icators of Bagh district are quite encouraging as the literacy rate among male and female is 72.87% and 40.97% respectively. The working population of Bagh District is engaged in two major sectors i.e. agriculture/forestry and services/public administration. The housing units that stood at 53,275 in 1998 seemed to have grown two fold during the last decade. The Housing Damage Assessment identified more than 90000 housing units destroyed and damaged in its report.
Due to its proximity with the epicenter of the earthquake, Bagh had suffered colossal damage to its physical infrastructure, as a result besides rebuilding rural housing stock, Government of AJK has prepared a town plan for Bagh to shift population and public administration buildings from red zones to safer areas. Besides losing physical livelihood means and social assets including schools, health facilities and land, people have lost intangible assets such as capacity to work. The reconstruction and rehabilitation program of AJK Govt. is focused on rebuilding these assets over a period of three years. It includes providing financial assistance to private house owners, rebuilding 257 educational institutions, 38 health facilities and 542 Water Supply Schemes.
The Landscape and Physical Features of Bagh
The area now comprising “Bagh” district had been a part of “Poonch” state (Indian occupied Kashmir) before independence and had been a tehsil of “Poonch” district till 1987. The same year Bagh district was created consisting three sub-divisions namely Dhirkot, Bagh and Haveli with its headquarters at Bagh. It is said that a Bagh (garden) was set up by the landowner, where now the premises of the Forest Department is located. Resultantly, the area was named as “Bagh”, which is now the district headquarters. It is bounded on the north by Muzaffarabad district, on the east by occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir on the south by Poonch District and on the west by Rawalpindi and Abbottabad Districts of Pakistan
Topographically, the entire Bagh district is mountainous area, generally sloping from north easttosouth-west.TheareafallsinlesserHimalayaszone.ThemainrangeindistrictisPir-Panjal. The Haji-Pir Pass is situated at the height of 3421 meters above sea level. The general elevation is between 1500 and 2500 meters above sea level. Mountains are generally covered with coniferous forests. Mahl Nala in Bagh sub-division and Betar Nala in Haveli sub-division are the two main streams. However, other numerous rivulets flow in the district.
Climate of the district varies with altitude. The temperature generally remains between 2°c to 40°c. The main eastern part of district is very cold in winter and moderate in summer. However, lower valleys, the localities bordering Bagh at Kohala and its adjoining areas (Mongbajri and Ajra-Bagh) remain cold in winter and hot in summer. May, June and July are the hottest months. Maximum and minimum temperatures during the month of June are about 40°C and 22°C respectively. December, January and February are the coldest months. The maximum temperature in January is about 16°C and minimum temperature is 3°C respectively. The annual precipitation is about 1500 millimeters.
Pine, kail, fir and other trees like poplar, shisham, kikar, willow, walnut, ban-akhore, chinar and mannu are found in abundance in the district. Among flowers zianna, dahlia, merrygold, cosmos, daffodil, aster and rose of different kinds are found in the district. Mostly the population of the rural areas is eagerly devoted to plantation of fruit plants to meet the needs of people. For this purpose agricultural and fruit nurseries have been established by the Agriculture Department. Wild life of the district is mostly confined in Haveli range where Markhore, Himalayan thar, leopard cat and bear are found. Among birds murgh zareen, chakore and moned pheasant are available. Murgh zareen and shahin are confined to forests at high hills and chakore is commonly found in the lower plants. The major crops of the district are maize and wheat but at some places rice, gram, bajra and jawar are also cultivated. Pulses of different kinds are also grown in different areas of the district. Similarly the soil of the district is also ideal for sunflower, mustard and basmati rice. Ponies and donkeys are kept for carrying load. Buffalos and sheep/goat are kept almost in every home for milk and other dairy products.
Industry, Trade & Commerce
Two flour mills, one at Kohala and other at Arja are operative. No other industry has so far been established in the district. Wool spinning on hand looms is carried out throughout the district. The articles made from these hand looms, are for domestic use only. The main trade centers of the district are at Dhirkot, Bagh and Kahuta. Since there is no industry in the district, therefore, all essential commodities like textiles, leather goods and other items of daily use are imported from various markets of Pakistan. The major export of the district is apple.
The People
The major tribes of the district are Mughals, Rajputs, Gujars, Syeds, Abassi, Sudhans, Awans and Khawajas. They all live peacefully like brothers. The people of the area are known for their valour, chivalry and shrewdness. They are martial people, hospitable and considerate, although poor.
Roads
Bagh district is connected with Rawalpindi by two roads viz :-
Bagh – Tain Dhalkot – Kotli Sattian Road
Bagh – Kohala – Murree road
Bagh is also connected with Kohala, Haveli via Suddhan Gali and Mallot Las Dana through metalled roads. Besides above, 3187 km kacha/pakka link roads are constructed under Local Government and World Food Programme (WFP) projects.
Telecommunication
Special Communication Organization (SCO) operates an extensive telephone network in the district and all main towns of the district have telephone connectivity. There are 8 digital exchanges, 12 non-digital exchanges and 2 under construction digital exchanges in District Bagh. Cellular phone services with considerable coverage have also become available after the earthquake.
Power
Bagh is linked with Mangla Dam grid system. The distribution network within the city and rest of the district is the responsibility of AJ&K Electricity Department. According to DCR 1998, overall 68.27% of the district areas enjoy the benefit of electricity as the source of lighting. In rural areas percentage stood at 66.53% and for urban it was 97.78%. However, reportedly prior to earthquake and even after earthquake, almost 100% population of District Bagh has access to electricity. There are two 33KV Grid Stations in the Electricity Division Bagh i.e. one at Bagh and the other at Minhasa.
Administrative Setup
The Deputy Commissioner supervises the activities of all the Government Departments in the district. He is assisted by three assistant Commissioners in Bagh, Dhirkot and Haveli sub divisions. His major concern is the maintenance of law and order in the district as the District Magistrate and also to look after the land records as District Collector. On the revenue side Deputy Commissioner is assisted by the Revenue Officer/Extra Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Tehsildar and Naib Tehsildar in each Tehsil. For smooth flow of revenue work the district is divided into Qanungo halqas and Patwar circles. The Qanungos supervise the work of Patwaries of their respective Patwar circles. Superintendent of Police is the head of the district Police. He is assisted by the Sub-divisional Police Officers at 3 subdivisions of the district and 4 Station House Officers. The Judiciary at district level is headed by the District & Session Judge. An Additional Session Judge, three Sub-Judges, a Family Judge, a District Qazi, three Tehsil Qazis and a Forest Magistrate are working in the district.
Featured Places
Bagh has developed into a good city and trade center after creation of district headquarters in 1987. Dhirkot, Kahuta, Yadgar Huda Bhari, Fort Bagh, Sudhan Gali, Neela Butt and Darra Haji-Pir are very important places of district Bagh.
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