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R S PURA : Most progressive Tehsil of Jammu District

Ranbir Singh Pura is a town and also a sub-district and a NotifiedArea Committee in Jammu District in the Indian state of Jammuand Kashmir.

GGeeooggrraapphhyyRanbir Singh Pura is located at 32.63°N 74.73°E. It has an average ele-

vation of 270 metres (886 feet). Ranbir Singh Pura is one of the most pro-gressive Tehsil of Jammu District. The main economic activity of R S Purais agriculture and dairy farming. Rice (Basmati) and wheat are major cropswhile mustard, berseem and vegetables are also grown. Rakh area of BadyalBrahmana and Arnia are very famous for vegetable farming. R.S.Pura hasmany rice mills for the processing of high quality Basmati rice. The maintourist destination is Grahana Wetland, where migratory birds from temper-ate zones of Asia come to enjoy this beautiful landscape.

The main town is a complete in itself to fulfill all needs of daily life likedepartmental stores, garments showrooms, sweets and confectionary, freshfruits and vegetable open market. Apart from these healthcare services, postoffice, nationalised banks and private sector bank's are also present. Themajor educational institutions of R. S. Pura are SKUAST-VeterinaryCollege, Govt. Degree College, Govt. Higher Sec School and many highschools. The main language spoken in this region is Dogri.

DDeemmooggrraapphhiiccssAs of 2001 India census, Ranbir Singh Pura had a population of 13,563.

Males constitute 54 per cent of the population and females 46 per cent.Ranbir Singh Pura has an average literacy rate of 70 per cent, higher thanthe national average of 59.5 per cent: male literacy is 77 per cent, andfemale literacy is 63 per cent. In Ranbir Singh Pura, 11 per cent of the pop-ulation is under six years of age.

SSuucchheettggaarrhh BBoorrddeerr TToouurriissmm Over the past two decades the pilgrimage to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji in

Jammu province has emerged as a major generator of tourism to the State.With the development of Katra and other places enroute to Darbar by theState authorities and Shri Mata Viashno Devi Shrine Board, respectively,the number of pilgrims visiting the Holy Shrine has incresed from 13.86lakhs in 1986 to over one crore now. But train to Katra also and people whoused to go to Vaishno Devi via Jammu directly go to Katra.

In order to spread the benefits of the Yatra, we have to develop a number

of locations in Jammu District for attracting the Vaishno Devi pilgrimsto stay in Jammu for longer duration. This will simultaneously open upother tourism avenues in the region. In this connection keeping in viewits potential there is a need to develop R.S. Pura area located near theborder post on the road connecting Jammu with Sialkot in Pakistan asa tourist site. This is expected to augment the capacity of the local inhab-itants to earn livelihood and improve the overall economy of the village.

R.S.Pura is located on the Indo-Pak border 27 Kms away from the dis-trict headquarters of Jammu. In close vicinity are the Gharana andAbdullian wet lands where migratory birds of a number of varieties flockduring winter season add to the attraction of the village. The road to NaiBasti-Gulabgarh from Jammu follows the train route as it existed priorto 1947 and a number of old buildings can be seen on the way. The mainroad linking this village was once the bus route from Jammu to Sialkot,Pakistan. Earlier there was an Octroi Post at this point. Sialkot road isvisited often by the residents of Jammu to peep across the border fromthe BSF post.

HHaannuummaann jjii TTeemmppllee nneeaarr OOccttrrooii PPoosstt A prehistoric temple lying in the near vicinity of Suchetgarh Octroi

Post and Raghunath Temple has its own importance of having theHanuman Ji. Local people come here regularly to pay their homage.

Within the temple complex there is an old Sarai, where travelers'enroute to Sialkot used to halt. It is wrecked and needs renovation.

An old well built with old bricks of the Maharaja’s time is also situat-ed in the temple premises. The old shallow well is presently not function-al and is in a shabby condition and needs cleaning.A Peer Baba Shrineis also situated near the zero line. This Holy place can attract the atten-tion of tourists. The premises need expansion and maintenance.

RR SS PPuurraa HHiissttoorryyR.S.Pura is one of the upcoming city in Jammu District. At this place,

one can enjoy the facilities of the urbanisation and the freshness andcoolness of rural. R.S.Pura is one of the major Tehsil in Jammu District.From education prespective, there are very reputed private and Govt.high schools. To go with it, it has a Govt. Higher Secondary School thatbuilds the career for the students of R.S.Pura and native villages.

The campus of this institute has a big stadium named after ParamVir

Chakra awardee Bana Singh. RS Pura is having a well established market tofullfil all the necessities of the people. There are Govt. and private hospitals.People over here are nice and helping. The main source of income for the peo-ple over here is by running their own business or serving both in private andGovt firms. RS Pura is blessed with very fertile agricultural land that is thereason why this is known for producing high quality Basmati rice. SKUASTset up in RS Pura is among one of the few agricultural institutes in the State.

GGhhaarraannaa WWeettllaanndd Home to thousands of migratory birds during winter season, Gharana

Wetland located close to Indo-Pak border in Jammu District has been noti-fied as a protected waterbody and declared as Important Bird Area (IBA)."The State Government has accorded sanction to notify Gharana WetlandReserve in the interest of wildlife preservation and development in Jammuand Kashmir. Gharana known as bird-watchers' paradise, the wetland herehas yet again attracted thousands of migratory birds including the rarespecies of bar-headed Geese.Different types of migratory birds arrive in thepremier wetland, situated near the Indo-Pak International Border in R SPura sector, to make it their winter habitat. Around 3,000-4,000 birds of var-ious species, beside bar-headed Geese, have thronged the wetland.

Over 50 species of the bar-headed Geese, including some rare and endan-gered species, every year fly a distance of more than 1,000 miles over theHimalayas in a single day to reach here from their breeding grounds inCentral Asia and other parts of the world.The birds which are counted amongthe world's highest flying species, include Siberian Hans, Keel, Grey Heronand little Grebe from New Zealand, America and Australia.

Most of the birds like Grey Key Goose, Shoverier, Marclands, Poachards,Teals and Gadwal come from different places in Central Asia and NorthernEurope. They migrate to Gharana to escape the harsh winters.

LLiisstt ooff VViillllaaggeess iinn RR..SS..ppuurraaAbdal ,Badyal Brahmna (Lower), Badyal Brahmna (Upper), Badyal

Qazian, Bagga Jana, Bansultan, Baspur, Bhou, Chak Agra, Chak Baja,Chak Bala, Chak Khana-puro, Bana Chakroi, Lower Chakroi, UpperChandu Chak, Chohala, Dablehar, Darsopur, Dhinday Kalan, Lower DhindayKalan, Upper Fatehpur Brahmana, Flora Gagian, Gazipur,Kullian, Gharana, Gondla, Haripur, Jabowal, Jassore, Jeora Jinder,Jindlehar Kaloyan, Kalyana Kharian, Kirpind, Kotli Arjun Singh, KotliGala Bana, Kotli Mian Fateh, Kotli Shah Doula, Maggowali Makhanpur,Gujjran Malikpur, Muralia, Nihalpur, Simble Lower Nihalpur, Simble Upper,Nikowal Parlah, R.s.pura Rangpur, Maulana Rangpur, Sidhrey Rathana, SaiKalan, Sai Khurd, Samka Sattowali, Suchetgarh, Talhar and Tanda.

24 JULY, 2016 1statetimes@gmail.com