Punch (District, India)

District Punch
Union Territory	Jammu and Kashmir
Division :	Jammu
Administrative headquarters :	Punch
Area :	1674 km²
Residents :	476,835 (2011)
Population density :	285 inhabitants / km²
Website :	http://poonch.nic.in/

Punch (also Poonch ; Urdu ضلع پونچھ, Hindi पुंछ ) is a district in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir .

The district is bounded on three sides by the Line of Control (LoC). In 1947/48, the then Punch district was divided in the war between India and Pakistan.

administration

The administrative seat of the district is the city of Punch . The district is divided into eight tehsils : Haveli, Mandi, Mendhar, Surankote, Chandak, Mankote, Balakote and Bufliaz. The district is further divided into six blocks: Punch, Mandi, Mendhar, Balakote, Surankote and Buffliaz. Each block consists of a series of panchayats .

economy and politics

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati named Raj Punch on a list of the 250 least developed districts in India. The district is one of three in Jammu and Kashmir to receive funding from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Program (BRGF).

The district has three constituencies: Surankote, Mendhar and Poonch Haveli.

population

According to the 2011 census, the district has 476,835 inhabitants. It ranks 549 out of 640 in India. The population density is 285 inhabitants per square kilometer. The population growth from 2001 to 2011 was 27.97%. The gender distribution was 893 women per 1,000 men. The literacy rate was 66.74%. 87% of the population are Muslim.

The district's ethnic groups include the Gujjar, Bakerwal, Pahari, Punjabi, Kashmiri, and Rajputs . The Gujjar mostly live on the slopes of the mountains, where they cultivate small fields and keep cattle. The Bakerwal are a nomadic people. Gujjar and Bakerwal speak Gojri while the rest of the population, with the exception of the Kashmiri, speak Pahari / Poonchi. The common language is an important link between the different ethnic groups.