Vehari

For the district, see Vehari District. For other uses, see Vehari (disambiguation).

Vehari وِہاڑی
City
University of Education
Vehari Location in Punjab, Pakistan Vehari Vehari (Pakistan)
Coordinates: 30°2′31″N 72°21′10″E
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Division	Multan
District	Vehari
Government
• Government Administrator	Capt. (Retd.) Altaf Hussain Sario, P.A.S, Assistant Commissioner
Area
• City	20 km2 (8 sq mi)
Population  (2017)
• City	145,464
• Rank	62nd, Pakistan
• Density	7,300/km2 (19,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+6 (PDT)
Dialling code	067
Vehari Punjab Portal

Vehari also spelled Vihari (Template:Lang-ur), is a city and the headquarters of Vehari District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 62nd largest city. Vehari is about 100 km (62 mi) from the historical city of Multan. Vehari is located at the Multan-Delhi Road constructed by Indian Muslim Emperor Sher Shah Suri. It is at an altitude of 135 m (443 ft). ,{chak No 65.kb}

Location

It is 96 km (60 mi) from the regional metropolis of Multan, 956 km (594 mi) from Karachi, 300 km (190 mi) from Lahore, 218 km (135 mi) from Faisalabad, 119 km (74 mi) from Bahawalpur, 61 km (38 mi) from Hasilpur, 41 km (25 mi) from Mailsi, 46 km (29 mi) from Kacha Khuh, 36 km (22 mi) from Burewala, 27 km (17 mi) from Luddan, 78 km (48 mi) from Arifwala, 112 km (70 mi) from Pakpattan, and about 37 km (23 mi) north of the river Sutlej – the southernmost of the five rivers of the Punjab region. Islam Headworks is on this river near Luddan on the Luddan-Vehari canal providing irrigation water to both banks of the river, which includes the upper fringes of the Cholistan Desert.

Agriculture

Vehari is known to be a city of cotton, among other crops. Vehari has dozens of cotton processing factories and cottonseed oil manufacturing plants; sugarcane farming and processing is also common. Agricultural products include mangoes in the summer and guava and other citrus fruits in the winter.

The summer in Vehari is extremely hot; the weather became pleasant during October and February but in recent years it has been reduced to barely three months from December to February. During the summers, temperature hit 45 to 50 degree Celsius on a regular basis. The rainfall is very light throughout the year in Vehari. Recent years have seen Vehari struggle for rainfall even during the usually busy monsoon season. When rainfall is light rainfall the land is generally arid and dusty.

History

Vehari District was an agricultural region with forests during the Indus Valley Civilization. The Vedic period is characterized by Indo-Aryan. The Kambojas, Daradas, Kaikayas, Madras, Pauravas, Yaudheyas, Malavas and Kurus invaded, settled and ruled ancient Punjab region. After overrunning the Achaemenid Empire in 331 BCE, Alexander marched into present-day Punjab region with an army of 50,000. The Vehari was ruled by Maurya Empire, Indo-Greek kingdom, Kushan Empire, Gupta Empire, White Huns, Kushano-Hephthalites and the Turk and Hindu Shahi kingdoms.

In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin. In 1005, he conquered the Shahis in Kabul and followed it by the conquests of Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire ruled the region.

After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikhs invaded and occupied Vehari District. During the period of British rule, Vehari district increased in population and importance.

Vehari District is the result of construction of the Pakpattan canal from Sulemanki Head Works on the Sutlej and the institution of Nili Bar colony project in 1925, so called because of the hints of blue in the water of the Sutlej. The ancient history of the district is obscure. The populated areas in ancient times was restricted to the banks of the river Sutlej where seasonal inundation permitted some cultivation. The rest of the area was a vast sandy scrap-land at best affording pastures itinerant herdsmen. The riparian tract formed the state of Fatehpur during the time of Akbar the Great. This was ruled by Fateh Khan of Joya family who founded and gave his name to the town of Fatehpur. (Fatehpur is still in existence about 15 kilometres to the south of Mailsi and is the oldest town of Mailsi subdivision. It has some remains of archaeological value.)

The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Vehari District.

The main castes in Vehari are Jatt, Dhudhi-Rajput, Joyia-Rajput, Sheikh, Bhatti-Rajput, Baloch, Khokhars, Daha, Gujjar, Arian, Sial, Awan, Langrial.

In May 2002, Vehari District was the scene of a shootout between members of the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and local Shia villagers. LeJ members had come to a local village to stage an attack on a prominent local Shia but were met with local armed resistance. In the ensuing shootout, all four LeJ members were killed, including their leader, Riaz Basra.

Education

COMSATS University, Vehari Campus

Government Model High School, Vehari

City has two full-fledged university campuses and two post-graduate colleges for men and women. COMSATS University, Vehari Campus is offering MS and BS programs since 2009. Virtual University Campus is working at Vehari since 2001. The city contains many higher secondary schools and private colleges. Education University is a government-funded and operated campus with more than four faculties and many departments. COMSATS University, Vehari Campus is public sector university funded by ministry of Science and Technology. Pakistan's leading university, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Bahaudin Zikriya University Multan, University of Education and Allama Iqbal Open University has a sub-campus in Vehari.

Transport

Tehsil Vehari and villages

Vehari railway station

Vehari is on the southern alternate route of railway and road between Multan and Lahore, the capital of the province.

The northern route is the main route. Both run roughly in a northeasterly direction, almost parallel to each other and only 20 to 30 miles apart at any point. A section of the railway between Multan and Lahore was electrified on the main line between Khanewal and Lahore during the 1960s; however, in subsequent decades and lately with rapid decline and deterioration of the infrastructure of Pakistan Railway (PR), the electrified section lies in ruins and is not likely to be restored in the foreseeable future. With the new motorway between Multan and Lahore which was due to be completed sometimes in the early part of 2014, Vehari is set to benefit from its proximity to its north.

Culture

The Vehari route goes to Lahore through the religiously renowned city of Pakpattan, where the Sufi saint Fariduddin Ganjshakar is buried. Thousands of pilgrims come annually to Pakpattan for the saint's Urs celebration which include all sorts of festivities. Selections from his work are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh sacred scripture. He was commonly known as "Baba Farid". Power Radio FM 99 has a station for Vehari.

Climate

The climate of the district is hot and dry in summer and cold in winter Amin et al. (2017). The maximum and minimum temperature ranges between 45 °C and 28 °C in summer. During winter, the temperature fluctuates between 21 °C and 5 °C.

Vehari
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     23     20 6     29     22 9     41     27 14     20     34 20     22     39 24     36     40 27     202     36 27     164     35 26     61     35 24     12     33 18     4     27 12     14     22 7 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: HKO
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.9     68 43     1.1     72 48     1.6     81 57     0.8     93 67     0.9     101 75     1.4     105 81     8     97 80     6.5     95 80     2.4     95 76     0.5     91 65     0.2     81 53     0.6     71 44 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Notable personalities

• Waqar Younis, former Pakistan Cricket Team player and head coach
• Saleem Sherwani, hockey player
• Tehmina Daultana (MNA vehari)
• Muhammad Waseem, hockey player
• Mian Muhammad Saqib Khurshid (MPA vehari)

External links

• Official website