Handwara

Handwara
Town
Handwara
Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India
Handwara
Handwara (India)
Coordinates: 34°24′N 74°17′E / 34.40°N 74.28°E / 34.40; 74.28Coordinates: 34°24′N 74°17′E / 34.40°N 74.28°E / 34.40; 74.28
Country  India
State  Jammu and Kashmir
District Kupwara
Government
 • Type Democratic
Elevation 1,582 m (5,190 ft)
Languages
 • Official Urdu, Kashmiri
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN 193221
Vehicle registration JK09
Website kupwara.nic.in

Handwara is a town in the Kupwara District of Jammu and Kashmir located on Baramulla-Kupwara National Highway NH-701 which is governed by a municipal committee.

Geography

Handwara is located at 34°24′N 74°17′E / 34.40°N 74.28°E / 34.40; 74.28 at an average elevation of 1,582 metres (5,190 feet) above sea level.

Politics

Handwara is in a politically volatile area of Kupwara. It was the home constituency of the late separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone and of Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan. The current MLA for Handwara is Sajjad Lone of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference, who defeated Ramzan of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference by more than 5000 votes in the 2014 assembly elections.[1]

Literacy

The Census of 2011 showed the literacy rate of Handwara at 77.26%, higher than the national average of 67.16%.[2] There is a gender difference in literacy, with a male literacy rate of 87.40% and a much lower female literacy rate of 64.91%.


Sports

Like other parts of the sub-continent, Cricket is a popular sport in the town and at present there are three major Clubs Operating viz Jamia Sports Club, Handwara Cricket Club and Handwara Sports Cricket Club.Football is also played by many.

Handwara Incident

On 12 April 2016, a female student was allegedly molested by army personnel from the 21 Rashtriya Rifles. At the incident, protesters threw stones on the army bunker. The army retaliated with gunfire, and two civilians, Iqbal Ahmad and Nayeem Bhatt, were killed and at least six civilians were injured.[3][4] Bhatt had participated in the India U19 cricket camp and was the first player to be selected from the Kupwara region. He had reportedly stopped at the protest to take a photograph with his mobile phone.[5] Iqbal was declared dead when he was admitted to a hospital.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Election Results: Sajjad Lone, Former Separatist with Pakistani Wife, Wins in Kashmir". m.ndtv.com. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "2011 Census Data". Census India. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "J&K: Two Protesters Killed in Firing By Security Forces in Handwara". IBN Live. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "2 youth killed in Army firing in Handwara, several injured". Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Young Cricketer Killed in Kashmir's Handwara Had Stopped To Take A Photo". NDTV. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "J&K: Protests over alleged molestation attempt by soldier in Handwara; 2 killed in Army firing". IBN Times. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.