Pathankot

Pathankot
—  city  —
Pathankot Location of Pathankot in Punjab and India
Coordinates	32°16′12″N 75°39′07″E
Country	India
State	Punjab
Population	200,000 (2007)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 331 metres (1,086 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 145 001 • Telephone • +0186

Ravi river in Pathankot

Pathankot (Punjabi: ਪਠਾਨਕੋਟ) became 22nd district on 28 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.

Geography

Pathankot has an average elevation of 332 metres (1,089 ft). It is a green town with the Ravi and Chakki rivers on either side. Shiwalik foothills kissing on the south and east and snow capped Himalayas in the back drop in north, Pathankot is last but not the least city of Punjab.

History

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^{[citation needed]}.

According to another story, Pathankot is not associated with PathansPathan tribes or Pathania Rajput rulers either^{[citation needed]}. Its original name was Pratishthan which changed to Paithan under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh^{[citation needed]}. 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 along with four sons and six daughters. This family was the first family of Abrol Nagar. Later, Mr. Abrol gave land to people to people for free of cost to live.

Economy

Pathankot is an economically well off city, as compared to many other towns of Punjab or Himachal Pradesh.

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, 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 northwest 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. Many 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.

Education

Schools

• Modern Sandeepni School (Residential school, with foreign coach residential soccer academy), Mamoon Chowk, Pathankot.
• N.N.K. Public School, Near Nageshwar Mandir, Rara Pathankot.
• Sainik Public School.
• Montessori Cambridge School, Pathankot.
• Angels Public School, Pathankot.
• Vivekanand School, Pathankot.
• Modern Sandeepni School, Pathankot.
• Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1.
• Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 2.
• Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 3.
• Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 4.
• Guru Harkrishan Public School.
• Pilot sen sec School.
• Guru Nanak Dev Public School.
• Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School.
• Air Force School, Pathankot.
• Indian Heritage School, Pathankot Dalhousie Road, Bungal, Pathankot.
• Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, najochak distt.Pathankot.
• Shemford Pathankot- Senior Secondary School
• J.M.K International Pathankot-High School
• Pratap World School Pathankot.
• St.Joseph Convent School, Near Kath-Da-Pul(bridge), Pathankot.
• St. Thomas Sr. Sec. School- mission road, Pathankot.
• Presentation Public School - Senior Secondary School
• M.D.K Arya Sr. Sec. Public School
• Arya sr. sec. school dalhousie road, Pathankot.
• Sawan sr.sec.school harial, Pathankot.
• Himshikha high school, Mamoon, Pathankot.
• Avalon girls sr. sec School.
• D.A.V. Public School.
• Army Public School (Sujanpur).
• Pathankot Public School, Abrol Nagar, Pathankot.
• Jyoti Model Public School, Abrol Nagar, Pathankot.
• Government School, Abrol Nagar, Pathankot.

More information on Schools in Pathankot.

   ''''COLLEGESS AND UNIVERSITY'S IN PATHANKOT':

• AMAN BHALLA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, Kotli, Pathankot.
• AMAN BHALLA FOUNDATION CAMPUS INCLUDING MANY COLLEGES,(amanbhallafoundation.com)*
• A&M INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER AND TECHNOLOGY
• A&M INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY
• SAI UNIVERSITY,BADHANI(PATHANKOT)
• SAI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHONOLOGY, BADHANI
• Chintpurni Medical College (BUNGAL)
• SD College (SD Collage Road)
• AB College (AB Collage Road)
• Rama Devi Girls College (Mission Road)
• Arya Girls College (Mission Road)
• PATHANKOT POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE (JALANDHAR BY-PASS)

Transportation

Pathankot is well connected with the rest of the country by Air, Bus and Train.

Demographics

As of 2001 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 of interest & Stay

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.

There is a another famous place/colony in pathankot called 4 marla quarters, ram nagar, pathankot.It is famous for many reasons, but main reason is for its famous temple called Ram mandir.

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

In popular culture

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.