Khanewal

Khanewal خانیوال
Khanewal
Coordinates: 30°11′N 71°34′E / 30.18°N 71.56°E / 30.18; 71.56
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
District	Khanewal District
Elevation	128 m (420 ft)
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
Number of towns	1
Number of Union councils	6

Khanewal (Punjabi, Urdu: خانیوال) is the capital city of Khanewal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan.^[1] It is notable for being the host city to the second largest train station in Pakistan.^[2] Khanewal is located at 30°18'0N 71°56'0E with an altitude of 128 metres^[3] and is named after the earliest settlers here who belonged to the clan ‘Daha’ (jatt clan) and used ‘khan’ in their names. That is how the city came to be known as ‘khan-e-wal’.

History

Khanewal has a rich and vibrant history which can be traced back to the early 1900s. Khanewal is famous for its cotton growing industry. Daha are regarded as the initial settlers and founders of Khanewal.

Historically Khanewal is an old city having its earliest foundations laid by the British Empire owing to its importance as a railway junction. The city was a junction of the Wazirabad-Khanewal railway line and provided a connection to the city of Karachi via Lahore.^[4] Its straight roads show that it is a well planned town by the British people. The earliest settlers are said to be the Dahas who have the 'Khan' in their names and the city was named after them as Khan-e-wal. Khanewal was declared district in 1985.

Tehsils

The District Khanewal comprises four tehsiles, namely Khanewal, Kabir Wala . Jahanian and Mian Channu.

Industry and agriculture

Khanewal is an agricultural city and is located in Pakistan's 'Cotton belt' - an area covering Khanewal, Multan and Bahawalnagar. Over the last forty to fifty years industry has also been established in and around the city. Sir William Roberts established cotton trading and ginning installations in the area known as Brooke Bond which is now called Unilever, a company that specialises in making tea.^{[citation needed]} There are over 900 workers employed by Unilever. The people of Khanewal are mostly engaged in agricultural activities which are the main source of income for the people of the district. Other industries in Khanewal include chemical production and oil extraction.

Landmarks

Khanewal has many landmarks from the British Colonial period, mostly built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the most famous landmarks in Khanewal are the Khanewal railway Junction, the 'Jangle Wali Kothi' (foundation stone laid in 1913 by a Railway Engineer) situated in the Civil Lines area of Khanewal and the well known "SINGO WALI KOTHIE, with its very beautiful foundation stone laid in 1896 by a shangrila engineer posted to Khanewal Railway Junction during the colonial period. Another location which is regarded as one of the oldest in the suburbs of Khanewal is Kothi of Amir Baksh Khan Bhutta. The Khanewal junction remains a historic landmark as some parts of it have remained unchanged for over 130 years. Khanewal also has similar colonial landmarks dating back to early 20th century, all private properties, but truly historic. Khanewal city had two cinema's Palace cinema and shabnum cinema, Palace cinema was own by very famous pansota family but palace cinema demolished in 2001

Several of these remarkable properties were built and used by Sir William Roberts who is considered along with several others as one of the founding fathers of Khanewal and the famous BCGA (British Cotton Growers Association) farms located just outside Khanewal.^[5]

College and schools

Govt islamia degree College Muslim Commerce College Govt College Of Commerce Govt Islamia Degree College Punjab College of Business Administration Quaid-e-Azam Tech. College Ismail Palaza Khanewal Technical Training Int. Peoples Colony Khanewal Govt Vocational College LUCK Post Graduate College SCOPE Post Graduate College Govt model High school Khanewal Public school and college Khanewal

Notable cricket players from Khanewal

Notable cricket players from Khanewal:

• Masood Anwar is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in one Test in 1990.he is still serving cricket in karachi for ubl. he has got a brother called awais anwar also playing first class cricket.faboulous talented family.
• Rana Shabbir Ahmad is a line-and-length pace bowler who took eight wickets for 109 runs on his Test debut against Bangladesh.
• Rao Iftikhar Anjum was selected for the Pakistani squad to play in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

References

1. ^ Tehsils & Unions in the District of Khanewal - Government of Pakistan
2. ^ District Profile: Southern Punjab- Khanewal - Dawn, Pakistan
3. ^ Location of Khanewal - Falling Rain Genomics
4. ^ Punjab - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 20, p. 324.
5. ^ British Cotton Growers Association

External links

• Khanewal travel guide from Wikitravel