(Eyes)ka Noor (Vision) and with the time changed to Akhnoor.
Akhnoor is located at .[1] It has an average elevation of 301 metres (988 ft).Akhnoor is located at the right bank of the mighty Chenab.Chenab enters plains at Akhnoor.On the North and East,the Shiwaliks and Trikuta range surround it.Akhnoor lies on Jammu-Poonch National Highway about 28 kms away from Jammu.
As of 2001[update] India census,[2] Akhnoor had a population of 10,896. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Akhnoor has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 55% of the males and 45% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
The languages spoken are Dogri followed by Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi and English.
Akhnoor has historical places to visit, such as the caves where the Pandavas stayed during their exile. Close to the town there is a Parashurama temple where Parashurama Jayanti is celebrated annually, on the same day in May as Akshaya Tritiya.[3]
The people of this town had fled during the Indo-Pakistan War in 1965 and 1971, returning after the ceasefire. The border is around 18 km (11 mi) away by road, but the aerial distance is only some 8 km (5.0 mi). The people had also suffered problems from the time that the main bridge over Chenab River was washed away on September 10, 1992, until it was rebuilt and opened on April 13, 1994. Now, there is a modern concrete structured bridge on the Chenab apart from the steel structured bridge which was rebuilt in April, 1994; which links Akhnoor to Jammu and other areas. There is a beautiful park built on the bank of Chenab stretching from Jiya Pota Ghat to Parashurama Temple. It looks like a glittering necklace during the late evening and during night hours under beautiful lights on the bank.
The Amar Mahal Palace is located close to Akhnoor while Shivkhori is a kilometer's distance from the town limits.[4] There are also some Indus Valley ruins to be seen close to Akhnoor, along the Chenab. The bank of river Chenab is the most beautiful of all places in Akhnoor. There are very famous temples in Akhnoor as well including Kameshwar Mandir (which is considered to be a swaroop of lord Shiva ) and Jiya Pota Mandir on river bank which is of main attraction during summers. People gather here during summer evenings and enjoy cool breeze from the water of Chenab. There is another similar place at the other side of town known as Namandhar Ghat. People gather here in summers and enjoy group discussions and play games and enjoy cool breeze. Akhnoor is also famous for Wrestling (Shinzh) competitions during the October or November.
A new concrete, 180 m (590 ft)-long bridge is built some 500 m (1,600 ft) upstream from the older steel bridge, inaugurated by Prime Minister of India on April 13, 2008.[6] As of 2008, this was the longest bridge in the state, started in 2006 and completed within 20 months, by the Indian PSU, Border Roads Organization. The contract for building the bridge had been twice awarded to contractors NBCC Limited (awarded1977, aborted 1985) and Banka (India) Limited (awarded 1985,aborted 1994), while a quadricon[7] bridge was built by Northern Railways for its needs.