Kathua is a city and

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

located in

Kathua district Kathua district is one of 20 administrative districts that comprise the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is surrounded by Jammu to the northwest, the Doda and Udhampur districts to the north, the state of Himachal Pradesh to the ...

Jammu Division The Jammu division (; ) is a revenue and administrative division within Jammu and Kashmir, a union territory of India. It consists of the districts of Jammu, Doda, Kathua, Ramban, Reasi, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur and Samba. Mos ...

of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, near its border with

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and ...

and

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

. The city is headquarters of

and is divided into 27 wards which constitute the Kathua Municipal Council. It is situated along NH-44. The town has a bustling industrial area and an army cantonment adjoining it.

Geography

Kathua is located at . It has an average elevation of . The city is surrounded by three rivers. Ravi is down Kathua while Ujjh is about ahead on Jammu Highway. Kathua itself is situated along the banks of a khad which has been heavily polluted and encroached over there years and this has become a drain of sewage, dividing it into two boroughs: ''Parliwand'', meaning the other side; and ''Orliwand'', meaning this side. Itself being a

Plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

the area is surrounded in the North by snow-capped

Sivalik hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the India ...

. Kathua lies 88 kilometres south of

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of 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, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

Demographics

Population

* Total population of the Municipal Council and Outgrowth areas is 59,688 with 31,717 males and 28,149 females. The sex ratio is 888 women per 1000 men. There are 12,061 households in the Municipal Council and Outgrowth areas.

Literacy

* There are 46359 literates and 13,507 illiterates in the Municipal Council and Outgrowth areas resulting in an 86.46% literacy rate. The male and female literacy stand at 90.7% (25,605 indv.) and 81.75% (20,754) respectively.

Language

Use of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Dogri Dogri ( Name Dogra Akkhar: ; Devanagari: डोगरी; Nastaliq: ; ) is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, with smaller groups of speakers in adjoining regions of western Himachal Prad ...

is the mother tongue and the

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

language of the populace along with

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Religion

Hinduism is the largest religion in Kathua, followed by over 91% of the people. Sikhism is the second-largest religion with 4.75% adherents. Christianity and Islam form 1.09% and 2.68% of the population respectively.

Climate

Kathua has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Koppen ''Cwa''). Kathua generally experiences extreme rainfall during the monsoon being on the windward side of Sivalik. Because of its proximity to rivers, the climate is moderate to very hot in summers and mild to very cold in winters. Summers are hot and the temperature may reach 39 degrees, while in winters, the temperature can dip to below 0 degrees at nights. Heavy downpour is experienced during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

season in July and August. The annual rainfall is around , mainly in monsoons and winters. Heavy hailstorms may be experienced in February and March, but are very rare; Kathua does not experience snowfall. Fog and sometimes Smog occur regularly during the winters, especially in January and February. Compared with Jammu, temperatures in Kathua remain fairly lower by 3-4 degrees. December and January can be very cold especially nights, while February to April and October- November remain pleasant and dry. August is generally humid and sometimes very uncomfortable. Winters are also wet due to frequent rains due to western disturbances. Late night thunderstorms are common while May is notorious for heavy dust storms.

Tourist attractions

Compound Jasrota fort Kathua JammuKashmir India

Kathua has also many small canals flowing throughout the town. In addition to gardens and canals, the district of Kathua also contains historical landmarks such as Jasrota Fort, Jasmergarh Fort and Bhadu Fort.

Transport

Kathua is away from

Jammu city Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of 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, the city of Jammu, with an area of , ...

and from Katra. Interstate and Intrastate road transport is easily accessible due to the close proximity to NH44.

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 ...

is the nearest major airport with regular flights. The town is connected by

Indian railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

to all major cities of India. Intra-district transport is also easily available for travelling within the town and surrounding areas.

Gallery

File:Atal setu.jpg, Atal Setu bridge on Ravi river File:Dream park and canal.jpg, Dream park and canal File:Dream park Kathua.jpg, Dream park File:Garden KK Birla Kathua.jpg, Dr. KK Birla Garden, Kathua

References

External links

History of Kathua

Official website of District Kathua (J&K)

mykathua.com - A web portal about kathua
{{Municipalities of Jammu and Kashmir Cities and towns in Kathua district