Chenani is a town and

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

in the Udhampur district, in the

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

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 governed by a

notified area council A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a Nagar Palika, municipality. An urban centre with mor ...

(city council). Before 1947, it was an internal

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

ruled by a Chandel (Rajput) ruler in the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

of Jammu and Kashmir. This Town has further gained importance after getting the Asia's longest tunnel from chenani to nasari.

History

Until 1947, Chenani principality was ruled by a Rajput clan (Anthal), Chandel Rajputs who came to this place in the 9th century AD from Kot Kalhur, Bilaspur Himachal Pradesh. Natives of this region approached Raja Bir Chand of Bilaspur and requested that he save them from the atrocities of local Ranas. Raja Bir Chand sent his younger brother Raja Gambhir Chand. (A Chandel Rajput ruler) along with an army to help the natives. On reaching Chenani, Raja Gambhir Chand made the Ranas leave the place and established an independent State which continued till 1947. During this period 52 Rajas of this clan of Rajputs ruled this erstwhile princely state.

Geography

Chenani is located at Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Chenani
/ref> at a distance of 90 km north-east 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 ...

city. It has an average elevation of 1,062 metres (3,487 feet). River Tawi flows through Chenani town. It is connected well by road. NH 1A which connects Kashmir to the rest of the country passes through Chenani. Buses from Jammu take about 3 to 4 hours to reach Chenani. Mini-buses are also available for Chenani from Udhampur. The nearest railway station from Chenani in Udhampur, 25 km away. Chenani is the gateway to famous Sudhmahadev, Gourikund and Mantalai shrines that can be reached by bus or taxi from Chenani.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Chenani Town had a population of 2,620, with 1,448 males and 1,172 females. The literacy rate in Chenani town is 88.91% with male literacy of 94.43%and female literacy of 82.19%. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Religion

Hinduism is the largest religion in Chenani with over 75% followers. Islam is followed by over 21% of people. The rest are followers of Sikhism with 2.06% adherents, Christianity with 0.27% followers and Buddhism with 0.08& followers.

Transportation

Air

The nearest airport to Chenani is Jammu Airport, located 97 kilometres from Chenani.

Rail

There is no railway connectivity to Chenani. The nearest railway station is Udhampur railway station which is 30 kilometres from Chenani.

Road

Chenani is well-connected with other places in Jammu and Kashmir and India by the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway or the

NH 44 National Highway 44 (NH 44) is a major north–south National Highway in India and is the longest in the country. It passes through the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, ...

alongside other intra-district roads. The

Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel, also known as Chenani-Nashri Tunnel is a road tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located in the Lower Himalayas, on National Highway 44. Construction started in 2011 and was completed by 2017. It is In ...

or Chenani–Nashri tunnel is a 9.2 km long tunnel bypassing Patnitop. When completed, the NH 44 will be re-routed through this tunnel. The tunnel will reduce the length of the highway by 31 km between

and Srinagar. India's longest road tunnel, the 9.2 km long tunnel is about 2 km from Chenani town. It will also reduce traffic jams on NH44 that occurred due to snowfall and avalanches in winter at

Patnitop Patnitop is a hill station, located, between Ramban Town and Udhampur city in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is in located on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (which is part of National Highway 44, formerly 1A), from ...

References

{{Municipalities of Jammu and Kashmir Cities and towns in Udhampur district