| Pathankot | |
| — city — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Punjab |
| Population | 200,000 (2007[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 331 metres (1,086 ft) |
Pathankot (Punjabi: ਪਠਾਨਕੋਟ) became 22nd district on 28th July 2011 and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Punjab. It was a part of the Nurpur princely state ruled by the Rajputs prior to 1849 AD. 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 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. Situated in the 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.
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Pathankot has an average elevation of 332 metres (1,089 feet). Pathankot is a green town with the Ravi and Chakki rivers on either side. Himachal foothills kissing on South and East and snow capped Himalayas in the back drop in North, Pathankot is last but not the least city of punjab. Gandhi chowk, Valmiki chowk, Shimla pahari, Dhruv park and Ramleela ground are some of the famous spots in the city. There are a few reputed educational institutions like Sai Univerisity, Sai Engineering college, Chintpurni medical college, St. Joseph Convent School, which is the most reputed school in entire Pathankot and is well known all over the city for it's discipline. Pathankot has one of the largest and most important military and airforce stations.
Pathankot literally translated means, "Fort of Pathans". When the Ghilzai tribe of the Pathans in Afghanistan grew in power, the other Pathan tribes moved further south of Afghanistan into India. At that time Afghan tribes including the Marwat, Yusufzai, Khattak and many other Pathan tribes moved into the Punjab and settled into places like Pathankot and Hoshiarpur .
According to another story, Pathankot is not associated with PathansPathan tribes or Pathania Rajput rulers either . Its original name was Pratishthan which changed to Paithan under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh . Paithan and Kot were two different places separated by the river Chakki. When the British named the place in their records it was written as Pathankot. Even today there are remains of a human settlement on the other side of river chakki as, many a times,pottery and other artifacts are found when there is any sort of excavation taking place in the region.Hence, this claim is far more supported than the preceding one through evidence.
There are also a Village in Pathankot on Jugial Road where the most of the men belongs to indian army name Pangoli. Col. Jaideep Singh Salaria is the hero of this Village who died in 2001 in Jammu and Kashmir. There is a place called "ABROL NAGAR" which was founded by BA LLB "Late Sh. Daya Ram Abrol" in 1953. Late Sh. Daya Ram Abrol lives there with his wife alongwith four sons and six daughters. This family was the first family of Abrol Nagar. Later, Mr. Abrol gave land to peolpe to people for free of cost to live.
Pathankot is an economically well off city, as compared to many other towns of Punjab or Himachal Pradesh . The exact data on per capita income is not available.
Historically, Pathankot's economy was based upon the timber trade. Good quality forest wood from Himachal used to come to Pathankot, where it was cut and distributed to various parts of Northern India. In the early 1990s, when the railroad was extended to Jammu Tawi, the timber trade shifted to Jammu. After the liberalization of the Indian economy, Pathankot has emerged as a commercial center of wholesalers and distributors of consumer goods and services, catering to Himachal Pradesh and North-West Punjab.Now, the main economy of Pathankot is based on Stone Crushers. Being on the foothills the Chakki, Ravi and Beas rivers enter the plains in the vicinity of Pathankot and these rivers carry boulders which settle as the rivers enter the plains. There are more than 200 stone Crushers in and around Pathankot. The most well known being Sant Stone Crusher at Narot Jaimal Singh on the Bank of Ravi.
Being in the foothills of Himachal Pradesh, and as the nearest rail link to Himachal Pradesh and on National Highway No. 1, Pathankot has an economically important location. Pathankot is only 30 km from the Indo-Pak border, and the only rail and road link between strategically important Jammu & Kashmir and rest of India. This means a lot of Army and Air Force personnel are stationed at Pathankot and in nearby areas. They contribute heavily to local prosperity. The Army and Air Force award a lot of contracts to local vendors and their personnel consume local goods and services.
http://www.jnvgurdaspur.org.in/
More information on Schools in Pathankot
''''COLLEGESS AND UNIVERSITY'S IN PATHANKOT':
Air
Pathankot is connected to Delhi by a biweekly flight.
