Goraya
| Goraya Guru Aaya Manchester of Punjab | |
|---|---|
| town | |
  Goraya  Goraya Location in Punjab, India | |
| Coordinates: 31°08′N 75°46′E / 31.13°N 75.77°ECoordinates: 31°08′N 75°46′E / 31.13°N 75.77°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Punjab |
| District | Jalandhar |
| Government | |
| • Body | Nagar Palika |
| Population (2014) | |
| • Total | 16,462 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Punjabi |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 144409 |
| Telephone code | 01826 |
| Vehicle registration | PB 37 |
Goraya is a town in Jalandhar district and Phillaur Tehsil in the Indian state of Punjab. It lies between Phagwara and Ludhiana on G. T. Road NH-1,
Geography
Goraya is located at 31.13°N 75.77°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 240 metres (790 ft). The city has a humid subtropical climate with cool winters and hot summers. Summers last from April to June and winters from November to February. Temperatures in summer vary from average highs of around 44 °C (111 °F) to average lows of around 25 °C (77 °F). Winter temperatures vary from highs of 19 °C (66 °F) to lows of −5 °C (23 °F). On the whole, the climate is dry except during the brief southwest monsoon season during July–August. The average annual rainfall is about 70 centimetres (28 in).
Sports
Cricket is the most popular game in Goraya; it is played by almost every child. Other games played here include badminton, football, kabaddi, and kushti (wrestling). The town has produced famous Canadian powerlifter Harnek Singh Rai, who represented Canada in the 39th annual IPF world powerlifting championship, held at Delhi from Nov 1 to Nov 7, 2009, as an International referee and Canadian team manager wearing a red turban to match the Canadian flag. Rai is a member of Canadian powerlifting Hall of Fame. He represented Canada in different countries as an athlete, team coach and a referee, 2014 in South Africa and USA and in 2015 in Finland. Ontario govt awarded him The Lifetime achievement award in 2007.ATTA Ground is one of the only few playing grounds around Goraya, this place is being used by the locals to organise different sports tournaments, especially cricket. It is used as a football and cricket ground on a regular basis. It is also a venue for many kabaddi and football district-level events.
History
After their arrival in India, the people of Goraya (known as Manchester of Punjab, for no clear reason) of Jats founded another village on G.T, Road between Ludhiana and Jalandhar, and named it after old principal city in Central Asia as Goraya. It is known that the town is named after arrival of 6th Guru of Sikhs , Sh Guru Har Gobind sahib ji, so its named after "Guru Aya" or Goraya. These people are still residing in the same area. The area used to have a number of factories but very few of them survived as time passed. In fact Manchester of Punjab nick name was derived from thriving foundry industries during 60's , 70,s and 80's which was akin with Manchester ( industrial town with many foundries) in U.K.
Shopping and industries
Goraya has several market places and shopping centres including the Rurka road market, Bara pind road, Post office road and Rishi Bazar (Near Railway Crossing). The Ram Bazaar is the midpoint of the town, with many small but busy shops selling numerous articles including clothes, apparels, groceries, day to day use things . An EasyDay (SUPER MARKET) Store is opened nearby Goraya bus stand. The town also has few industries famous for toka manufacturing used for crop harvesting.
Education and Religion
There are various government and public schools and colleges in Goraya S.H.I.P.S , SR. Sec govt schools, and some other private schools has been doing very well as a medium of providing education to children of the area. There are places for worshipping like mandirs, dargah and gurudwaras.
Brilliant Convent School (BCS) which lies on Rurka Road, Goraya is also one of the main schools in Goraya. BCS is known for delivering good quality education and acheieivng great results at all Board and In school levels. Please follow the link for further details- http://www.icbse.com/schools/brilliant-convent-school/03041007202