Machh, or Mach (
Balochi,
Brahui, ur, مچھ,
Sindhi: مڄ), is a town and
union council of
Kachhi District
Kachhi District or Kacchi ( bal, کچی, Sindhi: ڪڇي, ur, ), known until 2008 as Bolan District ( bal, ),( Sindhi: بولاڻ), is a district in central Balochistan, Pakistan. The Bolan area remained under one district Kacchi until 31 Dec ...
in the
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastl ...
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. The town has an altitude of 1006 metres (3303 feet) and is located at 29°52'0N 67°19'60E, - some about 50 km (70 km by road) southeast of
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of the ...
, the provincial capital.
Geography
Machh is located in between the stony hills. It is divided into 3 parts; area for jail, railway and town. There is only one bazaar.
Languages
Main languages are
Balochi,
Brahui and
Sindhi.
Economy
Most of the economic activity in Machh revolves around
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...
s and the buying and selling of coal. The major source of employment is the public sector - Railway, Jail, Wapda, Sui Gas and Levies Force. Machh town has a market that caters to coal miners and residents. Mach has a jail, built in 1929.
Weather
The climate is dry. It rains 3 or 4 times in a year. Machh experiences extreme winter and summer temperatures. The winter of 2016 saw heavy snowfall along the Kolpur and Kohebash areas of Machh.
[Balochistan govt declares emergency as heavy snowfall halts life]
Transportation
People use cars, bikes and cycles for transportation in town. Pakistan National Highway N-65 runs along Tehsil Machh and is the only major road in the area.
References
Saulat Mirza Hanged in Macch Jail Baluchistan
Populated places in Kachhi District
Union councils of Balochistan, Pakistan
{{Balochistan-geo-stub