Pathankotਪਠਾਨਕੋਟ

History

Pathankot district was created in 2011, carved out of Gurdaspur, and occupies the narrow strip where Punjab meets Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The town of Pathankot has been a crossroads for centuries, the point where the grand trunk routes from the plains turned toward the hill states of Nurpur, Chamba and Kangra.

Its strategic position made it a military town, and the district hosts major army and air force stations. The old Nurpur fort of the Pathania kings stands just across in Himachal, a reminder of the hill chiefs who once ruled this frontier.

Dams and the hills

The Ranjit Sagar Dam, also called the Thein Dam, rises on the Ravi in the district's northern reach, one of the great river-valley projects of the region, with its reservoir spreading into the Shivalik foothills. Shahpur Kandi, downstream on the Ravi, is an old town with a fort of the Dogra period and a barrage that feeds the canals of the plains.

The district today

Pathankot is Punjab's smallest district by area after Malerkotla, with about 677,000 people counted in 2011 across roughly 929 square kilometres. The town is a transport hub: trains and buses for Dalhousie, Dharamshala, Jammu and Amritsar all pass through it. Its cantonment, its railway junction and its position at the tri-junction define its economy.

The district's towns are Pathankot, Sujanpur and Dhar Kalan. Village-level pages for Pathankot district are being added to the Kosh.