Paonta Sahib

Paonta Sahib
पांवटा साहिब
ਪਾਂਉਟਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ
City
Paonta Sahib
Paonta Sahib

Location in Himachal Pradesh

Coordinates: 30°26′17″N 77°37′26″E / 30.438°N 77.624°E / 30.438; 77.624Coordinates: 30°26′17″N 77°37′26″E / 30.438°N 77.624°E / 30.438; 77.624
Country India
State Himachal Pradesh
District Sirmour
Municipality Sirmaur
Elevation 389 m (1,276 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 25,172[1]
 • Rank 7 in HP
Languages
 • Official Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration HP17

Paonta Sahib (पांवटा साहिब, ਪਾਂਉਟਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ) is one of the major industrial towns of Himachal Pradesh in India. It is located in the south of Sirmour district, on National Highway 7. Major industries are cement production (Cement Corporation of India in Rajban), power generation and renewable energy, pharmaceuticals (Sun Pharmaceutical,[2] Mankind Pharma Limited), textiles, chemicals and food, as well as Asia's biggest limestone market at Sataun. Paonta Sahib is an important place of worship for Sikhs, hosting a large Gurdwara named Gurudwara Paonta Sahib, on the banks of the river Yamuna. The river is the boundary between the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

History

The town was founded by Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Singh.[3] The Gurudwara Paonta Sahib has linkages to the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh and the Sikh leader Banda Singh Bahadur. Its original name was Paontika. Paon in Hindi means "feet", and tika in Hindi means "became stable". It is believed that Guru Gobind Singh and his horse stopped at this place and he decided to stay here. He lived here for four and a half years, having never stayed so long at any other place in his entire life. He wrote many Sikh religious books here and then went to Anandpur Sahib to establish the Khalsa Panth. The Gurudwara also houses a museum which contains a lot of antiques and weapons used by Guru Gobind Singh during his stay.

Paonta Sahib as seen from Baba Bhure Shah's Dargah on the Uttarakhand Himachal border

Geography

Paonta Sahib is located at 30°26′17″N 77°37′26″E / 30.438°N 77.624°E / 30.438; 77.624.[4] It has an average elevation of 389 metres (1,276 feet). It is on the bank of the river Yamuna, the river being the boundary between the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is situated near the towns of Nahan in Himachal Pradesh, Yamunanagar in Haryana, Saharanpur in Western Uttar Pradesh and Dehradun in Uttarakhand. It is on the western extreme of the Doon Valley a distance of about 44 km from Dehradun. Kalesar National Park is 12 km from Paonta Sahib.

Climate

Paonta Sahib has a sub-tropical continental monsoon climate characterised by a seasonal rhythm, hot summers, slightly cold winters, unreliable rainfall and great variation in temperature (0 °C to 40 °C). In winters, frost sometimes occurs during December and January. It also receives occasional winter rains from the western disturbance.

Average temperatures:

Demographics

As of the 2011 India census,[5] Paonta Sahib had a population of 1,58,268 (urban 25,172/ rural 1,33,096). Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%.[6] Paonta Sahib has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than National average of 74.04% (2011 figure).: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 72%. In Paonta Sahib, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Paonta Sahib is a municipal council which has 13 wards. This council looks after the development of the city, maintenance of roads, streets, cleanliness etc. The election takes place every five years to elect ward members and a chairman.

Religion in Paonta Sahib[7]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
  
 78.63%
Sikhism
  
 15.01%
Islam
  
 5.04%
Christianity
  
 0.29%
Others
  
 1.01%

Education

Schools in Paonta Sahib include:

References

  1. ↑ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/PopulationFinder/Population_Finder.aspx
  2. ↑ http://www.sunpharma.com/operations/manufacturing
  3. ↑ http://religions.iloveindia.com/sikh-shrines/gurudwara-paonta-sahib.html
  4. ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc – Paonta Sahib
  5. ↑ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2-vol2/data_files/himachal%20pradesh/statement%20%20wise2.6.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2-vol2/data_files/himachal%20pradesh/statement%20%20wise5.7.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.census2011.co.in/data/town/800132-paonta-sahib-himachal-pradesh.html
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