Faisalabad

For other uses, see Faisalabad (disambiguation).
Faisalabad
فیصل آباد
Metropolitan City

Flag
Nickname(s): Manchester of Pakistan
Motto: Pre-empting Poverty, Promoting Prosperity
Faisalabad

Location of Faisalabad in Pakistan

Coordinates: 31°25′45″N 73°4′44″E / 31.42917°N 73.07889°ECoordinates: 31°25′45″N 73°4′44″E / 31.42917°N 73.07889°E[1]
Country  Pakistan
Region Punjab
District Faisalabad District
Established 1892
Granted City Status 1943
Government[2]
 • Type City District
 • Body Faisalabad District
 • DCO Noor-ul-Amin Mengal
Area[1]
 • Total 1,300 km2 (490 sq mi)
 • Land 840 km2 (325 sq mi)
 • Water 430 km2 (165 sq mi)
 • Metro 5,860 km2 (2,261 sq mi)
Elevation[3] 184 m (605 ft)
Population (August 14, 2014)[4] 7,480,675
 • Rank 3rd, Pakistan
 • Density 927/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Demonym Faisalabadi
Time zone Pakistan (PST) (UTC+5)
 • Summer (DST) PST (UTC+4)
ZIP code(s) 38000
Area code(s) 041
Major airport Faisalabad International Airport (LYP)
Website www.faisalabad.gov.pk

Faisalabad formerly, Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan,[5] the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. The city-district of Faisalabad is bound on the north by the districts of Hafizabad and Chiniot, on the east by Nankana Sahib, on the Sout″h-East by Okara, on the South Sahiwal & Toba Tek Singh, and on the west by Jhang.

Nicknamed the Manchester of Pakistan,[6] Faisalabad is a major contributor towards Pakistan's GDP. The city is at a road and railway junction, which has played an influential role in the development of the city's trade and economy markets. The surrounding countryside, irrigated by the lower Chenab River, has allowed for the production of cotton, wheat, sugarcane, vegetables and fruits, which form 55% of Pakistan's exports. The city is an industrial centre with major railway repair yards, engineering works, and mills that process sugar, flour, and oil seed. Produce includes superphosphates, cotton and silk textiles, hosiery, dyes, industrial chemicals, beverages, apparels, pulp and paper, printing, agricultural equipment, and ghee (clarified butter).

Faisalabad is home to the prestigious University of Agriculture, founded in 1909. Rai Bahadur Saudagar Mal Nagpal, owner of one of the biggest grain exchange in Lyallpur, was made the Crown Representative by the King George V during Delhi Durbar in 1911. A number of famous artists and sportsmen have also hailed from the city such as the legendary Qwalli singer, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Pakistani cricketer Saeed Ajmal.

History

Repair shops, Pakistan Railways Lyallpur Depot
Industrial Exhibition, UAF
British built clock tower
Zainab Mosque
Daewoo Bus Terminal

Faisalabad was originally known as Sandalbar,then Chenab Colony and then Lyallpur. It was once part of ancient district of Jhang and Sandalbar, a 5,000 square kilometres (1,900 sq mi) area consisting mainly of thick forests and inhabited by nomad tribes (called Jaanglis in local language). The tract from Shahdara to Shorkot, Sangla Hill to Toba Tek Singh, was traditionally called Sandalbar.

From the beginning of the 7th century Rajput kingdoms dominated the eastern divisions of Pakistan and northern India. In 712 A.D. Muhammad Bin Qasim's forces had concurred this area including Shorkot. In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the Ghaznavid dynasty established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in Kabul in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of the Punjab region. It was then brought under the control of the Delhi Sultanate and then the Mughal Empire. Faisalabad slowly developed and many Muslim Sufi missionaries converted the local Hindu population to Islam.

During the reign of the Mughal Empire, the population and cultivation of the land increased. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh Empire invaded and occupied the region from 1765 to 1846. The Muslims faced restrictions during Sikh rule and there are countless reports that the Muslim community suffered during these times. Faisalabad was also the site of where two major battles took place between the British Empire and the Sikh armies. On 22 February 1849, the British declared victory in Punjab and Faisalabad came under control of the British Empire.