Train
Pathankot is a major railway junction. Railway lines from Amritsar (110 km or about 2 hours) and Delhi (475 km or about 8 hours) merge here and all trains to Jammu (110 km or about 2 hours away) pass through Pathankot. Pathankot station is within the city and now all major trains do not enter it. Instead they stop at an adjacent station, Chakki Bank (so called because it is on bank of river Chakki) just 4 km away.
Pathankot is also served by the narrow-gauge Kangra Valley Railway that crawls 128 km to Joginder Nagar via Palampur and Kangra (near Dharamsala). However, the luxury Kangra Queen service on this track was terminated in 2003 and now only about six slow, often crowded second class trains depart from Pathankot taking over six hours to Joginder Nagar. Tickets for these can only be bought at Pathankot station and no reservations can be made on internet. Some of these trains run to Baijnath Paprola and a few to Joginder Nagar.
To know more about Pathankot trains & their schedules Click Chakki Bank Railway Station and Pathankot Railway Station
Bus
The main bus stand has been renovated. It is close to the railway station. Formerly, there were two bus stations: a small one right next to the train station (for Himachal buses) and the main bus stand a few km away. Public HRTC buses to Dharamsala take 3 to 4 hours and cost Rs.100 while buses to Amritsar take 3 hours and cost about Rs.70 (as on which date?).
Pathankot is situated at the entry point of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Pathankot is serviced by state transport buses of many states. The famous Hindu cave Vaishno Devi is just 160 km from Pathankot. Travel to Chandigarh takes about six hours.
For more information about Pathankot Bus Stand Click Maharana Pratap Inter State Bus Terminal Pathankot and to get Schedule of Buses Click Time Table
As of 2001[update] India census, Pathankot had a population of 159,559. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Pathankot has an average literacy rate of 87%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 90%, and female literacy is 83%. In Pathankot, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. In Pathankot, Punjabi is the official and the main spoken language although Urdu, Hindi and Dogri are also spoken .
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.
Its one of the city of Punjab's golden triangle i.e. Amritsar, Jalandhar and Pathankot are at a distance of 100 km to each other.
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 two mosques in the city presenting the city of its name. Pathankot Club is situated in Adhunik Vihar.
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.
The ancient Shiva temple- 'Kathgarh'. is approximately 25 km from PTK, During "Naag panchami" gap between two shiva parvati holy stones reduces and during "shivrathri" the gap increases. There is no clue as to how that happens. But truly it's a magic of its own. To reach there one has to go to Indora (HP), which is 20 km away from ptk. Don't miss this temple if you visit Pathankot.
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 the Nurpur Fort built by the Pathania Rajputs, more than 900 years ago. It was damaged due to the great earthquake which struck this region early in 1905 AD 25 km from Pathankot. It is quite famous in North India, and the temple inside attracts tourists from all across. It is 25 KM away from Pathankot.
Shahpurkandi fort is also one of the main attractions of Pathankot city. It was built in 1505 AD by a Rajput chief Jaspal Singh Pathania. It was strategically located to have control over the Kangra and Nurpur region. The fort is in ruins, and is famous for its temples and the view it commands over the Ravi river.
The famous road/colony that forms the heart of city are mission road, Jodhamal colonybarth sahib , green heaven colony and Patel chownk road. Famous temples are Ashapurni mandir, Kali mata ka mandir, Shani Dev mandir, Hanuman Mandir near railway station, Ramlila ground. Also devotees visit CNI church.
Upcoming residential areas in Pathankot include Patel Chownk, Shahenshah Colony, Victoria Estate and DojiRam Nursery land estate. After announcement of Pathankot as a district, the rates in these colonies have started increasing rapidly.
One can stop over in Pathankot en-route to Mukerian (40), Dharamshala (100 km), Dalhousie (70 km), Amritsar (108), Palampur (100 km), Chamba (100 km) & Jammu (100 km), Hoshiarpur (100 km), Kangra (100 km), Jalandhar (108 km) all in different directions from Pathankot.
To Find distances from Pathankot Click Here
Pathankot is referred to as Pankot in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , as well as the Jewel In The Crown miniseries based on Paul Scott's novel series of the same name.