Mirpur Division
میرپور ڈویژن | |
|---|---|
.svg) Map of Mirpur Division | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Territory | Azad Kashmir |
| Capital | Mirpur |
| Government | |
| • Type | Divisional Administration |
| • Commissioner | Muhammad Tayyain |
| • Regional Police Officer | Zulfiqar Alib |
The Mirpur Division (Urdu: میرپور ڈِوِژن) is a first-order administrative division of the Pakistani dependent territory of Azad Kashmir. Mirpur is the largest division by population in Azad Kashmir. It comprises the portion of the former Mirpur District of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir that came under Pakistani control at the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.
History
editThe area of the present Mirpur Division was a part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the British Raj and after the partition of India. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, it became part of what is now Azad Kashmir. The Mirpur Division was the location of the Mirpur Massacre in November 1947.[1][2]
Districts
editCurrently, the Mirpur Division consists of the following districts:
Topography
editDistrict Mirpur comprises partly plane and partly hilly areas. Its hot climate and other geographical conditions are ideally suited for agriculture and hence the Mirpur district has a large percentage of land under cultivation. Accordingly the people of this area are primarily agriculturists. During the last five decades, however, a large number of people went abroad from this district, especially to United Kingdom for earning their livelihood. As such, they are today the major foreign exchange earning resource for Pakistan.[3]
EGDI status
editThe projected population of AJ&K in 2019 was 4.179 million while male and female proportions were found 2.047 & 2.133 million, respectively. In segregated term, the population of AJ&K comprises of 49% male and 51% female i.e. 95 males per 100 females whereas almost 100% population is Muslim. The population density of AJ&K presently is worked out to be 314 persons per sq.km.[4]
DHQ Hospital Mirpur
editDHQ is located in the planes of the southern districts of AJK on Kotli – Chaksawari – Mirpur – Mangla – Dina – Jhelum road. It is about 50 km from Islamabad in Pakistan. The DHQ hospital is located close to the main shopping area of Mirpur. Community members of the town and its neighborhood including villages in Mirpur district were present at the public hearing at the hospital as patients and/or visitors and they were all very appreciative of the facilities. Macro environment of District Mirpur General District Mirpur is located at the extreme South of the State of AJK and is linked with Pakistan and other districts of AJK through several routes. Its two tehsils are Dudhial and Mirpur.[3]
Waterfall
editMirpur district was not affected by the earthquake of October 8, 2005 and its water supply systems or their source were not impacted, nor were existing springs, wells and tube wells altered. The walking distances to water sources in areas only slightly off the highway, remains the same for women and girls, who are traditionally responsible for collection of water. Water Quality Groundwater from hand pumps and tube wells are the source of water supply in Mirpur district as well as the DHQ Hospital Mirpur. Quality of water is designated as rather hard and generally unfit for human consumption. Analysis of spring water carried out by Pakistan Council for Research on Water Resources (PCRWR) has shown the water to be generally contaminated with high levels of E. coli, or faecal organisms ranging from 2/100 ml to 306/100 ml and are not deemed fit for drinking purposes. Women and girls of the area are required to fetch water from the nearby well or uncovered perennial water channels and streams whose water is not hygienic as a result of pollution by animals as well as human beings. Safe sanitation facilities are rare except for a few households. People are still found to use the field for defecation and urination. The bacterial contaminants in sewage and human as well as animal wastes, along with leachates of solid waste and hazardous waste littered indiscriminately, are carried by rains and seepages from unlined channels from the wastewater channels or accumulation in ponds into the soil and from there into the ground water. [3]
The Wastewater Channels
