Poonch district, India


Poonch or Punch is a district in Jammu and Kashmir, India. With headquarters the town of Poonch, it is bounded by the Line of Control on three sides. The 1947-48 war between India and Pakistan divided the earlier district into two parts. One went to Pakistan and the other became part of the then Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Administration

The District headquarters is in the Poonch city. Rahul Yadav is the current District Commissioner. Presently District Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir is divided into six tehsils:
Each tehsil has its Tehsildar, who is the administrative head. The district is further divided into eleven. blocks: Poonch, Mandi, Loran Sathra Mendhar, Mankote Balakote, Surankote and Buffliaz. The administrative head of each block is the Block Development Officer. Each block consists of a number of panchayats. Recently added One Sub Division, other is Mendhar. Poonch district has a total of 179 villages including Seri Khawaja.

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Poonch one of the country's 250 most backward districts. It is one of the three districts in Jammu and Kashmir currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme.

Politics

Poonch District has 3 assembly constituencies: Surankote, Mendhar and Poonch Haveli. In 19 November 2018, the assembly was dissolved by governor Satya pal Malik. The former M.L.A of Poonch Haveli is Shah Mohammed Tantray of Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party, Mohammed Akram of Indian National Congress is currently representing Surankote constituency and Mendhar is being represented by Javid Rana of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. Poonch district comes in Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha Constituency.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Poonch district, India has a population of 476,835, roughly equal to the nation of Suriname. This gives it a ranking of 548th in India. The district has a population density of. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 27.97%. Poonch has a sex ratio of 890 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 68.69%. The district is 90.45% Muslim.
Resident ethnicities include Gujjars, Bakerwals, Jatts, Paharis, Punjabis, Kashmiris and Rajputs. Gujjars mostly reside on the slopes of mountains. The inhabitants typically cultivate small plots of land, and own some cattle. Gujjars and Bakerwals speak Gojri, apart from Kashmiris the rest of the population speak Pahari-Pothwari and only a minuscule population may be speaking Dogri.

Religion

the religions followed in the district were:
Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity and small numbers of Buddhists, Jains, and others.

Peace

With the recent developments between India and Pakistan, the divided people are again coming into contact with each other. The opening of the Poonch-Rawalakot bus is an important step in this direction.

Transport

Air

There is a small airstrip located which is mainly used by the Indian Army.

Rail

There is no railway connectivity to Poonch yet.

Road

Poonch district is connected to the summer capital Jammu by an all-weather road. It also has road connectivity with Srinagar through the pictureresque Mughal Road.
A bus across the LOC, the Poonch-Rawalakot bus has helped to re-establish ties across the border.

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