Chitral
Chitral | |
|---|---|
State of Chitral | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| State | NWFP |
| District | Chitral District |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal Corporation |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14,850 km2 (5,730 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,100 m (3,600 ft) |
| Population (2003) | |
| • Total | 600,000 |
| • Density | 40/km2 (100/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Chitrali's |
| Languages | |
| • Official language | Chitrali |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Postal Index Number | 1720 - 0xx |
| Area code | +943-7 |
| Website | http://www.chitral.gov.pk |
Chitral (Urdu: چترال, Khowar: چھترار; also known as Chetrar, translated as field in the native language, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River (also called Chitral River), in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It also served as the capital of the former princely state of Chitral. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, which is 25,289 ft (7,708 m) high. It has a population of 20,000. The elevation of the valley is 3,700 ft (1,100 m).
Location
Chitral is situated on the west bank of the Chitral River (or Kunar River) at the foot of Tirich Mir which at 7,708 metres (25,289 ft) is the highest peak of the Hindu Kush. Until 1969, it served as the capital of the princely state of Chitral.[1]
Geography and access
The easiest access to Chitral, other than by air, is in the southwest along the Kunar Valley from Jalalabad. However the Pakistan (Durand Line) prevents this from being used as an internal route to the south. The other routes are over high mountain passes. To the south, the 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) Lowari Pass leads 365 kilometres (227 mi) to Peshawar. In the north, the easiest route during summer runs over the 3,798 metres (12,461 ft) Broghol to the east, there is a 405 kilometres (252 mi) route to Gilgit over the 3,719 metres (12,201 ft) Shandur Pass. In the west, the 4,300 metres (14,100 ft) Dorah Pass The territory is cut off by snow from the rest of the country for up to six months a year, a problem soon to be relieved by the completion of the Lowari Tunnel.
History
Nothing definitive is recorded about the town’s first settlers. In the 3rd century AD, Kanishka, the Buddhist ruler of the Kushan empire, occupied Chitral. In the 4th century AD, the Chinese overran the valley. Raees rule over Chitral began in 1320 and came to an end in the 15th century. From 1571 onwards Chitral was the capital of the princely state of Chitral.[2]
Demographics
Islam, Polytheism, Catholicism and Hinduism are four major religions in State of Chitral.With the following of 69.3%, 27.7%, 1.3% and 1.7% of the population in 2011 respectively. Others are 1.5%. 52.5% of Chitral's population is in the 15–59 years age category. Around 9.89% of the population is under 6-9 years of age.
Climate
In contrast to more southerly valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chitral has a dry Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with almost no rainfall during summers. Precipitation occurs mainly from spring thunderstorms brought about by western frontal systems. In the winter the night time temperature occasionally drops to −10 C. Winter snowfall in the town can be quite heavy with an accumulation of up to two feet being quite common, at higher elevations snowfall can reach as high as 20 metres (70 ft).The weather is very cold during the winter [citation needed].
| Climate data for Chitral | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) |
21.0 (69.8) |
28.0 (82.4) |
34.3 (93.7) |
38.3 (100.9) |
42.5 (108.5) |
44.4 (111.9) |
42.2 (108.0) |
39.8 (103.6) |
34.4 (93.9) |
27.0 (80.6) |
20.7 (69.3) |
44.4 (111.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.8 (47.8) |
9.9 (49.8) |
15.1 (59.2) |
22.5 (72.5) |
28.2 (82.8) |
34.4 (93.9) |
35.9 (96.6) |
34.4 (93.9) |
31.1 (88.0) |
25.1 (77.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
11.6 (52.9) |
23.0 (73.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.1 (39.4) |
5.3 (41.5) |
9.6 (49.3) |
15.5 (59.9) |
20.3 (68.5) |
26.1 (79.0) |
28.0 (82.4) |
26.5 (79.7) |
22.1 (71.8) |
16.2 (61.2) |
10.8 (51.4) |
5.9 (42.6) |
15.9 (60.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.6 (30.9) |
0.6 (33.1) |
4.2 (39.6) |
8.5 (47.3) |
12.5 (54.5) |
17.8 (64.0) |
20.2 (68.4) |
18.7 (65.7) |
13.1 (55.6) |
7.2 (45.0) |
2.9 (37.2) |
0.2 (32.4) |
8.8 (47.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −11.0 (12.2) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
0.0 (32.0) |
4.4 (39.9) |
8.9 (48.0) |
11.1 (52.0) |
10.6 (51.1) |
5.6 (42.1) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 38.4 (1.51) |
63.8 (2.51) |
97.3 (3.83) |
71.7 (2.82) |
43.9 (1.73) |
5.1 (0.20) |
4.9 (0.19) |
8.0 (0.31) |
7.3 (0.29) |
15.6 (0.61) |
20.4 (0.80) |
38.5 (1.52) |
