| Pathankot | |
| Other Name: | Paithan |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Pushpin Map: | India Punjab#India |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Punjab, India |
| Coordinates: | 32.2668°N 75.6°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name1: | Punjab |
| Subdivision Name2: | Pathankot |
| Established Date: | In 16th Century |
| Named For: | Pathania Rajput |
| Leader Name: | Panna lal Bhatiya (Cong.) |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 19.7 |
| Area Rank: | 6th |
| Elevation M: | 332 |
| Population Total: | 2,49,000(approx,2,50000 include sub-urban)[1] |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto and |
| Population Demonym: | Pathankotia |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | Pin Code |
| Postal Code: | 145001 |
| Area Code: | 0186 |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Registration Plate: | PB-35 |
| Website: | https://pathankot.nic.in/ |
| Governing Body: | Municipal Corporation |
| Leader Title2: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name2: | Sh. Sanyam Aggarwal, I A S. |
| Leader Title3: | Member Of Parliament |
| Leader Name4: | sh. Amit Vij |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Punjabi, Hindi |
Pathankot (in Panjabi; Punjabi pronounced as /pə.ʈʰäːn.koːʈᵊ/) is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the 6th most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal corporation.
In the Mahabharata and in the works of Sanskrit grammarian and linguistic scholar Panini, the region is also mentioned as ‘Audumbara’ which was classified as Ayudhajivi sangha (Warrior Community).Numerous coins of great antiquity related to Ancient Audumbara Kingdom were found at various sites of Pathankot.
In medieval Period from 11thCE to 16thCE Pathankot was the First capital of Nurpur State of Present Himachal Pradesh which was Earlier Known as Dhameri (a corruption of Audumbari) and its name was changed From Dhameri To Nurpur during the Shahjahan's reign.The Pathania clan of native Pahadi Rajputs of the Region derived its name from Pathankot which was known as Paithan or पैठान (प्रतिष्ठान). Pathankot was invaded by Jarnail Jai Singh Kanhaiya of Kanhaiya Misl and was Annexed from Ruling Pathania Rajput Clan And was Merged with Punjab during Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule. Moran, a Muslim dancing girl Ranjit Singh married lived in a fortress in Pathankot from 1811 till her demise. Pathankot was merged with Gurdaspur District on 1853 prior to that it was made part of Kangra after British Annexed the Hill Parts from Sikhs after First Anglo Sikh War in 1845.
During partition, the initial plan by border demarcation committee was to place Pathankot (part of Gurdaspur district that time) into Pakistan and Shakargarh district into India. However, as a later fine tuning of decision vice versa was done i.e. Shakargarh district was given to Pakistan and Gurdaspur district (along Pathankot) was given to India.
Pathankot has an average elevation of 332m (1,089feet). It is a green town surrounded by the Ravi and Chakki rivers. Shiwalik foothills on the south and east and snow-capped Himalayas in the back drop in north.
Pathankot/Dera Baba has been ranked 26th best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 3 population under 3 lakhs cities) in India.[2]
The city is part of the Pathankot Assembly Constituency.
Government of Pathankot had constructed 4 public toilets in 2018 but they had been opened for only 6 days so as to get good rankings in surveys. You can find them at various places where they charge you 10/- but you can avail general conveniences in a clean environment[3]
Pathankot is well connected by rail and road with the rest of the country. Pathankot is connected by a vast network of private and public-sector bus services to other cities in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir. Important destinations include Delhi, Manali Chandigarh, Jammu, Dharamshala, Dalhousie and Amritsar. Pathankot is used as a gateway for Chamba and Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh and for various locations in Jammu and Kashmir like Jammu City Mansar Lake, Srinagar, Udhampur, Holy Cave at Amarnath, Patni Top and Holy Cave of Mata Vaishno Devi (Katra) 155 km away from Pathankot.
One can take an auto rickshaw or a cycle rickshaw.
