Kulgam district


Kulgam district is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is in the Kashmir division and is located at a distance of towards south-west of Anantnag. The district comprises block, tehsil and town of Kulgam.

Location

Kulgam is situated near the Pir Panjal Ranges, overlooking the left bank of Veshaw River, along a rough, hilly road from Larow. River Veshaw, which drains most of the northern face of Pir Panjal, is the main left-bank tributary of the Jhelum River and traverses through District Kulgam. The Veshev is broken into a number of channels to provide drinking water and irrigation for huge tracts of the district's land.
Town Kulgam is situated about 68 km from Srinagar and about from Anantnag. Roads connect to the neighbouring districts of Shopian, Pulwama, Anantnag, and Banihal.

History

Tazkira Sadat-i-Simanania, compiled by 13th-century scholar and poet Swaleh Reshi, gives the name of place as "Shampora". Mir Syed Hussain Simnani later renamed it "Kulgam". Simnani is said to have invited Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani to Kashmir, with poets including Nund Rishi and Lalleshwari. These poets and their disciples manifested the composite culture or Kashmiriyat, promoting and encouraging religious and cultural harmony even when viewed as heretics by other Asiatic countries.
The form of administration from Sher Shah Suri's reign led to creation of a Tehsil during Mughal Rule, through the aegis of Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom. This had jurisdiction encompassing Doru, Banihal, Gulabgarh, and Shopian. After time, constituent units including Pulwama, Shopian, and Reasi attained the status of district.
The area had been a hunting place for Mughal emperors and Dogra rulers, especially for Shahanshah Shah Jehan, who laid the "Chinar Bagh" and Maharaja Hari Singh, who discovered the virgin potential of sanctuary at Kutbal. The District is the birthplace of Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani, the founder of the Rishi order, and of the forefathers of Allama Iqbal and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Rebel groups

There has been insurgency in Kashmir since 1989. Beginning in the 1990s there is an upsurge of Rebel groups in the district, particularly the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. the rebels encourage the populace to boycott elections.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Kulgam district has a population of 424,483. This gives it a ranking of 554th in India. The district has a population density of. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 7.3%. Kulgam has a sex ratio of 951 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 60.3%. The density of population of the district is 1051 persons per km2 as compared to 124 persons for the state according to the Census figures of 2011. 18.99% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Tribes constitutes 6.25% of the district population.
At the time of the 2011 census, 91.91% of the population spoke Kashmiri and 6.43% Gojri as their first language.

Administration

District Kulgam was separated from district Anantnag, along with several other new districts, and made administratively separate from 2 April 2007.
Kulgam district currently consists of eleven blocks: Kulgam, D.H Pora, Devsar, Pahloo, Qaimoh, Kund, Manzgam, Frisal, Pombay, Behibagh, and D.K. Marg. This has not always been the case, in the 2008 reorganisation the district consisted of five blocks. Each block consists of a number of panchayats.
The district has seven administrative units : Kulgam, Damhal Hanji Pora, Devsar, Frisal, Pahloo, Yaripora, and Qaimoh. Kulgam district has Five important towns: Frisal, Yaripora, Kulgam, Devsar, and Damhal Hanji Pora. Four of these have received municipality status; Damhal Hanji Pora has yet to be recognized as a municipality.
There are five police stations in the district at: Kulgam, Damhal Hanji Pora, Qazigund, Yaripora and Devsar, and six police posts at: Qaimoh, Frisal, Mir Bazar, Behibagh, Kund and Jawahir Tunnel.
Kulgam has two sub-divisions: Kulgam and Damhal Hanji Pora.

District Development Council

DDC Kulgam
  • Chairperson: Mohd Afzal Parrey
  • Vice-chairperson: Shazia Jan

    Politics

Kulgam district has 3 assembly constituencies: Kulgam, Damhal Hanji Pora, and Devsar. The parties of the current members of the legislative assembly are: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference for Damhal Hanji Pora and Devsar and the Communist Party of India for Kulgam.
Ithas three municipal towns – Yaripora, Frisal and Qaimoh – which are also tehsil headquarters. Yaripora is an education and health block, while Qaimoh is agriculture as well as education and health blocks. Frisal is a community development block.

Road facility

Kulgam has following roads connecting it to various assembly segments and with NH1A :
  • Kulgam - Anantnag Main Road
  • Kulgam - NH44 via Manigam
  • Kulgam - Qazigund NH44
  • Kulgam - Mirbazar NH44 via Kilam
  • Kulgam - Yaripora
  • Kulgam - Aharbal via Nehama
  • Kulgam - Aharbal via Damhal Hanji Pora
  • Kulgam - Damhal Hanji Pora via Adijan
  • Kulgam - Shopian via Nillow
  • Kulgam - Shopian via Nehama
  • Kulgam - Devsar
  • Kulgam - Wanpoh via Ban
  • Kulgam - Ahmedabad via Khul

    Health facilities

  • District Hospital at Kulgam
  • Sub district hospital at Yaripora
  • Sub district hospital at Qazigund
  • Sub district hospital D. H.Pora

    Habitation and environment

The main source of livelihood in the district is agriculture and horticulture. The low-lying areas of Kulgam are very fertile for rice cultivation, and are considered as the 'Rice Bowl of Kashmir'. The higher elevations are known for production of apples. Livestock and sheep-rearing is a subsidiary occupation among the rural population, particularly in the higher elevations.
Kulgam District is covered by the Pir Panjal mountain range on the southwest side, acting as a massive topographical protection. The area is significantly covered in forestation.

Tourism

Town Kulgam is situated about from Srinagar and about from Anantnag. Aside from places of spiritual interest, the district has tourist spots like Aharbal water fall on Veshew river which is a place of sight-seeing in the extreme south-west. High pastures and meadows are also places of tourist attraction in the area from Kund to Ladigasan. The District also has an abundance of natural water from springs such as Kausar Nag, Waseknag, Khee Nag, etc.

Photo gallery