Chenani is a town and

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

in the

Udhampur district Udhampur is a district in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Covering an area of in the Himalayan mountains, the district has its headquarters in the town of Udhampur. The Northern Command headquarters of the Indian Army is lo ...

, in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is governed by a

notified area council A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...

(city council). Before 1947, it was an internal

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

ruled by a Chandel (Rajput) ruler in the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

of Jammu and Kashmir. This Town has further gained importance after getting the Asia's longest tunnel from chenani to nasari.

History

Until 1947, Chenani principality was ruled by a Rajput clan (Anthal), Chandel Rajputs who came to this place in the 9th century AD from Kot Kalhur, Bilaspur Himachal Pradesh. Natives of this region approached Raja Bir Chand of Bilaspur and requested that he save them from the atrocities of local Ranas. Raja Bir Chand sent his younger brother Raja Gambhir Chand. (A Chandel Rajput ruler) along with an army to help the natives. On reaching Chenani, Raja Gambhir Chand made the Ranas leave the place and established an independent State which continued till 1947. During this period 52 Rajas of this clan of Rajputs ruled this erstwhile princely state.

Geography

Chenani is located at Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Chenani
/ref> at a distance of 90 km north-east of

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

city. It has an average elevation of 1,062 metres (3,487 feet). River Tawi flows through Chenani town. It is connected well by road. NH 1A which connects Kashmir to the rest of the country passes through Chenani. Buses from Jammu take about 3 to 4 hours to reach Chenani. Mini-buses are also available for Chenani from Udhampur. The nearest railway station from Chenani in Udhampur, 25 km away. Chenani is the gateway to famous Sudhmahadev, Gourikund and Mantalai shrines that can be reached by bus or taxi from Chenani.

Demographics

According to the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Chenani Town had a population of 2,620, with 1,448 males and 1,172 females. The literacy rate in Chenani town is 88.91% with male literacy of 94.43%and female literacy of 82.19%. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Religion

Hinduism is the largest religion in Chenani with over 75% followers. Islam is followed by over 21% of people. The rest are followers of Sikhism with 2.06% adherents, Christianity with 0.27% followers and Buddhism with 0.08& followers.

Transportation

Air

The nearest airport to Chenani is

Jammu Airport Jammu Airport, officially known as Jammu Civil Enclave, is a domestic airport serving Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is situated 14 km (8.7 miles) from the India–Pakistan border. Infrastructure Terminal 1 The terminal can only ...

, located 97 kilometres from Chenani.

Rail

There is no railway connectivity to Chenani. The nearest railway station is

Udhampur railway station Udhampur railway station is situated in municipal committee of Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The average elevation of the station is above mean sea level. The rail distance between UHP and JAT is . History The Uttar Sampark Kranti Exp ...

which is 30 kilometres from Chenani.

Road

Chenani is well-connected with other places in Jammu and Kashmir and India by the

Jammu–Srinagar National Highway The Jammu–Srinagar National Highway is the northernmost segment of NH 44 (formerly NH 1A before the renumbering of all national highways). It runs from Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley southward to the city of Jammu. It is one of the two ...

or the

NH 44 National Highway 44 (NH 44) is a major north–south National Highway in India and is the longest in the country. It passes through the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh ...

alongside other intra-district roads. The Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel or Chenani–Nashri tunnel is a 9.2 km long tunnel bypassing Patnitop. When completed, the NH 44 will be re-routed through this tunnel. The tunnel will reduce the length of the highway by 31 km between

and

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

. India's longest road tunnel, the 9.2 km long tunnel is about 2 km from Chenani town. It will also reduce traffic jams on NH44 that occurred due to snowfall and avalanches in winter at

Patnitop Patnitop is a hill station, located, between Ramban Town and Udhampur city in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is in located on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (which is part of National Highway 44, formerly 1A), fro ...

References

{{Municipalities of Jammu and Kashmir Cities and towns in Udhampur district