Okara, Pakistan

Okara
Okara
Coordinates: 30°48′33″N 73°26′52″E / 30.80909°N 73.447723°E / 30.80909; 73.447723Coordinates: 30°48′33″N 73°26′52″E / 30.80909°N 73.447723°E / 30.80909; 73.447723
Country	Pakistan
Population (1998)
- Total	27,915
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
Number of Union councils	10

Okara (Punjabi, Urdu: اوکاڑہ) is the capital city of Okara District in the Punjab province of Pakistan.^[1] The name Okara is derived from Okaan, a name of a tree,^[2] the city is located south-west to the city of Lahore and is famous for its agriculture-based economy and cotton mills. The nearest major city from Okara is Sahiwal (formerly known as Montgomery) Okara is now the part of Sahiwal Division.

Okara has the largest storage capacity in Asia and is a fairly large district in Pakistan in terms of population. There are famous Pakistan military dairy farms, especially famous for their cheese situated in Okara. These farms are of the Pre-partition or British Indian Era. Mitchels farms also are located in the nearest town Renala Khurd in the Okara District. Okara postal code is 56300.

History

The city is a relatively new agricultural city, during the period of British rule there was a jungle of Okaan where the city has been built. And from this the name has been derived.^[2] During British rule the area was part of Montgomery District and contained a large saltpeter refinery.^[3] At partition on of the two textile mills that Pakistan got was the one at Okara. In 1982 the city became the headquarters of the newly created Okara District. Okara has had a railway line since 1892.^[2] Okara is famous for its cattle breed known as Sahiwal and a water buffaloe breed known as Nili-Ravi. It is very rich in Livestock population and production. Livestock Production Research Institute Bahadar Nagar Farm is a very large Govt farm near the okara city, the distance from okara city is 14KM toward faisalabad road. The farm have large number of cows, buffaloes, bulls (for reproduction), goats and sheeps.

Administration

The city of Okara serves as district and tehsil capital and is itself administratively subdivided into ten Union councils.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Tehsils & Unions in the District of Okara - Government of Pakistan
2. ^ ^{a b c} Okara, a neglected city
3. ^ Punjab - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 20, p. 312.