Maur Mandi

Maur
—  city  —
Maur Location of Maur in Punjab and India
Coordinates	30°05′N 75°15′E / 30.08°N 75.25°E / 30.08; 75.25Coordinates: 30°05′N 75°15′E / 30.08°N 75.25°E / 30.08; 75.25
Country	India
State	Punjab
District(s)	Bathinda
Population	27,531 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 212 metres (696 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 151509

Maur is a city and a municipal council in Bathinda district in the Indian state of Punjab.It has a class II Municipal committee.

History

The town is said to have been founded by one Maur, a Jat of Mann sub caste. There exists a Gurudwara which is associated with the visit of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs. It is said that the guru stayed here for a few days and got rid the villagers of a ghost. A fair is held here one very Amavas.The town is known for the manufacture of agricultural items and shoes.

Geography

Maur is located at 30°05′N 75°15′E / 30.08°N 75.25°E / 30.08; 75.25.^[1] It has an average elevation of 212 metres (695 feet).Situated on Bathinda Mansa road at a distance of 35 km from Bathinda, the district headquarters, Maur (also called Maur Mandi) is a railway station on the Firozpur - Bathinda - New Delhi railway line. It falls in tehsil Talwandi Sabo, whose headquartersare 18 km from here. It is well connected by road with the State headquarters, Chandigarh (187 km), Patiala (122 km), Talwandi Sabo (18 km) and Bathinda (35 km).

Infrastructure

The lanes of houses are wider as compared to all other towns of Punjab. Regarding education, there is a Punjabi University campus where Graduate and Postgraduate courses are provided by quality teachers and infrastructure. S.D. High School has produced lot of doctors, engineers, judges, executive officers and many other business tycoons. Lot of people are well settled in foreign countries like England, USA and Africa. But Maur lacks a good library, auditorium, sports stadium and any beautiful park. No person belonging to this town has ever represented the parliament and legislative assembly of India but now Maur, being an independent assembly constituency and Bathinda Parliament seat being unreserved, there is a possibility of having an MLA or MP belonging to Maur.

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[2] Maur had a population of 27,531. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Maur has an average literacy rate of 78%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 65%, and female literacy is 51%. In Maur, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Notable residents

1. Choudhary Dewan Chand
   • A legend had already matured to a leader popularly known as Chaudhary Sahib, who never headed Municipal, Market, Mahabir Dal, Mandir, Gaushala, School Sports or any other committee but was "Kingmaker" for all these organizations. His representation in these bodies was mostly unanimous choice of the people but if somebody had challenged him people gave a befitting reply, whosoever he may be. One such quotable example is of Municipal Committee elections of 1979 in which he defeated one of the richest man with thumping margin and campaign was so vigorous that even BBC had covered the event.
   • Very good player of volleyball, remained captain of Maur Volleyball team and people often came to enjoy his style of smashes along the net.
   • He was helpful to everybody especially the weaker sections of society. He was a man of principles and never compromised on these and never bowed to anybody for his own sake. In spite of being totally illiterate, ministers and senior officers of any level respected him and often took his advice while handling public affairs.
   • Though he died of heart attack on 7 Dec 1987, but he is so popular amongst the masses even now that people weep whenever they remember him and often say that nobody has matched his leadership till now.
   • To keep his exceptional work done alive, his son Er. Makhan Lal Garg along with other family members has formed a charitable trust named as Chaudhary Dewan Chand Foundation. It has started working for the uplift of Maur area and its people in every respect to make Maur a well prosperous and developed town.
2. Shri Sohan Lal Kansal - The first president of Municipal Committee of Maur. Also known an Pradhan Ji.

Industry

Maur area is famous for mustard crop in quality as well as quantity. A hub of mustard oil exists here and if we talk of quality, mustard oil of Maur mills carries more value than any place all over India. Maur falls under the famous Cotton Belt (Malwa Region) of Punjab. So this is becoming the hub of cotton ginning and spinning industry. There are many spinning mills situated here. Out of these one is Shree Hari Spintex Ltd. This mill is equipped with the latest ring spinning machinery from LMW: 18000 spindles and auto winding machines from Germany. Of late a new trend has emerged in the industrial development of Maur Mandi. A business consortium led by visionary Sri M.L Mangla planned to upgrade themselves from being cotton ginning giants under the name of Krishna Oil and General Mills into the cotton spinning. They have rechristened themselves as Rama Krishna Spintex (P) Limited. Both these mills have generated a great opportunity for employment for the region.

Surroundings

Following are well known around Maur Mandi

• Dam-Dama-Sahib (18 km from Maur), - A famous takht of Sikhs where Guru Gobind Singh Ji had stayed for sometime.
• Maiserkhana (5 km from Maur) - A famous temple called Maiserkhana Mata Temple
• Ubhe Wali Mata Mandir (10 km from Maur).

1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Maur
2. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01.