Traffic management is poor in the city. No traffic lights exist in the city.[4]
Pathankot Railway Station under A-category. Pathankot is a major railroad junction. Lines from Amritsar (2 hrs) and Delhi (8 hrs) merge here, and all services to Jammu (2 hrs) pass through. In addition to Pathankot station itself, there is a second station called Chakki Bank renamed Pathankot Cantt 4 km away, which serves some express trains that do not stop in Pathankot station. Nowadays the majority of the Jammu trains stop only at Pathankot Cantt Railway Station[5] and not at Pathankot Railway Station.
Pathankot has direct train links with Delhi, Jammu and other Indian cities. All trains going to Jammu pass through Pathankot Cantt Station. Important trains include Rajdhani, Swaraj Express, Pooja Express, Shri Shakti Express. Super fast trains do not serve Pathankot Station. The distance from Pathankot & Pathankot Cant Railway station is 4 km.
Pathankot is also served by the narrow-gauge Kangra Valley Railway (a.k.a. Kangra Toy Train) built by the British, which travels 128 km through stunning scenery to Joginder Nagar via Palampur and Kangra (near Dharamsala)., The luxury Kangra Queen services were terminated in 2003, leaving about six departures daily of slow, often crowded second class trains, taking over six hours. Bookings for these can only be done in-person at Pathankot station. Some of these trains run to Baijnath Paprola and a few to Joginder Nagar. The main stations on this line include Kangra and Palampur. The town is the lower terminus of the Kangra Valley Railway, thereby connecting the mountainous regions of western Himachal Pradesh to the network of Indian Railways.
Maharana Pratap Inter State Bus Terminal Pathankot is close to Pathankot railway station.Public buses to Dharamshala Dalhousie take 3–4 hours. while buses to Amritsar take 3 hours.Dalhousie, a famous destination for honeymoon couples is 80 km from Pathankot.The famous Hindu Pilgrimage Vaishno devi is 160 km from Pathankot.Chandigarh is 4–5 hours away. It is well connected with bus services from Punjab roadways, Haryana Roadways, Himachal Roadways J&K transport, and private AC volvo buses.
One can stop over in Pathankot en route to Gurdaspur(35 km), Mukerian (40), Joginder Nagar (149 km), Dharamshala (88 km), Dalhousie (100 km), Amritsar (108), Palampur (112 km), Chamba (100 km) & Jammu (100 km), Hoshiarpur (100 km), Kangra (86 km), Jalandhar (108 km), Srinagar (400 km) all in different directions from Pathankot via Jalandhar-Srinagar National highway (NH-44), Dabwali-Pathankot National highway (NH-54) and Pathankot-Mandi National highway (NH-154).
Pathankot is a commercial center. Wholesellers and distributors of consumer goods cater to Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and northwest Punjab.
As per data of 2011 census Pathankot urban agglomeration had a population of 159,909, out of which males were 84,145 and females were 75,764. The literacy rate was 88.71 per cent.[6]
Most common language here is Punjabi, Hindi.
On 8 November 2014, Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal laid the foundation stone for a stadium in Pathankot. But even after 6 years, the stadium is still incomplete. Sportspeople struggle to get any facilities in Pathankot. There are no proper grounds to practice. So they go to other cities, while most of the young population pursue other careers.[7]
Pathankot city is surrounded by both the Shivalik range, part of which makes up the foothills of the Himalayas, and the river Chakki. Places near Pathankot include Shahpur Kandi with a hanging rest house, Ranjit Sagar Dam which is the highest gravity dam in Asia. Madhopur (Madhopur, Punjab) head works which date back to the Mughal era. head works of Upper Bari Doab, Shahpur Kandi are the attractions of this area. Keshopur Chhamb is home to many Migratory Birds and is only major natural wetland in the state.
The Union Ministry for Forests, Environment and Climate Change has given the long-awaited signal to develop the twin islands of Kalara and Palangi, located in the midst of the Ranjit Sagar Dam Lake, as world class tourist spots.[8]