Ganderbal is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

and a municipality committee in

Ganderbal district The Ganderbal district, or more formally District Ganderdal, is a district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Ganderbal town is administrative headquarters of district. It was formed in 2007 and has 6 subdistricts (tehsils): ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n union territory of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. It is the headquarters of

.It is in Central Kashmir, it has an average elevation of 1,619 metres (5,312 feet). It is bordered by district Srinagar in the south, Bandipore to the north, Kargil in the northeast, Anantnag to the south-east and Baramulla in the south-west.The current

District Magistrate A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal revenu ...

of Ganderbal is Mr. Shyambir Singh.District Ganderbal is known for its beauty,there are many beautiful places in Ganderbal. Sonmarg is the most famous place in Ganderbal, Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra is also done in Ganderbal.

Geography

Ganderbal is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,619 metres (5,312 feet) above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

. It is bordered by the

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 ...

district in the south,

Bandipore Bandipore () or Bandipora is the headquarters of district of Bandipore in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located on the northern banks of Wullar Lake—the second-largest freshwater lake in Asia. Bandipora has a terr ...

to the north,

Kargil Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in J ...

in the northeast,

Anantnag Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 53 kilometres (33 miles) from the un ...

to the southeast. It is divided into seven Tehsils viz, Ganderbal, Kangan, Lar, Tulmulla, Gund, Nagbal and Wakoora.

Power project

The Sind River, a major tributary to the Jehlum River flows through this district. The water of the river is mainly used for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

, and generation of

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

. There are three hydroelectric power stations, Lower Sindh Hydroelectric Power Project Ganderbal, Upper Sindh Hydroelectric Power Project 1st Kangan and Upper Sindh Hydroelectric Power Project 2nd Sumbal generating electricity on the Sind River. Besides, the water of the river is used for drinking by Srinagar city through Rangil Water Treatment Plant.

Tourism

Water rafting

tournaments A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

are being organised at the tourist destination of

Sonamarg Sonamarg () or Sonmarg (), known as Sonamarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a hill station located in the Ganderbal District of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about 62 Kilometers from Ganderbal Town and northeast of the capital city, Srina ...

every year, to boost the tourism industry of

Kashmir valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

. Besides

Manasbal lake Manasbal Lake is a freshwater lake located in Safapora area of Ganderbal District in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The name Manasbal is said to be a derivative of Manasarovar.http://kashmir-tourism.com/jammu-kashmir-lakes-mansabal-lake.htm, Manas ...

Gangabal Lake The Gangabal Lake, also called Haramukh Ganga, is a lake situated at the foot of Mount Haramukh in Ganderbal district, north of Srinagar, in Indian-administered Kashmir. It is an alpine high altitude oligotrophic lake, home to many species of f ...

at the foot of

Mount Haramukh Mt Harmukh (originally "Haramukuta") is a mountain with a peak elevation of , in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Harmukh is part of the Himalaya Range and is located between Sind River in the south and Kishanganga River in ...

is one of the destinations of foreign tourists visiting the valley. Vaishnosar Lake and Gadsar Lake are situated north of

Development

Despite the fact that in the past Ganderbal has remained CM's constituency, it is quite behind in development as compared to other districts. Now Ganderbal constituency is represented by Sheikh Ishfaq Jabbar who defeated qazi afzal by a little margin of 461 votes in recently held state assembly elections 2014. The State government has not shown seriousness towards the development of the district. The only Central University of Kashmir Valley is being constructed in district Ganderbal. One Faculty, the Faculty of Forestry of

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir is an agricultural university located in Shalimar, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. With its main campus and Faculty of Horticulture in Shalimar, Srinagar, the uni ...

is under construction at Benhama, with the objective to boost the economy and education of the district, which is well behind at present. Besides, there is a stadium which holds a record of playing a day-night matches Physical education college, the only one in the state, is situated at some 3.5 km away from district headquarters.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Ganderbal had a population of 297446. Males constitute 53.36% of the population and females 46.64%. Ganderbal has an average literacy rate of 58.04%, lower than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 68.85%, and female literacy is 45.71%. In Ganderbal, 17.01% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Politics

The Municipal Committee Ganderbal is an Urban Local Body with 17 elected members. Its last elections took place on 16 October 2018. Keys:

Education

There is a Physical Education College Located at Gadoora Village, a Sainik School Mansbal, Industrial Training Institute, a Degree college and many higher secondary schools. In addition, a polytechnic college has been recently constructed in the lands of hoakersar and its current status is active. The under-construction

Central University of Kashmir Central University of Kashmir (often abbreviated as cukashmir), formerly Central University of Jammu and Kashmir, is a central university located in the Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It has been established in March 2009 thro ...

in Ganderbal is at Tullamula also class work started at main campus and different government accommodations at different places. Since 1 April 2007 Ganderbal is now a district carved out from Srinagar. there is a newly created engineering college namely GCET govt college of engineering and technology Safapora Ganderbal (under construction). There are also three faculties of SKUAST-K namely Faculty of veterinary Science and AH Shuhama Alusteng, Faculty of Forestry Benihama, Faculty of Fisheries Rangil in the district.Journey of SKAUST.
Greaterkashmir.com Retrieved on 2021-05-31.

Transport

Road

Ganderbal is well-connected by road to other places in Jammu and Kashmir and India by the NH 1.

Rail

Ganderbal is not connected with railways. The nearest railway station is

Srinagar railway station Srinagar railway station is a railway station of the city of Srinagar in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The station is part of the Jammu–Baramulla line and lies in Firozpur division, which once completed, will connect the cit ...

located at a distance of 31 kilometres.

Air

The nearest airport is Srinagar International Airport located at a distance of 30 kilometres.

References

{{Kashmir Valley Cities and towns in Ganderbal district