Khrew Explained

Khrew
Native Name:Khrew
Settlement Type:City
Pushpin Map:India Jammu and Kashmir#India
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India
Coordinates:34.02°N 74.99°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: India
Subdivision Type1:Union Territory
Subdivision Name1:Jammu and Kashmir
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Pulwama
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:12
Elevation M:1607
Population Total:9857[1]
Population As Of:2011
Population Density Km2:auto
Demographics Type1:Languages
Demographics1 Title1:Official
Demographics1 Info1:Kashmiri, Urdu, Hindi, Dogri, English[2] [3]
Timezone1:IST
Utc Offset1:+5:30
Postal Code Type:PIN
Postal Code:191103
Area Code Type:Telephone code
Area Code:01933
Registration Plate:JK 13
Blank1 Name Sec1:Literacy
Blank1 Info Sec1:42%

Khrew is a town under municipal committee in Pulwama district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It comes under Tehsil Pampore and District Pulwama of Union Territory of J&K. It is located at a distance of 20.3 km from Lal chowk city centre. It is famous for many things like a cement manufacturing hub where thousands of cement trucks are sent across the valley. It is also famous for the Indian army training camp where most of the new joinee soldiers get training and are sent to different places after the training is over. It is also famous for the education system having two higher secondary schools and many private schools. It is also famous for different religious places like Saint Sabir shah, Saint Syed shah Mantaqee, baba Qasim, and Jwala Mukhi Temple situated on the hilltop.

This area has a good banking facility, internet facility, mobile services, Post office, Hospital and very good road connectivity with Srinagar city.

Khrew is known as an industrial area in the valley and the state is getting very good revenue from this area. As per the RTI filed in 2020 about the taxes paid in J&K state: Khrew achieved third place after Srinagar and Jammu city where people are direct and indirect taxpayers.

Geography

Khrew is located at 34.02°N 74.99°W.[4] It has an average elevation of 1,607 metres (5,272 feet) and is located in the Kashmir valley. The area starts from Babapora to Seer Bagh and from Bathen to Androosa. Also, the foot region is extended to Ladhoo, a village in Jammu and Kashmir.

India census,[5] Khrew had a population of 18,411. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Khrew has an average literacy rate of 42%, lower than the national average of 65.8%; male literacy is 22.08%, and female literacy is 20.00%. In Khrew, 17% of the population is under 15 years of age.

Climate

[<nowiki/>[[Ooty|hide]]]Climate data for Khrew (Khreuh)
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Average high °C8.314.920.222.624.028.336.932.428.424.818.716.720.95
Daily mean °C61016182023262825221712.918.65
Average low °C-41101216192221201812212.41
Average precipitation mm (inches)180687106803720511530304056.83
Average rainy days1146141053346246
Mean daily sunshine hours24679111110088777.5
Source #1: Khrew IT VRUGlobal Meteorological Department (1901-2017)
Source #2: Climate-Data.org for mean temperatures, altitude: 2214m, Weather2Travel for sunshine and rainy days

Religion

Khrew is a majority-Muslim area with 98% of people practicing Islam and the rest practice Hinduism and Sikhism.

Health

Khrew contains one government hospital with approx 20 beds. This hospital provides basic healthcare facilities to its patients.

At present 6 cement factories are operating in the area, which although are a major source of employment for locals have led to a lot of pollution in the area. Kashmir Cement Project established the first cement factory in the region. Six cement plants include government-sponsored JK cement, TCI Max, HK cement, Cemtac, ARCO, ICC cement. Hundreds of trucks also pass in and out of these plants every day to transport raw material and manufactured cement bags. According to the report from the World Health Organization, Khrew has a more death rate than any other town in the district due to the emission of poisonous gases. Factories release 100,000 kilograms of toxic fumes, poisonous gases, and life-threatening elements in the air per day. Lung disease is the primary cause of fume-related fatalities, followed by kidney failure and heart diseases. The release of the poisonous gases was found to be the responsible factor for these conditions, according to the report. The report also suggested that pollution control should intervene and check on a monthly basis whether the pollution control devices in the factories are functioning properly. Khrew has a majority of the population who have directly or indirectly lung or another pulmonary disease.[6] [7] [8]

Holy places

Khrew is also famous for an important temple of Kashmiri Hindus.[9] It is a temple which is dedicated to Jawala Bhagwati - the Goddess of fire. In December 2014 this temple caught fire due to short-circuiting. Now it is renovated in new design. The old wooden structure is now changed to iron and steel[10] The temple is reached by a flight of stone steps. Mela Jawala Mukhi is held here annually on the 14th day of the bright fortnight of Savan (July–August) when pilgrims visit this shrine from all corners of the country. At the bottom of the hillock is a spring where people take a dip before making the ascent.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Khrew Town Population. Census India. 10 July 2021.
  2. Web site: The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020 . The Gazette of India. 27 September 2020 . 27 September 2020.
  3. News: Parliament passes JK Official Languages Bill, 2020 . Rising Kashmir . 23 September 2020 . 30 May 2021 . 24 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200924141909/http://risingkashmir.com/news/parliament-passes-jk-official-languages-bill-2020 . dead .
  4. http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/12/Khreuh.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Khrew
  5. Web site: Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional). https://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. 2004-06-16. 2008-11-01. Census Commission of India.
  6. Web site: Cement factories at Khrew, Khanmoh -affecting peoples' health, vegetation - India Environment Portal News, reports, documents, blogs, data, analysis on environment & development India, South Asia. www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in. 2016-02-27.
  7. Web site: Cement factories turning monsters in Khrew. The Vox Kashmir. 2016-02-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20160312104918/http://www.thevoxkashmir.com/2013/04/10/cement-factories-turning-monsters-in-khrew/. 12 March 2016. dead.
  8. Web site: Cement factory pollution pesters Khrew; locals take to roads. www.greaterkashmir.com. 2016-02-27.
  9. Web site: The Shrine of Jawalaji Khrew. Jammu Kashmir Latest News Tourism Breaking News J&K. en-US. 2016-02-27.
  10. Web site: Historic Pulwama temple damaged in a fire. Service. Tribune News. 2016-02-27.