In the 1870s, the colonial Punjab government decided to increase the cultivated land by making barrages and canals to meet the demand at European markets. This led to the canal based irrigation of the areas now comprising the district of Faisalabad. In 1880, a colonial officer, Captain Poham Young, with the support of Sir James Broadwood Lyall, proposed a new town. The design was based on the Union Jack, with eight roads radiating from a large clock tower in the centre. The eight roads developed into eight separate bazaars. The construction of artificial canals allowed the surrounding areas to be irrigated. The town grew rapidly as farmers settled on newly irrigated land. A large number of settlers came from different areas of Punjab especially from Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Ambala on the promise of large agricultural lands. With the extensively planned distribution of land,the canal irrigated areas of Sandalbar soon became populated. This led to a rapid transformation of the nomadic environment of the Sandalbar into a more agriculture based one.

In 1892, the British Raj decided to join Faisalabad (then Lyallpur) with a rail link to major rail network to transport agricultural surplus to the ports to be shipped to European markets. In 1895, the rail link between Wazirabad and Lyallpur was completed. In 1896, Lyallpur was given the status of a tehsil of the Jhang District, and its administration was carried on in tents on the old Theh (Mound) of Pucca Mari near present day location called Tariqabad. The majestic Clock Tower was constructed out of the funds raised by the landowners, who collected it at a rate of Rs. 18 per square of land. The fund thus raised was handed over to the Town Committee, which undertook to complete the project.

In 1903, it was decided to establish an agricultural college. In 1904 the new district of Lyallpur was constituted, composed of the tehsils of Lyallpur, Samundri and Toba Tek Singh, with a subtehsil at Jaranwala which later became a full tehsil. By 1906, the district headquarters began to function in Lyallpur and all the bazaars and settlements within the bounds of a ring road were nearing completion. The city began to spread outside the circular road. The Town Committee was upgraded to a Municipal Committee in 1909 and the Deputy Commissioner was appointed as its first chairman. In 1916, the grain market saw its shops surging with customers. In the same year, the civil hospital was expanded. With the advent of World War II, there was an increase in political awareness across the city. Revolutionary meetings were held.

The main roads in and out of the city were kept 1-acre (4,000 m2) wide; since the independence of Pakistan a lot of roads have been taken over by land mafia after 1947. Some industrial areas were kept on the East of the main canal which is present-day People's Colony and Madina Town. The urban areas were kept to the west of the canal, as sweet ground water flowed from the canal to the river Chenab, the consequence of changing former industrial area into urban areas has been a lack of proper drinkable water for those living in Peoples' Colony and Madina Town. Another industrial area was developed at the west end of town, now around the road towards the central Punjab town of Sargodha.

These earlier development of industrial areas led to industrialization of the city of Faisalabad right from its inception. Initial industrial setup were related to cotton and basic textiles,which is still the most dominant industry of the city with more value- added products. Besides textiles, food processing, grain crushing and small chemical industry was established in the pre-Second- World- War era.

In 1943, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah came to Lyallpur and addressed a gathering of over 2 million in Dhobi Ghat Grounds. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Faisalabad district. Muslim refugees from East Punjab, Haryana, Jammu started arriving and crossed the border into Pakistan; many were given land in Faisalabad District to settle. After independence of Pakistan in 1947, the city of Lyallpur enjoyed considerable development and became a major commercial and industrial centre of Pakistan.In 2015,it's the third largest city of Pakistan by population.

Geography

Rural districts

Faisalabad stands in the rolling flat plains of northeast Punjab, between longitude 73°74 East, latitude 30°31.5 North, with an elevation of 184 metres (604 ft) above sea level. The proper city covers an area of approximately 1,230 square kilometres (470 sq mi), while the district covers more than 16,000 square kilometres (6,200 sq mi).

There are no natural boundaries between Faisalabad and adjoining districts. The Chenab River flows about 30 km (19 mi) to the north-west while the River Ravi meanders about 40 km (25 mi) south-east of the city. The lower Chenab canal is the main source of irrigation water, which meets the requirements of 80% of cultivated land. The soil of Faisalabad comprises alluvial deposits mixed with loess having calcareous characteristics, making it very fertile.

Climate

Main article: Climate of Faisalabad

Due to its high evapotranspiration, Faisalabad features a hot desert climate (BWh)[7] in Köppen-Geiger classification. The climate of the district can see extremes, with a summer maximum temperature 50 °C (122 °F) and a winter temperature of −2 °C (28 °F). The mean maximum and minimum temperature in summer are 39 °C (102 °F) and 27 °C (81 °F) respectively. In winter it peaks at around 17 °C (63 °F) and 6 °C (43 °F) respectively. The summer season starts from April and continues until October. May, June and July are the hottest months. The winter season starts from November and continues until March. December, January and February are the coldest months. The average yearly rainfall lies only at about 300 mm (12 in) and is highly seasonal with approximately half of the yearly rainfall in the two months July and August.

