Mendhar is a

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 ...

(administrative district) in the Poonch district of 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 administere ...

. It is located in the foothills of

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal Range (Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's A ...

range within the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...

. The Mendhar Tehsil headquarters is in Mendhar town. It is located south of the Poonch district headquarters and from the state winter capital

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 ...

Mendhar Town (Mendhar sub Division,Poonch)

View of Mendhar Town from Gholad village

Geography

The highest summer temperature is in between . The average temperature in January is ; February is ; March is ; April is ; and May is .

Demographics

The total projected population of Mendhar Tehsil is 112,723, with 57,723 males and 55,000 females according to the 2011 census of India. The population includes Paharis,

Gujjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradit ...

Bakarwal The Bakarwal (also Bakkarwal, Bakharwal, Bakrawala and Bakerwal) are a nomadic ethnic group, who along with Gujjars are listed as Scheduled Tribes in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1991.https://tribal.nic.in/downloads/CLM/CLM_1/1 ...

s and

Kashmiris Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language, living mostly, but not exclusively, in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern ...

. There are two blocks; Balakote and Mendhar. There are a total of 50 villages and 50 panchayats in Mendhar Tehsil.

Places of interest

Ziarat Peer Fateh Shah Darya: It is located at Dobraj village of Mankote tehsils about 15 km away from Mendhar town. The shrine is covered by lofty mountains and dense forest. A gigantic Urs is celebrated twice in a year in which people across the Mendhar town attend the Urs and pay obeisance to the Peer Fateh Shah Darya.

Krishna Ghati

Krishan Ghati is a hilly forest area, located from Mendhar. The site is known for its landscapes and natural environment. The areas near it are dangerous due to continuous ceasefire violations.

Ziyarat Chhote Shah Sahib

Ziyarat In Islam, ''ziyara(h)'' ( ar, زِيَارَة ''ziyārah'', "visit") or ''ziyarat'' ( fa, , ''ziyārat'', "pilgrimage") is a form of pilgrimage to sites associated with Muhammad, his family members and descendants (including the Shī'ī Im� ...

Chhote Shah Sahib is located in the village Sakhi Maidan of Mendhar tehsil. This

was built in memory of Saint Sakhi Peer Chhote Shah. A few hundred yards away lie the ruins of ancient architecture popularly believed to be of the Pandvas. Ziarat Mian Peeru Sahib: It is situated at top of Topa and kashblari hill at Thera Topa about 10 km distance from Mendhar town. It covers lofty and snowy mountains along with the dense forest. Every year thousands of devotees visits the shrine.

Ram Kund

Ram Kund is the oldest

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hi ...

in Poonch region. It is located in the village of Chajjla, from Mendhar. This temple was built by

Lalitaditya Lalitaditya alias Muktapida ( IAST: Lalitāditya Muktāpīḍa; r. c. 724 CE–760 CE) was a powerful ruler of the Karkota dynasty of Kashmir region in the Indian subcontinent. The 12th-century chronicler Kalhana characterizes Lalitaditya as ...

between 724 and 761. In the temple's courtyard there are three sacred ponds, known as Ramkund, Lakshmankund and Sitakund. A water spring also emerges from Ramkund. Ramkund is from Mendhar bus stand. Pilgrims visit during the month of March in

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

chawdish.Hindu shrines
, Poonch district government, Retrieved 2016-04-16.

Villages

Gohlad is a village located from Mendhar. All the offices are situated at Gohlad. It is also known as Gohlad Town. SDM Office,Treasury Office Tehsil Office, Bus stand, Hospital, Police Station & All other office of the Tehsil Mendhar is situated in main Market of Gohlad Town. ''Jamia Masjid'' is one of the oldest

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...

s in Gohlad Town.

Topa Topa is a census town in the Mandu CD block in the Ramgarh subdivision of the Ramgarh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Topa is located at . Area overview Ramgarh has a vibrant coal-mining sector. The map along ...

is a village located from Mendhar. The Battle of Topa was fought here by the

5 Gorkha Rifles 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), also abbreviated as 5 GR(FF) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was formed in 1858 as part of the British Indian Army. The regiment's battalions serve ...

during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

. Salwah It is a beautiful small Valley in Mendhar. It is about 7 km from Mendhar Town. Starting from Jughal from south and end at foot of Dana Shahsatar Mountain. Topa,Mendhar and Bhera lies on the south east.Jughal,Mankote,lies on South west. Kannetti, Bonala lies on the northwest adjoining Kalaban. Surankote lies on the north. Therpur is a village at top of the mountain of Ther. Khorbani is at the east of it. A hill station Danna shahsataar is about 4 km away. There is Higher Secondary school, a Mini stadium, a Health centre, 3 middle schools, 4 primary schools and 3 private schools up to Grade 8. Beauty of Village Salwah,Mendhar Poonch

Beauty of Village Salwah,Mendhar Poonch(J&K)

Mankote Mankote is a village and tehsil in Poonch district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The village is located 91 kilometres from the district headquarters in Poonch. Demographics According to the 2011 census of India, Manko ...

is also one of the villages of Mendhar. At Mankote, there is a defence Camp that provides facilities to the people of that village during any problem created due to shelling from Pakistan.

Balnoi Balnoi is a village and municipality in Poonch district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The village is located from the district headquarters, Mendhar. Demographics According to the 2011 census of India, Balnoi has 435 h ...

is also a large village in Tehsil Mendhar. In 1947 mostly the people of Balnoi migrated to Pakistan. Chak Banola village is located about 15 km from Mendhar. It consists of fertile land for cultivation, encompassing a wide variety of floras. Chak Banola has about 1500 population(2011 census). Kalaban is a remote village of Mendhar located 20 km away from Mendhar Tehsil. Sagra: it is a magnificent village situated on the right bank of Mandheri river at Tehsil Mankote around 13 km away from Mendhar town. There are two playing grounds which attract cricketer lovers from adjoining districts. During the summer season the climate of the sagra is much hottest.

Transportation

Air

Poonch Airport is a non-operational airstrip in Poonch. The nearest airport to Mendhar is

Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport also known as Srinagar Airport and Budgam Airbase, is an international airport serving Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is owned by the Indian Air Force, and the Airports Autho ...

in Srinagar, located 175 kilometres from Poonch.

Rail

There is no railway connectivity to Mendhar. There are plans to construct a Jammu–Poonch line which will connect

with Poonch with railways. The nearest major railway station is

Jammu Tawi railway station Jammu Tawi (station code: JAT) is a railway station in Jammu city in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Background Jammu Tawi is the largest railway station in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a major railhead for other places in the re ...

located 210 kilometres from Mendhar.

Road

The tehsil is well-connected to other places in Jammu and Kashmir and India by the NH 144A and other intra-district roads. Bypass road is under construction Via Dachhal to Ari Bridge.

References

External links

The Official Website of Jammu and Kashmir Government, India

Official Website of District Poonch, India

mapsofindia.com. {{Municipalities of Jammu and Kashmir Poonch district, India India–Pakistan border