414.9 (16.32) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 134.0 | 133.7 | 150.4 | 188.6 | 247.0 | 286.3 | 285.4 | 258.6 | 231.0 | 214.0 | 182.5 | 130.7 | 2,442.2 |
| Source: NOAA (1971-1990) [3] | |||||||||||||
Languages
The general population is mainly of speak the Chitrali language also kowar language.The Norwegian linguist Georg Morgenstierne wrote that Chitral is the area of the greatest linguistic diversity in the world although Chitrali is the predominant language of Chitral, more than ten other languages are spoken there as well. Some others languages are commonly used are: Chitrali, Dameli, Palula, Kalasha, Kowar, Marandehi, Balti, and Burushaski
Educational institutions
 |
- University of Chitral
- New City College
- Chitral University Campus
- Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University
- Qutaiba Public School Chitral Denin
- Chitral Model College Chitral
- Government Commerce College
- Government Technical and Vocational College, Garum Chassma Road, Chitral
- Government Degree College
- Government Girls Degree College
- University of Booni
- Government Centennial Model High School
- Government Centennial Model School for Girls
- Government College of Commerce
- Frontier Corp Public School
- Chitral Public School & College, (Chitral's first English Medium School)
- Langlands School and College, formerly known as Sayurj Public School
- Pamir Public School
- Pearl College of Education
- Orion School Of learning Booni
- Oxford School And Collage Booni
- Iqra Model School
- AFAQ model school and college, denin chitral
- Terichmir Model School
- Al-Nasir Community Based School, Garam Chashma
- Chamber of Commerce College, Garam Chashma
- Al-Nasir Cbs School and Degree College, Garam Chashma
- Injigan Ideal Public school, (Garam chashma)
- Hasan ul bana Model School, Warijun Mullkhow
- Govt High School for Boys, Warijun Mullkhow
- Drosh Public School, Drosh
- Muslim Model School, Jughoor
- Jinnah Public School, Drosh
- Broze Public School & College, Broze Chitral
- Broze Model College For Girls, Broze Chitral
- Abaseen public school, seen chitral
- Oriental Model School, Booni
- Oriental Model College, Booni
- Army Public School System(APS)
Administration
Chitral is represented in the National Assembly[4] and Provincial Assembly by one elected MNA and two elected MPAs.[5]
Population
As of July 2014, the Chitral population is above one million. the main tribe, the Sonar and khowar, speak Chitrali. The Chitral culture is Islamic and Hinduism Women are nearly invisible except to their male relatives and other women. They avoid walking the streets of the town, so men or children do most of the shopping.[6][7]
Sport
Unlike the rest of Pakistan where cricket dominates, polo and soccer are more popular in Chitral. A number of sport festivals and tournaments are held throughout the year. Chitral has also produced some national players such as Muhammad Rasool who plays for the national football team.
Newspapers
A few number of newspapers are published by Chitral Press
- Chitral Today
- Chitral Times
- Chitral News
- Awaaz-e-Chitral
- The Kalash Times
- Chitral Vision
- Weekly Chitral
Notes
- ^ Gupta, Om. Town location&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ajdrUqqdGbCB7QbZn4DYAw&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=Chitral%20Town%20location&f=false Encyclopaedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
{{cite book}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "Chitral, a Study in Statecraft" (PDF). IUCN.
- ^ "Chitral Climate Normals 1971-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- ^ http://www2.ecp.gov.pk/vsite/ElectionResult/AllResults.aspx?assemblyid=NA
- ^ Constituencies and MPAs - Website of the Provincial Assembly of the NWFP[dead link]
- ^ Anna, Cara (23 January 2005). "Crossing the Great Divide: What could an American teaching and living in a remote Pakistani village learn from her students and neighbors? Plenty". Special to The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio: The Plain Dealer.
- ^ Butt, Muhammad Shoaib; Bandara, Jayatilleke S (2009). Trade liberalization and regional disparity in Pakistan. Routledge studies in the growth economies of Asia. Vol. 85. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-46595-3. OCLC 789423025.
References
- Decker, D. Kendall (1992). Languages of Chitral.
- Durand, Col. A. (1899). The Making of a frontier.
- Leitner, G. W. (First Reprint 1978). Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893: Being An Account of the History, Religions, Customs, Legends, Fables and Songs of Gilgit, Chilas, Kandia (Gabrial) Yasin, Chitral, Hunza, Nagyr and other parts of the Hindukush, as also a supplement to the second edition of The Hunza and Nagyr Handbook. And An Epitome of Part III of the author’s The Languages and Races of Dardistan. New Delhi: Manjusri Publishing House.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help)
External links
- Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
- Chitrali Songs Songs from Chitral a beautiful city of Pakistan.