Climate data for Faisalabad
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 19.4
(66.9)		 22.4
(72.3)		 27.3
(81.1)		 33.8
(92.8)		 38.9
(102)		 40.7
(105.3)		 37.3
(99.1)		 36.3
(97.3)		 36
(97)		 33.6
(92.5)		 27.5
(81.5)		 21.8
(71.2)		 31.25
(88.25)
Daily mean °C (°F) 11.9
(53.4)		 14.9
(58.8)		 19.9
(67.8)		 25.9
(78.6)		 31.1
(88)		 34
(93)		 32.3
(90.1)		 31.6
(88.9)		 30.1
(86.2)		 25.6
(78.1)		 18.9
(66)		 13.7
(56.7)		 24.16
(75.47)
Average low °C (°F) 4.4
(39.9)		 7.4
(45.3)		 12.6
(54.7)		 18.1
(64.6)		 23.3
(73.9)		 27.4
(81.3)		 27.4
(81.3)		 26.9
(80.4)		 24.2
(75.6)		 17.6
(63.7)		 10.4
(50.7)		 5.7
(42.3)		 17.12
(62.81)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 14
(0.55)		 15
(0.59)		 21
(0.83)		 14
(0.55)		 13
(0.51)		 26
(1.02)		 102
(4.02)		 91
(3.58)		 33
(1.3)		 6
(0.24)		 3
(0.12)		 8
(0.31)		 346
(13.62)
Source: Climate-Data.org, altitude: 188m[7]

Demographics

The city of Faisalabad carried out a census in March 1981 which showed the population of Faisalabad city as 1,092,000, which indicates that growth rate of Faisalabad city is only 3.37 percent per annum. In April 1981 the survey was carried out again which recorded the population to 1,232,000 which made the growth rate approximately 4.6%. Given this growth rate, the population at the end of 1981 was estimated to be 1,240,000.

The emergence of Faisalabad as a major agriculture and industrial center created a great increase in the city's population. From a population of 69,930 in 1941, it rose to 179,000 in 1951, an increase of 152.2% this was mainly due to the settlement of Muslim refugees from East Punjab and Haryana who came from India and settled in Faisalabad. The population rose to a future figure of 425,248 in 1961, an increase of 137.4%. Faisalabad became a record in the demographic history for Pakistan by registering an overall population increase of 508.1% between 1941 and 1961. This record has never been matched by the largest city of Pakistan.[8][9]

The religion of a majority of Faisalabadites is Islam with small minorities of Sikhs, Christians and Ahmadis. Majority of Muslims belong to Sunni Hanafi Barelvi school of thought with a minority of Shiites.

Religions in Faisalabad
Religions Percent
Islam
  
 98.0%
Christianity
  
 1.8%
Others
  
 0.2%

Languages

Further information: Punjabi dialects

According to the 1999 census of Pakistan, Punjabi language is spoken by 87% of the population. Faisalabad being the capital of the province of Punjab exhibits a great variety of Punjabi dialects spoken by the people of different district's living in the city.

Other languages include:

Economy

Main article: Economy of Faisalabad
Thriving shopping and urbanisation

A PricewaterhouseCoopers study released in 2009, surveying the 2008 GDP of the top cities in the world, calculated Faisalabad's GDP (PPP) at $14 billion. The city was third behind Karachi ($78 billion) and Lahore ($40 billion). Faisalabad's GDP is projected to rise to $87 billion in 2025 at a growth rate of 5.7%, higher than the growth rates of 5.5% and 5.6% predicted for Karachi and Lahore.[10]

The textile industry of Faisalabad constitutes more than 65% of the textile export market of Pakistan, which itself forms 58% of total exports from Pakistan. This makes Faisalabad's share of total exports from Pakistan more than 40%.[11]

Government

The city of Faisalabad is governed by the City District Government, chaired by the district coordination officer (DCO) Noor ul Amin Mangal. Since 2009 the government of Punjab has revived the colonial system of commissionaires and enacted a commissionaire for Faisalabad. This has reduced the City District Government power, severely hindering the process of transfer of power to grass-root level.

