Balachaur

Balachaur ਬਲਾਚੌਰ
city
Balachaur Location in Punjab, India
Coordinates: 31°04′00″N 76°19′00″E / 31.0667°N 76.3167°E / 31.0667; 76.3167Coordinates: 31°04′00″N 76°19′00″E / 31.0667°N 76.3167°E / 31.0667; 76.3167
Country	India
State	Punjab
District	Nawanshahr
Population (2001)
• Total	18,106
Languages
• Official	Punjabi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	PB 20

Balachaur is a tehsil town and a nagar panchayat in Nawanshahr district in the state of Punjab, India

History

A Rajput raja Raj Dev along with his family came here. He was related with the family of the King of Jaipur. He started meditating here and named this place after the name of his son Balraj as Balachaur. Raj dev died in 1596. People made his tomb here and worshiped him as Baba Balraj. A committee named as "Balraj Mandir Committee" was created in 1949 and its President was Zaildar Balwant Singh. Present President is Rana Purshotam Singh. In 1539 Sher-Shah-Suri took the blessing of Raj Dev before attacking Himayun.

Lt. Gen. Bikram singh

Lt-General Bikram Singh, G O C, XV Corps, from siana near balachaur defended Ladakh and Chushul, died when an Alouette (also called the HAL Cheetah) helicopter of the Indian Army crashed on 22 Nov 1963 near Poonch city in the 2.5 km radius of ceasefire. He is considered the bravest and most efficient General of the Indian Army. In memory of this Great Sikh General a chowk of Jammu city has been dedicated in his name. Known as Bikram Chowk it is the biggest chowk in Jammu city. A statue has also been erected in the middle of this chowk by the Sikh Sangat of Jammu. After his death his native village was renamed Siana Bikram Singh. The Helipad at the Headquarters of Northern Command in Udhampur has been named Bikram Helipad.

Brig .kuldip singh chandpuri

A village named chandpur rurki in balachaur, is the native village of kuldip singh chandpuri who received maha vir chakra. a Hindi film was also made on his contributions in battle of longewala in which sunny deol portrayed his role. Chandpuri and his company of 120 soldiers, defended the post, in spite of considerable odds, against the 2000–3000 strong assault force of the 51st Infantry Brigade, backed by the 22nd Armored Regiment.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[1] Balachaur had a population of 18,106. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Balachaur has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 56% of the males and 44% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Balachaur being a tehsil, is an important place for the nearby villages. It has Punjab Government offices; which serve the local villagers. Earlier, there wasn't any college in Balacahur for higher education. But now with the blessings of Baba Balraj, a new college named- Baba Balraj Government College has been opened for higher education.

Pin Code: 144521 STD Code: 01885 Vehicle Registration: PB-20

Commerce

The main source of income for villagers is Agriculture. Wheat and Maize being the two main crops. A lot of people work in government or private sectors in neighboring towns and cities, primarily Nawanshahr, Ropar, Ludhaina and Chandigarh. There is a big market which serves the people of Balachaur & nearby villages. Balachaur also has a big grain market (anaaj mandi) where the field produce is sold to wholesalers. The S.V. Cold Drink factory set up in 2003, manufactures Lava Cold Drinks in Sudha Mazra (Balachaur).

Balachaur is a beautiful place surrounded by foothills of Shivalik on one side, river Satluj on other. There are no cinemas in Balachaur, there was a single screen movie theater which used to screen the latest Hindi and Punjabi movies, but it closed. The Municipal Council of Balachaur is developing a park near the Municipal office and also started another park, the Dr Sadhu Singh Hamdard memorial Municipal park.

In the recent times, Balachaur has seen growth in terms of no. of shops, markets, opening up of many English medium schools, Internet cafes, wine shops hotels etc. But little has changed for Balachaur and its people. There is still no Bus Depot, no big name industry and a lack of good higher education institutes in the area. However, many private educational institutes opened up mostly being Modern Schools and Engineering colleges in the vicinity of Balachaur.

In 2011, Baba Balraj Govt. College was opened. It is still under construction but classes have started. It is near Bains Charitable Hospital.

Transport

Balachaur is well connected by road to all the major cities in Punjab. It is on the main highway to Jallandhar and other highway which goes to Pathankot/Jammu. Nearest Railway station is Garhshankar and nearest Airport is Chandigarh. From Balachaur there are buses (both private and public) available for passengers to go to major cities of Punjab as well as of Himachal, Haryana and Delhi. Various other modes of transport are also available for local travel. Balachaur as a Tehsil; situated almost equidistant from Nawanshahr (20 km), Roopnagar (25 km), Garshankar (25 km), Nurpur Bedi (24 km) and other big cities near Balachaur are: Ludhiana (70 km), Chandigarh (68 km), Hoshiarpur (70 km), Anandpur Sahib (68 km), Jalandhar (75 km). National Capital Delhi is 320 km from Balachaur.

Villages

Sudha Majra Alais Fatehgarh situated on Chandigarh Jalandhar highways. There is a historical Gurudwara Tahli Shaib built in the memory of Guru Hargobind Singh Ji.It had a population of 1200.

Gahoon (Punjabi-ਗਹੁੰਣ) named for the people who lived on the bank of the sea called ("ਗਾਹਣਿਅੇ"). As of 2001 India census, Gahoon had a population of 1100, 53% male. Gahoon has an average literacy rate of 72.6% with 56% males and 44% females. 15% of population is under 6 years of age.

Garhi Kanugoan ਗੜੀ ਕਾਨੂੰਗੋਅਾਂ is located on Nawanshahr road. There is a historical Shiv Mandir, Gurdwara of Baba Jawahar Singh Ji (Falahi Sahib) Main Gurdwara Sahib, Gurdwara Sahidan Sahib, Patka Sahib, Majar Baba Roshan Shah Wali and this village located in centre of 4 main cities i.e. 72 km from Chandigarh, 73 km from Jalandhar, 65 km from Hoshiarpur and 65 km from Ludhiana.

References

• District Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar: Cities and Towns
• [www.citypopulation.de/php/india-punjab.php?cityid=0340604000Nawanshahr district]