Mendhar is a

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 ...

(administrative district) in the Poonch district of 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 located in the foothills of

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal Range (Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

range within the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. The Mendhar Tehsil headquarters is in Mendhar town. It is located south of the

Poonch Poonch, sometimes also spelt Punchh, may refer to: * Historical Poonch District, a district in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in British India, split in 1947 between: ** Poonch district, India ** Poonch Division, in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, ...

district headquarters and from the state winter capital

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 ...

Mendhar Town (Mendhar sub Division,Poonch)

View of Mendhar Town from Gholad village

Geography

The highest summer temperature is in between . The average temperature in January is ; February is ; March is ; April is ; and May is .

Demographics

The total projected population of Mendhar Tehsil is 112,723, with 57,723 males and 55,000 females 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 ...

. The population includes Paharis,

Gujjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradit ...

Bakarwal The Bakarwal (also Bakkarwal, Bakharwal, Bakrawala and Bakerwal) are a nomadic ethnic group, who along with Gujjars are listed as Scheduled Tribes in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1991.https://tribal.nic.in/downloads/CLM/CLM_1/17.p ...

s and

Kashmiris Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language, living mostly, but not exclusively, in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, India.(a) (subscriptio ...

. There are two blocks; Balakote and Mendhar. There are a total of 50 villages and 50 panchayats in Mendhar Tehsil.

Places of interest

Ziarat Peer Fateh Shah Darya: It is located at Dobraj village of Mankote tehsils about 15 km away from Mendhar town. The shrine is covered by lofty mountains and dense forest. A gigantic Urs is celebrated twice in a year in which people across the Mendhar town attend the Urs and pay obeisance to the Peer Fateh Shah Darya.

Krishna Ghati

Krishan Ghati is a hilly forest area, located from Mendhar. The site is known for its landscapes and natural environment. The areas near it are dangerous due to continuous ceasefire violations.

Ziyarat Chhote Shah Sahib

Ziyarat In Islam, ''ziyara(h)'' ( ar, زِيَارَة ''ziyārah'', "visit") or ''ziyarat'' ( fa, , ''ziyārat'', "pilgrimage") is a form of pilgrimage to List of Ziyarat sites, sites associated with Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, his family members and ...

Chhote Shah Sahib is located in the village Sakhi Maidan of Mendhar tehsil. This

was built in memory of Saint Sakhi Peer Chhote Shah. A few hundred yards away lie the ruins of ancient architecture popularly believed to be of the Pandvas. Ziarat Mian Peeru Sahib: It is situated at top of Topa and kashblari hill at Thera Topa about 10 km distance from Mendhar town. It covers lofty and snowy mountains along with the dense forest. Every year thousands of devotees visits the shrine.

Ram Kund

Ram Kund is the oldest

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

region. It is located in the village of Chajjla, from Mendhar. This temple was built by Lalitaditya between 724 and 761. In the temple's courtyard there are three sacred ponds, known as Ramkund, Lakshmankund and Sitakund. A water spring also emerges from Ramkund. Ramkund is from Mendhar bus stand. Pilgrims visit during the month of March in

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

chawdish.Hindu shrines
, Poonch district government, Retrieved 2016-04-16.

Villages

Gohlad is a village located from Mendhar. All the offices are situated at Gohlad. It is also known as Gohlad Town. SDM Office,Treasury Office Tehsil Office, Bus stand, Hospital, Police Station & All other office of the Tehsil Mendhar is situated in main Market of Gohlad Town. ''Jamia Masjid'' is one of the oldest

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s in Gohlad Town.

Topa Topa is a census town in the Mandu CD block in the Ramgarh subdivision of the Ramgarh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Topa is located at . Area overview Ramgarh has a vibrant coal-mining sector. The map alongs ...

is a village located from Mendhar. The Battle of Topa was fought here by the 5 Gorkha Rifles during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

. Salwah It is a beautiful small Valley in Mendhar. It is about 7 km from Mendhar Town. Starting from Jughal from south and end at foot of Dana Shahsatar Mountain. Topa,Mendhar and Bhera lies on the south east.Jughal,Mankote,lies on South west. Kannetti, Bonala lies on the northwest adjoining Kalaban. Surankote lies on the north. Therpur is a village at top of the mountain of Ther. Khorbani is at the east of it. A hill station Danna shahsataar is about 4 km away. There is Higher Secondary school, a Mini stadium, a Health centre, 3 middle schools, 4 primary schools and 3 private schools up to Grade 8. Beauty of Village Salwah,Mendhar Poonch

Beauty of Village Salwah,Mendhar Poonch(J&K)

Mankote is also one of the villages of Mendhar. At Mankote, there is a defence Camp that provides facilities to the people of that village during any problem created due to shelling from Pakistan. Balnoi is also a large village in Tehsil Mendhar. In 1947 mostly the people of Balnoi migrated to Pakistan. Chak Banola village is located about 15 km from Mendhar. It consists of fertile land for cultivation, encompassing a wide variety of floras. Chak Banola has about 1500 population(2011 census). Kalaban is a remote village of Mendhar located 20 km away from Mendhar Tehsil. Sagra: it is a magnificent village situated on the right bank of Mandheri river at Tehsil Mankote around 13 km away from Mendhar town. There are two playing grounds which attract cricketer lovers from adjoining districts. During the summer season the climate of the sagra is much hottest.

Transportation

Air

Poonch Airport is a non-operational airstrip in

. The nearest airport to Mendhar is

Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport also known as Srinagar Airport and Budgam Airbase, is an international airport serving Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is owned by the Indian Air Force, and the Airports Autho ...

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 ...

, located 175 kilometres from Poonch.

Rail

There is no railway connectivity to Mendhar. There are plans to construct a Jammu–Poonch line which will connect

with

with railways. The nearest major railway station is

Jammu Tawi railway station Jammu Tawi (station code: JAT) is a railway station in Jammu city in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Background Jammu Tawi is the largest railway station in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a major railhead for other places in the re ...

located 210 kilometres from Mendhar.

Road

The tehsil is well-connected to other places in Jammu and Kashmir and India by the NH 144A and other intra-district roads. Bypass road is under construction Via Dachhal to Ari Bridge.

References

External links

The Official Website of Jammu and Kashmir Government, India

Official Website of District Poonch, India

mapsofindia.com. {{Municipalities of Jammu and Kashmir Poonch district, India India–Pakistan border