Geography Of Poonch District, Jammu and Kashmir

District Punch

Geography of Poonch:
Poonch is one of the remote districts of the Jammu and Kashmir State and situated on LOC (Line of Control). Poonch is situated between 33°25' to 34º01' north latitude and between 73°58' to 74º35' east longitude.

It is surrounded by Kashmir Valley (Baramula, Budgam, Shopian and Kulgam Districts) in the north east,district Rajouri in the south and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) in the west.

Topography of District Poonch is hilly and mountainous barring few-low lying valleys. Sky touching peaks covered with shining snow and lush green surrounding present a stunning scenary.

                                  

Geography of Poonch:
Poonch is one of the remote districts of the Jammu and Kashmir State and situated on LOC (Line of Control). Poonch is situated between 33°25' to 34º01' north latitude and between 73°58' to 74º35' east longitude.

It is surrounded by Kashmir Valley (Baramula, Budgam, Shopian and Kulgam Districts) in the north east,district Rajouri in the south and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) in the west.

Topography of District Poonch is hilly and mountainous barring few-low lying valleys. Sky touching peaks covered with shining snow and lush green surrounding present a stunning scenary.

One who loves and enjoys the natural beauty can not desist from adoring the beauty of Poonch.

Pictures below speak the beauty and style.

 Wild Life in Poonch

Thanks to the geographical and climatic conditions, Poonch District is rich in wild life. Forests in the district cover an area about  83.914  acres. The rare mammals include the markhor, musk deer, brown bear, leopard, ghoral and a number  of other wild mammals. Some of the birds which habitate different parts of the district include the pheasant, black  partridge, chakurs, snow cock kohlas.

Poonch traditionally had a rich wild  life. It had a well established Wild Life and Games Department before Independence with 41 hunting places (Shikargahs) . After 1947 the hunting places (Shikargahs) in the district Poonch came under heavy biotic pressure due to urbanization and deforestation causing disturbance to the natural eco system.

History of Poonch

Poonch has witnessed many historical era.   Around 326 BC when Alexander the Great invaded the lower Jhelum belt to fight with Porus, this region was known as Dravabhisar. In 6th Century AD, the famousChinese traveller Huien Tsang passed through this area. According to his observation, this region was known as Part of Kashmir.   Around 850 AD Poonch became a sovereign state ruled by Raja Nar, who was basically a horse trader. According to Rajtrangani Raja Trilochan Pal of  Poonch gave a tough fight to Mahmood Ghazanavi who invaded this area in 1020 A.D. In 1596, Mughal King Jahangir made Siraj-Ud-Din ruler of Poonch. Siraj-Ud-Din and hisdescendent Raja Shahbaz Khan, Raja Abdul Razak, Raja Rustam Khan and Raja Khan Bahadur Khan ruled this area upto 1792 AD.

In 1819 this area was captured by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh and it remained under the occupation of Khalsa Darbar of Lahore till 1850.

In 1850, Raja Moti Singh who was son of Raja Dhayan Singh, the Prime Minister of Khalsa Darbar  set up  its   separate  Principality known as Poonch state. This dogra dynasty ruled Poonch state from 1850 to 1947 when the traumatic events of partition of the country affected this area. Half of the Tehsil of Haveli (85 villages out of 173), some part of tehsil Mendhar (14 villages out of 99) and whole of Bagh tehsil (113 villages) and tehsil Sadhnuti (101 villages) of Poonch state were grabbed by the raiders from Pakistan.

The era from 1850 to 1947 is considered as the Golden Period of the history of Poonch. The Principality of Poonch got status of a state from British Raj in 1901 AD during the reign of Raja Baldev Singh.

The rule of Raja Moti Singh, Baldev Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Jagatdev Singh and Raja Shiv Rattan Dev Singh witnessed all round development of  Poonch state.

The historic Poonch fort was renovated and redesigned. Town  Hall and Court building were constructed on the line of Mubarak Mandi of Jammu, Fountain garden Poonch was established on the pattern of Shalimar Garden of Kashmir,. Baghi Khanna,  Bagh Deodi the gateway of city and number of other buildings were also constructed. Palaces of rulers called Baldev Mahal, Moti Mahal and Sheesh Mahal reflected the aesthetic of the rulers. A number of temples, mosques and gurdwaras also emerged during these years.

Bagh Daidi

Moti Mahal