Sargodha is among one of those cities where property market is booming.Prices are increasing continously as it covers huge amount of villages around because of its agricultural value.
Sargodha (Urdu: سرگودھا), the capital city of Sargodha District, is one of the largest cities in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is located in northeast Pakistan, to the north-west of Lahore by the lower Jhelum Canal.
It is an agricultural trade centre with varied industries. [1] Sargodha is one of three "planned cities" in Pakistan
(the other two are Faisalabad and Islamabad).[2]
It is a centre for trade in cotton and other agricultural commodities. Sargodha manufactures hosiery, textiles, chemicals, and soap.
A large Pakistan Air Force base is located in the town.
History
Origin of name
There are several theories as to the origins of the name. It may be derived from the Sanskrit 'svargadhāma', meaning 'heavenly abode'.[2] Though this would have given rise to the Punjabi *sargdham. Other theories suggest that the name Sargodha is derived from that of a Hindu resident Godha.[2] Also it is believed that there was an old pond in the middle of the town where the old Hindu sadhu Godha used to live. In Punjabi the word for pond is sar hence sargodha, "The pool of godha"[3]. Again this can't be accepted as the order of words doesn't refelect Punjabi usage, e.g., Amritsar, "the pool of nectar." The place would have been called Godhsar if anything. The etymology must lie in sar + godha, with sar beinng the adjective and godha the noun.
Just over a century ago, there was a well owned by a Hindu Godha. The well was known as Gol Khūh, Punjabi "round well, and travellers used it as a resting place. As time passed the well eventually went out of use and a market evolved around it. There is a market at the place where Gol Khūh used to exist and a grand mosque above the market and it is known as "Gol Chowk", which is the centre of downtown Sargodha today.
Sargodha was a small town at the beginning of the British Raj but, due to its geographical location, the British Royal Air Force built an airport there. It took on greater importance after the partition for the Pakistan Air Force.
Shahpur, which is now a tehsil of Sargodha District, was the district at that time. Most parts of the tehsil Sillanwali and Kirana Pahari region were part of Jhang district and were included later during the British Raj in Sargodha district .
1965 Pakistan India War
The 1965 Pakistan India War started on September 6th 1965 and Sargodha was on its front line. Citizens of Sargodha supported the Pakistan Army against the advancing and numerically larger Indian Army.
In 1966, recognising this bravery, the Government of Pakistan awarded the citizens of Lahore, Sialkot and Sargodha the award of "Hilal-E-Istaqlal".[4]
PAF Base
PAF Base Sargodha is now known as PAF Base Mushaf, named after the late Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir (March 5, 1947 – February 20, 2003), the former Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force from November 20, 2000 until his death when his PAF Fokker F-27 crashed near Kohat, North-West Frontier Province. He had been posted in Sargodha as the Base Commander.
Demographics and Location
Sargodha is the eighth largest city of Pakistan. It is located 172 kilometres northwest of Lahore, in Sargodha District. It lies about 30 miles from the M2 Motorway which connects Lahore and Islamabad.
It is an agricultural city with wheat, rice, and sugar cane being its main crops. Also it is famous for its Kinow oranges.
Administration
Until divisions were abolished in the year 2000, Sargodha was also divisional headquarters of Sargodha Division, currently Sargodha is the district and tehsil capital - the city of Sargodha is administratively subdivided into 22 Union Councils.[5]
Media
- Indus News TV Channel
Sargodha (Bureau Office)
Upper Story NADARA Office, Khayyam Chowk Sargodha.
Bureau Chief:
Muhammad Shafiq Khan
Audio-Visual Editor:
Ghulam Muhammad Malik
- Dhoom News TV Channel
Sargodha (Bureau Office)
Upper Story NADARA Office, Khayyam Chowk Sargodha.
Bureau Chief: Raja Asif Mahmood
Audio-Visual Editor:
Ghulam Muhammad Malik
- Royal News TV Channel
Sargodha (Bureau Office)
Upper Story NADARA Office, Khayyam Chowk Sargodha.
Bureau Chief: Amjad Ali
Audio-Visual Editor:
Ghulam Muhammad Malik
- Radio Pakistan Sargodha (FM Band),Club Road Sargodha.
- FM Sunrise (96 MHz) Most popular, also plays Indian and western music, Aziz Bhatti Town Sargodha
- Pakistan Television Islamabad centre terrestrial transmissions at VHF and UHF band routed from Sakesar rebroadcast centre.
- Cable tv transmissions via cable service providers.
Print Media
National News papers include:
- Daily Pakistan (Rawalpindi)
- Daily Patriot (Rawalpindi)
- Daily Pak Watan (Rawalpindi)
- Daily Inkishaf-i-Haq (Lahore)
- Daily Asian Post (Lahore)
Local News papers include:
- Daily Rafaqat Sargodha
- Daily Express [1]
- Daily Tijarat
- Daily Khabria [2]
- Daily Zaroorat
- Daily Sham E Sargodha
Schools/Colleges and Universities
- University of Sargodha (formerly Government College, Sargodha)
- Fazaia Inter College Mushaf Sargodha(Formerly Air Base Inter College)
- PAF Model Inter College Sargodha
- Govt. Polytechnic institute Sargodha (GPI Sargodha)
- Govt Colleges of Commerce
- Punjab Group of Colleges for Commerce and IT
- I.T.M College
- Govt Comprehensive High School for Boys
- Center model high school
- Govt Comprehensive High School for Girls
- Government model High School No.1
- Progressive Public Higher Secondary School
- The Apostles School http://www.apostles.cjb.in
Citrus fruit
Sargodha is famous for production of citrus fruit: kinnu (a type of orange), Malta, and grapefruit. The soil is very receptive to citrus fruit and Sargodha arguably produces the best quality kinnu in the world. Per acre yield of kinnuis arguably the highest in the world. Demand for kinnu of Sargodha is highest in domestic fruit markets, especially from Sillanwali Tehsil followed by a narrow margin by kinnu of Kot momin.[6]
Shopping in Sargodha
In previous decades, shopping in Sargodha was limited to the bazaars like Ameen Bazaar, Kachehri Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar, Anarkali Bazaar. With the city's development and progress, new small scale shopping centres spread all around the city.
References
External links