In 2005, Faisalabad was reorganised as a City-District composed of eight autonomous towns:[12]

  1. Lyallpur Town
  2. Madina Town
  3. Jinnah Town
  4. Iqbal Town
  5. Chak Jhumra Town
  6. Jaranwala Town
  7. Samundri Town
  8. Tandlianwala Town

Culture

Jinnah Gardens

The culture of Faisalabad is quite diverse because it is an industrial city and people from all over Pakistan come to the metropolitan area to work in factories.

The city of Faisalabad has many parks and places of public interests. The Jinnah Gardens, also known as Company Bagh, is situated right in the middle of the city. The Tomb of Sir James Broadwood Lyall is also situated in Jinnah Garden. It's a big park with a jogging track. It has women community club and a library within it.

Along with the canal, on Sumandari Road, there is another big park called Canal Gardens. It is also public maintained park. An artificial lake is made using canal water where pedal boats are available for people visiting the park.

Forest Park, commonly known as Gutwala Park is the biggest park in Faisalabad. This park is maintained by Forest Department. It is situated on Lahore Road little away from city. It has a small Forest in it and a zoo as well. There's a lake in the Park where boating facility is available for public.

Apart from these big public parks, there are privately maintained Fun Land and Sindbad. Both are situated opposite to Iqbal Stadium. Both are amusement parks for families.

Sport

Iqbal Stadium
Civic Centre

Cricket, The most popular sport in Pakistan, is the most popular sport in the city. It is played anywhere a city dweller will find a large piece of land. This is known as Bat aur Gendh. It is played in the narrow by-lanes of the city. Night-time cricket can be seen at weekends when people play brightly lit matches on less-traversed city streets, disused construction sites, parks and several grounds in the district. The oldest and only venue for international cricket matches is Iqbal Stadium. The Faisalabad Wolves, Faisalabad's local team, are based at this venue and often regional matches are played throughout the spring season which draws in plenty of crowds such as Faysal Bank T20 Cup. The ground hosted matches for the 1987 Cricket World Cup as well as the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

Other popular sports in the city are hockey, Weightlifting, association football, Kabaddi, table tennis, billiards and snooker, squash, and horse racing. Sports like badminton, volleyball, swimming, Boxing and basketball have started to gain popularity as western influences have affected the locals. Faisalabad has its own team, called the PMC FC who take part in the Pakistan Premier League. The Punjab Medical College and Divisional Public School have their own stadiums built on their campuses to train and host matches for the sport.

The city has facilities for hockey. The Faisalabad Hockey Stadium on Susan Road mostly hosts field hockey matches for most national and some international matches. The stadium has plenty of shops and restaurants which bring a lot of life to the area. A new sports complex is being planned to host athletic and gymnastic matches as well as Olympic training for future Pakistan participation.

PMC Club Athletico Faisalabad is the city's only participant in the Pakistan Premier League. Athletico's city rival Panther FC plays in the 2nd Division of Pakistani Football pyramid.

Education

In Faisalabad City there are public and private universities like Agriculture university Faisalabad, National Textile University, UET Lahore Faisalabad Campus ,NFC engineering institute, Govt College University etc. University of Agriculture, Faisalabad is the largest university in Asia situated in Faisalabad. The population of Faisalabad has a literacy rate of approximately 60%, with a split of 60% for males and 56% for females (all figures are higher than the national average).

Health care

Health care services are provided to the citizens by both public and private sector hospitals. The government run hospitals are Allied Hospital, DHQ Hospital, PINUM Cancer Hospital, Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology (FIC) and General Hospital Samanabad.[13] There is also a number of private hospitals, clinics and laboratories in the city.[14][15]

Transport

Faisalabad International Airport
Jaranwala Road
FDA City Main Road
Railway Station

Faisalabad International Airport is approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the city centre and is a major transit point for exporting goods to other parts of Pakistan and abroad. As of August 2014 passenger flights are run by Pakistan International Airlines, and Shaheen Air. Flights are mostly domestic and some international destinations are available from the airport. Major flying within Pakistan is towards Karachi & Multan, whereas major international destinations are Dubai, Jeddah and Glasgow (suspended). There have been demands to renovate the airport and attract international carriers to the airport but lack of direction has prevented this. In March 2015, Qatar Airways announced direct flights from Doha to Faisalabad. The first international airline to launch operations to the city.[16]

The Government of Punjab has planned to built a bus system in Faisalabad similar to Lahore's Metrobus The Federal and Provincial Government is planning to Build MetroBus route and system in Faisalabad just like in Lahore already operational.