editThe groundwater is invariably contaminated with faecal organisms and hazardous substances. Focus of the AJKG was on establishment of a distribution system for providing water to the maximum population. Hence funds available with AJKG could not be utilized to improve the water supply systems for providing safe drinking water indoors. Consequently the issues of contamination of water sources, intermittent supply, intermixing of sewerage lines with water pipelines, wherever present, due to inadequate spacing and faulty joints and old leaking pipes remained unattended. Deterioration in quality of available drinking water continues to be the main cause of ill health, and of the high infant mortality in AJK. No lesson has been learnt from such episodes as the 1997 sewage line and water supply line contamination in Mirpur that led to 11 deaths in one day. Such problems are being increasingly reported from all over AJK. The source of water in and around Mirpur is not dependable and hence a separate/independent source of water needs to be provided for the Hospitals and residential units where water decontamination units would be installed for making safe drinking water available. Wastewater The major source of wastewater in Mirpur district is domestic sewage. Service levels in the sanitation sector are also low. Only a poor form of sewerage system is present in Urban Mirpur. The sewage is discharged into the storm water drains laid in the two towns. These open channels, partly covered when laid in the main bazaar, serve the purpose of drainage and sewage conveyors. Sewage treatment system was established in 1963 for 10,000 inhabitants. The development work was halted in 1964 due to insignificant funding. Only 50% of the Mirpur population has access to a sewerage system. At present the wastewater is disposed of without treatment into the nearest river through streams or into ponds where it leaches into the ground water and causes water quality of rivers and streams to deteriorate. Such streams ultimately end up in discharging their water into the Mangla Lake. Surveillance and control of water quality are a major issue. The water supply and sanitation systems need a fresh look at installation of water supply and wastewater disposal system almost throughout the district to provide safe water supply and improve the water quality in systematic manner. The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) needs capacity building and improvement of skill for dependable services. Solid Waste Household waste is the major source of solid waste in Mirpur district. Mirpur City administration has been provided vehicles for collection but the disposal is indiscriminate in that it is invariably dumped along the river bank or else on the outskirts of the city and burnt there. There are about 18,000 households generating approximately 5 tons of solid waste daily. Almost 6-tractor trolleys waste is collected every day The municipal corporation claims that it collects almost 90% of the waste generated. The waste in manually loaded and downloaded except for one trolley, which is fitted with hydraulic unloading mechanism. Besides Mirpur Municipal Corporation, a private door to door waste collection services is being provided by Kashmir Welfare House (NGO). This service is being provided to about 500 units. For commercial solid waste collection, this NGO is introducing a basket system. At least five shopkeepers share one basket for waste collection. A nominal monthly fee is charged by the society for its services. All the waste collected by KMC is disposed of at a municipal pick up point.[3]
Roads
editThe urban centres of Mirpur district are located largely along the valleys of Jhelum and Poonch and the Mirpur – Mangla – Islamabad or Mirpur - Bhimber – Barnala – Iftekharabad Highway. Location of the residential area in Mirpur district extends from the valleys and banks of the rivers to the highways, and from the valleys to the hilly areas in Dudial tehsil. The district and tehsil headquarters as well as the urban centers in Mirpur district are linked with 581 km of metalled roads while the rural centers are connected with 480 km of a system of fair weather low type roads. The average road density here stands at 1.05 km/km2, which is slightly higher than 0.82, the average road density for AJK. Low-income communities in rural and urban areas away from Mirpur city live in underserved settlements with poor infrastructure facilities and services. Most of these areas lack access to roads and people have to travel long distances on foot and pay heavy charges to transport goods. Poor roads make it difficult for anyone suffering from a serious ailment or a woman in labor to reach the nearest hospital alive.[3]
References
edit- ^ "November 25, 1947 Mirpur massacre: An ill-fated day that reminds us of injustice and infringement, brutality and bloodshed".
- ^ "Kashmir History and Politics".
- ^ a b c d e Ali Baig, Mirza Arshad. "ENVIRONMENTAL_SOCIAL_PROFILE_OF_DISTRICTS_OF_AZAD_JAMMU_KASHMIR". Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. "STATISTICAL YEAR BOOK 2020" (PDF). Azad Jammu & Kashmir Statistical Year Book 2020. AJ&K BUREAU OF STATISTICS PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
33°15′N 73°56′E / 33.250°N 73.933°E
Category:Azad Kashmir Category:Divisions of Pakistan Category:Divisions of Azad Kashmir
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