Kotri
| Kotri City | |
|---|---|
| Kotri Sindh | |
  Kotri City | |
| Coordinates: 25°22′26″N 68°18′05″E / 25.373964°N 68.301315°ECoordinates: 25°22′26″N 68°18′05″E / 25.373964°N 68.301315°E | |
| Country |
 Pakistan |
| Province | Sindh |
| District | Jamshoro |
| Government | |
| • District Commissioner | Commissioner of Police |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
Kotri (کوٹری), a large town, is the headquarters station of the Kotri Taluka, or administrative district.[1] It is situated on the right bank of the Indus (in Sindh, Pakistan) and since 1900 has been connected with Gudu Bander on the other side of the river by an iron bridge replacing the steamboat which used to cross between these two places.
History
In 19th century Jhirk was the busiest river port and centre of commercial activity in Sindh. It also served as the headquarters of the Indus Flotilla, the most modern navigational system of those days.
Karachi Port near Karachi was connected to Jhirk the headquarters of Indus Flotilla, which was in Jhirk town near Kotri and then it will go up to Mithankot Rajanpur district near Dera Ghazi Khan and then to the last point Makhad Attock. This part of Indus Flotilla was called Punjab flotilla and the Indus flotilla interchangeably.
British Indus Flotilla of steamboats which once plied the Indus river is described by (Shaw 1998).
The river Indus was an important artery of communication between Karachi and Jhirk Near Kotri Sindh, was an important river port, the Indus Flotilla used large quantities of firewood and it was kept to fuel steamboats. Hassan Ali Effendi kept account of the incoming and outgoing wood and Steam boats.
The town originally was within the Jagir of Malik Sardar Khan, forefather of Malik Asad Sikandar Khan, District Nazim of Jamshoro District. Newly created district of Sindh province of Pakistan, Chief of Numria, the 'nine-men' clan.
Geography
The town has road communication to Karachi. There are two routes: one by Thano Bula Khan, and the other via Jhirk, Thatta, Gharo and Landhi. A road also goes to Band Virah, a distance of 39 kilometres (24 mi).
Much of the traffic by river from Jhirk has ceased since the construction of the railway.
The city has a railway and road network, a courtesy of its neighbour, Hyderabad, on the other side of the river. Soon, Kotri stood out as a major terminus for Karachi, allocating trainfuls of passengers from the Kotri Railway Station. It also serves as a starting point for the river steamers for Sukkur and Multan.
The founder of International Spiritual Movement Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam, Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi, was also a resident of Kotri.[2] His devotees consider this town sacred due to its belonging with Gohar Shahi and call it "Kotri Sharif" (کوٹری شریف), which means "Noble Kotri". Gohar Shahi is famous as "Allah Hu Walay Baba" (Roman Urdu) (English: The Divine Man of God) (Urdu: اللہ ہووالے بابا) in this area and his family still resides in Kotri.