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Jammu
district derives its name from the city of Jammu which
besides being the winter capital of the state, is known
as the city of temples. It is believed that the city
was originally founded by Raja Jamboo Lochan who lived
in fourteenth century B.C. The Raja had gone out one
day for hunting when he happened to witness a tiger and
a goat drinking water from one and the same pond. This
extraordinary phenomenon set him thinking and he decided
to build a city at this site so that the strong and weak
could live together in peace and mutual tolerance.
Eventually, he founded the city which came to be known as
"Jamboo" after his own name. With the passage of time
and due to its frequent use the pronunciation of the
name got slightly distorted and the city, came to be
known as 'Jammu' as it is called now
Jammu is situated on a hillock, on the bank of river Tawi
and is bound by Udhampur district in the north and
northeast , Kathua district in the east and southeast,
Pakistan (Sialkote) in west and Rajauri district and POK (Bhimber)
in the northwest. Its skyline was once dotted with
glittering spires of temples. These spikes are no longer
visible as most of these are hidden behind multi storyed
buildings. The city has numerous shrines for Muslims,
Sikhs & Christians also. Jammu also serves as base camp
for the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi. Jammu is also the
Railhead of the state.
Jammu is
located 74 degree 24' and 75 degree 18', East longitude
and 32 degree 50' and 33 degree 30' North latitude. It is
approximately 600 Kms away from National Capital, New
Delhi and is linked with a National Highway.
The
temperature varies from cold in winter with minimum
temperature touching even 0.9 degree Centigrade to heat
wave in summers when the temperature shoots upto 46 degree
centigrade. Jammu District is spread over an area of 3097
Sq Kms and has a population of about 15.88 lakhs as per the
estimates of 2001. It is largest populated District
of the state and second largest in terms of population
density and falls under the category 'B'. The literacy
percentage of the District is 77% in as per 2001 census
which was highest in the state.
Administratively the District has been divided into 5
tehsils , 11 blocks 13 towns including one municipality
1192 villages and 201 panchayats including 41 command
areas.
This District
is having a National Airport situated at Satwari. This
District serves as the Winter Capital of J & K state from
November to April when all the offices move from Srinagar
to Jammu.
Jammu. the
Duggar land where the past still has a living presence. A
land of grand ancient temples, and beatiful palaces. All
nestling in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is said
that, on becoming King, the Suryavanshi Jambu Lochan went
on a hunt and, crossing the Tawi, found a deer and a tiger
drinking water from the same tank. His ministers explained
that this meant that the soil of the place was so virtuous
that no living creature bore enmity against another. Raja Jambu Lochan, who lived in the later vedic period, decided
to found his capital , Jambupura, on his soil, on the
right bank of the Tawi, overlooking his brother king
Bahu's fort. Today the temple of Maha Kali ( better known
as Bahu or Bawey Wali Mata), located in the Bahufort, is
considered second only to Mata Vaishno Devi in terms of
mystical power. The present temple was built shortly after
the coronation of Maharaja Gulab singh, in 1822. The
existing fort, as well as the Manasabdar's palace inside
it, was constructed in 1820.
Jammu is
justly famous for its temples. In fact it is known as the
city of temples and the every fame of its tends to
overshadow its palaces, forts, forests and powerful
ziarats. If Bahu Mata is the presiding deity of Jammu, the
dargah of Peer Budhan Ali Shah is the other shrine that
protects Jammuites. The other major tourist attraction is
the Ragunath Temple Complex. Maharaja Gulab Singh began
the construction of the Raghunath Mandir Complex in the
crowded downtown Bazaar named after it, in 1851. It was
left to his son, Ranbir Singh, to inaugurate it six years
later perhaps the most popular temple north of Benares, it
contains representations of almost entire Hindu pantheon,
though the emphasis falls on the various incarnations of
Lord Vishnu. The complex houses a rich collection of
ancient texts and manuscripts. |
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The District is bounded in the north and north east by the
Tehsils of Reasi in Udhampur district in the east and
south east partly by tehsil Ramnagar of Udhampur district
and partly by tehsil Billawar of Kathua district,in the
south and south west by Kathua district and Sialkote
district of Rawalpindi (Pak) and in the north west by
Tehsil Nowshara of district Rajouri and parts of the
district Bhimber now under the occupation of Pakistan.
District Jammu falls in sub-mountaineous region at the
foothills of the Himalayas.Shivalik range rises gradually
in the north part of the district and merges with the
Indo-Gangetic plains in the south. Jammu city is at an
elevation of 1030 feet above the sea level.
The District comprises five tehsils i.e. Jammu, Samba,
R.S.Pura, Akhnoor and Bishnah.The entire district can be
divided into two distinct portions.The area forming north
of Jammu-Chhamb road and Jammu-Pathankot road which is
known as Kandi area is comparatively under-developed and
is mostly rainfed. The area south of these roads is
largely fed by canal and tubewells for irrigation purposes
and is relatively more prosperous. As per the census of
1981,Jammu district consists of 1192 villages out of which
1054 villages are inhabited. Latest, as per DISNIC SURVEY
conducted during 1994, the number of inhabited villages in
the District reported are 1170.
In the district,there are 11 NES Blocks.Out of
these,the administrative control of two blocks namely
Vijaypur and Samba is with the directorate of Command Area
Development who is charged with the responsibility of
looking after the developmental activities in the sectors
of Agriculture and Horticulture, Cooperation and Rural
Development |
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