Reasi is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and a notified area committee and

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

in Reasi district of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

of Jammu and Kashmir. Situated on the bank of River Chenab, It is the headquarters of the Reasi district. In the eighth century, Reasi was a part of the Bhimgarh state established by Rajput king Bhim Dev Rasyal. The name Reasi is derived from the town's old name, "Rasyal".

Geography

Reasi is located at . It has an average elevation of 466 metres (1,529 feet).

Reasi area

Reasi is a district 64 km from

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

. Most of the population ekes out a livelihood from small business ventures, government jobs and agriculture. Of the 12293 hectares of agricultural land in the area, 1011 hectares is irrigated. Important crops are maize, wheat, paddy and bajra. Vegetables are also grown. Climatically, most parts of the area fall in the sub tropical zone and the rest in the

temperate zone In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

. Summers are generally warm and winters are cold with snowfall in the higher reaches.

Brief history

The erstwhile Bhimgarh State, now called Reasi, was established by Bhim Dev in the eighth century. Brief accounts of successive rulers are known from 1652 when Hari Dev was the king of Jammu. In 1810, during the rule of Diwan Singh, Jammu was in turmoil. Palace intrigues and mutinies shook the administration. It was at this time that Maharaja Ranjit Singh sent Gulab Singh to take control. Gulab Singh came down heavily on the rebels and established the rule of law. After defeating the rebels in the Reasi area, he handed over the administration to his trusted commander, General Zorawar Singh. In 2005, the first municipal election was held and Mr. Kuldeep Mengi elected as a first chairman of the municipal corporation of Reasi. During the devastating floods of September 2014, Saddal Village in the Reasi district faced significant devastation, with a landslide that submerged all roads leading to the town. In 2024, an Islamic terror attack targeted a tour bus carrying pilgrims to and from a Hindu religious site, killing 9 and injuring a further 41.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Reasi had a population of 36,355. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Reasi has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 70%. In Reasi, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. Reasi has 177 villages with total area of 74932 square km and toal population of 71501 individual

Main spoken languages are Dogri language, Dogri,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Gojri Gujari (also spelt Gojri, Gujri, or Gojari; ) is a Rajasthani Indo-Aryan language spoken by most of the Gujjar people in the northern parts of India and Pakistan, as well as in Afghanistan. In India, the language is spoken by 16.3 million p ...

and Kashmiri.

Religion

Hinduism is followed by 85.74 people. Islam is followed by 10.66% adherents. Christianity and Sikhism are followed by 3.5% and 0.05% people respectively.

Historical places

Mata Vaishnodevibr>
Bhumika Temple, Deva Mai, Nau Pindian, Baba Dhansar, Bhimgarh Fort, Kalika Temple, Sula Park, Sihar Baba and Shivkhori are few of the attractions of Reasi besides its picturesque locale and surroundings.

Transport

Reasi is just 64 km from Jammu city and can be reached by Road, Rail or Air. Nearest Airport is 80 km is Jammu Airport and Nearest Railway Station is Shri Vaishno Devi Katra railway station is 26 km. But Reasi railway station is a proposed railway station on Jammu-Baramulla railway line.

Geology and mining

Reasi has rich ores of

bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

and precious stones. The inferred deposits of 5.9 million tonnes of Jammu and Kashmir lithium reserves, accounting to the 2023 the Geological Survey of India as located in the region.

Current times

Being far away from the

- Udhampur Highway and somewhat inaccessible due to the hilly area, economic progress in Reasi has been rather slow. However, the economic activity picked up since the 1980s with the construction of the Salal Hydroelectric Project. The militancy in the 1990s came as a setback to prosperity, but induction of Army in the area has given a sense of security to the people. But what may change the face of Reasi in the not so distant a future, is the Jammu - Srinagar Railway Line, which will pass through Reasi and is likely to bring development and prosperity to this area. After the completion of this project, the development of Reasi would be tremendous. Almost all major banks have their presence in Reasi to meet financial need of newly created district.

World's highest railway bridge

Reasi will have the world's highest railway bridge by December 2022. Chenab Bridge (359 meters), being built by

Konkan Railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Konkan Railway line from Roha to Thokur is operated and maintained by Konkan Railway co ...

s will overtake the

Millau Viaduct The Millau Viaduct (, ) is a multispan cable-stayed bridge completed in 2004 across the Canyon, gorge valley of the Tarn (river), Tarn near (west of) Millau in the Aveyron department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region, i ...

(323 meters) located in southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

References

External links

Daily Excelsior

Official Website of J&K Government
{{Municipalities of Jammu and Kashmir Cities and towns in Reasi district Tehsils of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)