The National Highway Authority has rebuilt and improved the standards of roads to meet international standards and improve logistical networks for freight companies. There is a public bus network Brothers Metro (BM) a consortium between govt of Punjab and Private firm operating aircondition CNG buses. As well as private coaches within the city and many privately operated auto-rickshaws and taxis to get around the city.

There are many highways under the control of the National Highway Authority, linking Faisalabad with other cities of the country. The M3 access-controlled motorway connects Faisalabad with the motorway M2 near Pindi Bhattian which furthermore connects with Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Lahore and Multan. There is an expressway which connects Faisalabad with Lahore, Sheikhupura and Mananwala. The city is connected with Sargodha by a highway known as the Sargodha-Faisalabad road. Furthermore, motorway M4 is also under construction which will connect Faisalabad with Multan. The newly furnished Grand Trunk Road, otherwise known as GT Road, is a popular highway that links most parts of Pakistan as well as neighbouring countries. There are several bus operators that offer quick services to the provincial capital, Lahore, as well as Islamabad, Jhang, Multan, Peshawar, Karachi and several smaller localities.

The Faisalabad railway station was built in 1896 during British rule. Today there are connections available to all parts of Pakistan including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Multan,Quetta, and Peshawar.

Media

Hamdard University (now Gurvaish)

The Daily Express, and Daily Dunya are the national newspaper published from Faisalabad. (The Daily Asas used to publish from Faisalabad; it is now published elsewhere.) It is the product of Express Media Group, largely circulating in the Faisalabad Division. The Daily Express started publishing in Faisalabad on 17 September 2002. There are other popular Urdu Faisalabadi newspapers including Daily Permanent News-Declaration cancelled on 25 April 2014, Daily Shelter, Daily Awam, Daily Aman, Daily Tajarti Rahber, Daily Paygaam, Daily Business Report, Daily Report and the Daily Surrat-E-Haal.

Cinemas have fallen in number in the city since the ban on most Bollywood films. The lack of interest in English and Lollywood-related films has caused many cinema halls to close down and many owners to invest in other forms of entertainment. Punjabi stage dramas are still quite popular among Faisalabadis, and there are still some theatres operating quite successfully. There are many stars in Lollywood that hail from Faisalabad, which draws in the crowds from far and wide. Shows usually take place at night and involve a range of day-to-day topics as well as dances to many types of music from female artists.The DAWN Media Group. State-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) transmits five terrestrial and cable television channels. There also a number of private television channels that have offices in Faisalabad including Express News, Geo TV, Apna Channel and Punjab TV.

Weekly Lyallpur Akhbar is one of the oldest newspapers in district of Faisalabad. As a source of agriculture media this newspaper was established in 1933 and still serving rural and agriculture business communities. Their office is in Killa Gift Fund Trust Building, Inside District Courts of Faisalabad. Bashir Ahmad Mumtaz is publisher and editor of the newspaper.

The radio industry has expanded with a number of private and government-owned FM channels being introduced. The FM radio channels that broadcast in the city include the government-owned Radio Pakistan.

Notable people

Sister cities

City Region Country Year
Manchester  England  United Kingdom 1997
Kobe  Hyōgo Prefecture  Japan 2000
Los Angeles  California  United States 2009
Wuhan China Hubei  China 1986
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg1  Russia 1962
Córdoba  Andalusia  Spain 1986
Kanpur Uttar Pradesh  India 1970
Tangier Morocco Tangier-Tetouan  Morocco 2014

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  2. ↑ Correspondent (November 1, 2013). "Mengal Takes Charge". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  3. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. ↑ "The Faisalabad Serena Hotel". Serena Hotels. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  6. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2002). Pakistan: Nationalism Without A Nation. Zed Books. p. 57. ISBN 9781842771174.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Climate: Faisalabad - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Report of 2004 Baseline Survey Faisalabad, Pakistan". Auick.org. 1982-01-07. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ "Geography". City District Government, Faisalabad. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  13. ↑ "FIC Official Website". Fic.gop.pk. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
  14. ↑ "Govt. Hospitals of Faisalabad". Punjab.gov.pk. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
  15. ↑ "List of Public and Private Health Care Facilities". Faisalabadcity.net. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
  16. ↑ http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/press-release.page?pr_id=pressrelease_pakistan-new-routes-040315
  17. ↑ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110323/main6.htm

External links

Faisalabad test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator