Beerwah, Jammu and Kashmir

The name Beerwah has been derived from a Sanskrit word "Behroop" which means land of springs. This is due to the abundance of natural springs in the area. Beerwah has seven springs in the town area.

Beerwah is located at an altitude of 1,598 m (5,243 ft) above sea level, between 75° E longitude and 34° N latitude at the base of the Pir Panjal mountain range. It is surrounded by plains to the north, east, south, and southwest. The town is flanked by a mountain range on its southern side. At the eastern side of this mountain is located the celebrated cave connected with life of Acharya Abinav Gupta, the greatest Shiva philosopher of Kashmir. The Acharya was called Bhairwa. The celebrated cave is located at the height of nearly 85 meter on the side of the ridge overlooking the crescent shaped narrow valley of evergreen forests with a Sukhnag River flowing through it. The landscape is made up of plateau-like terraces known as karewas.[1]

The region contains forested areas with several mountain rivers and streams, including the Mala Kol, Lear Kol, Ahij Kol, Laen, Zaen, Mean and Sona Mean. The Ahij Kol, Laen and Sona Maen share a source at Sukhnag. The Mala Kol is locally known as the "deaf and dumb stream" due to a legend that when saint Syed Taj-ud-Din arrived in Khag, the stream silently followed him from Sukhnag to Sikandarpora. Local elders continue to tell stories about other local streams.[2]

River Sukhnag divides the town of Beerwah into Old town (South bank) and New town (North bank).

Beerwah served as a pargana during the Mughal reign. It consists of areas of the former Srinagar district.

In 1766, a fort was built in the region by Governor Lal Mohammad Khatak. It was repaired in 1801 by Governor Abdullah Khan but was destroyed in an earthquake in 1884.

The region consisting of Budgam, Beerwah and Baramullah achieved tehsil status as Tehsil Ranbir Singh in 1962, under Sir Syed Sani Mawlana Syed Ali Shah Bukhari. The tehsil of Budgam was split off later in 1979.[3]

The region was granted subdistrict status in the 1970s with the support of Mawlana Syed Ali Shah Bukhari, but it was not fully implemented until 2013 by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Mirwaiz of Central Kashmir Mawlana Latief Bukhari.

As of 2011 India census,[4] Beerwah had a population of 167850, consisting of 53% men and 47% women. Beerwah has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%.67% of men and 53% of women are literate. 16% of the population is under 6 years of age. Beerwah has a total of 124 villages with majority sunni Muslim villages, 7 shia Muslim and 5 Sikh villages. Beerwah is the largest constituency in the Budgam district by number of voters.

Much of the local economy is agricultural. Crops grown include rice, mustard, vegetables, apples, walnuts, pears, apricots, cherries and almonds.

Beerwah has a number of post offices, fire stations, banks, police stations, and regional courts. There are three subdivision hospitals and multiple health care units in the villages. A subdivision magistrate (SDM) office opened in Beerwah in 2013 on the establishment of subdistrict status. The Beerwah market is the central business hub of the area.

The economy in Beerwah includes smaller businesses such as carpet design (Kaleen in the Kashmiri language), shawl design and knitwork, and embroidery. Kashmiri carpets and shawls are marketed internationally, but due to increasing prices, family pressure and low income, local textile makers have shifted to other businesses.

Every zone of Beerwah employs a Zonal Education officer. The schools in the area include both government-run and private schools of varying levels.

• Government schools

In Beerwah there are two higher secondary schools run by the government of Jammu and Kashmir: Boys Higher Secondary School, and Girls Higher Secondary School. Approximately two thousand students attend these institutions. The government also runs three middle schools and six primary schools within the municipal limits. One of the prominent school is Mazhar_Ul_Haq high school which was led by Sir Syed Sani in 1934.This was the first education Institute in whole central kashmir during that time. Current famous private institute is Samie, also a first private institute for both primary secondary and higher education and is affiliated with University of Kashmir. The institution consists of the most prominent Government Degree College affiliated with University of Kashmir, is the only government based Institution of higher education in the area. Other schools include the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), a teacher training and education center, the CED College of Education, which is located in Narbal and affiliated with University of Kashmir, and Government Degree College, Beerwah and Government Degree College, Magam, which functions under the Ministry of Higher Education.

The majority of Beerwah residents have private means of transportation. A public transportation system also exists that includes buses and cars, with Bus stand and 2 Taxi stands at Beerwah .

The closest airport to Beerwah is the Srinagar Airport (SXR), which is 28 km away.

The nearest railway station to Beerwah is the Mazhama Railway Station Magam, which is 11 km away.

The Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (J&K SRTC) connects most major towns and cities to Beerwah through Srinagar via National Highway 1A.

A number of private organisations also run transport companies and 24-hour taxi service.[5]

• Kashmiruniversity.net