Poonch River

The Poonch River (also known as Punch River, Punch Tohi, Tohi of Punch[1][lower-alpha 1]) is a tributary of the Jhelum River that flows through Jammu and Kashmir in India, and Jammu and Kashmir in Pakistan.

Poonch River
Poonch River
Poonch River is located in Kashmir
Poonch River
Location
CountriesIndia, Pakistan
ProvincesJammu and Kashmir, Azad Kashmir
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationPoonch district, Jammu and Kashmir, India
 • coordinates33.64511°N 74.43532°E / 33.64511; 74.43532
Mouth 
 • location
Mangla Reservoir, Kotli District, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
 • coordinates
33.2896°N 73.7414°E / 33.2896; 73.7414

Name

According to Georg Bühler,[2] the ancient form of the word Tohi is Taushi mentioned in the Rājataraṅgiṇī and the Nīlamata Purāṇa. In the latter work, Āpagā (Aik Nala of Sialkot), Tauśī and Candrabhāgā are named together. Probably, the word is connected with the Sanskrit tuṣāra, 'cold', i.e. 'snow'.

Course

The river originates in the south-facing foothills of Pir Panjal range, in the areas of Neel-Kanth Gali and Jamian Gali. It is called 'Siran' (Suran) in this area. It flows south and then west until it reaches the town of Poonch, after which it bends southwest, finally draining into the Mangla Reservoir near Chomukh. The towns of Poonch, Sehra, Tatta Pani, Kotli and Mirpur are situated on the banks of this river.[3]

Tributaries

Frederic Drew wrote of the Poonch river in 1875:

it drains a large area of mountain country, collecting a number of streams that rise in the lofty Panjäl Range; indeed it combines all those which spring from that part of the Range north or north-west of the branching off of the Ratan ridge. It drains also a considerable area occupied by the mountains of intermediate height, and no small space of the lower, outer, hills.[4]

The prominent tributaries of the river are:

The Betaar Nala, which originates in the Azad Kashmir's Haveli District and flows southwest to join the Poonch river near the Poonch town, is sometimes called the 'Punch River'. (The upstream part of Poonch river is then called the Suran river.)

Environment

The Mughal Road from Shopian circles around the origin of the Poonch River and runs along its banks.

The Parnai hydropower project, under construction near Bafliaz in India's Poonch district, is expected to generate 37.5 Mega Watt power and also irrigate vast tracts of agricultural land in the district. The project was set for completion in 2017–18 but is delayed.[5][6][7]

The 100 MW Gulpur Hydropower Project is located on this river in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Notes
  1. The older forms of "Punch" include "Prunts", "Pulast" and "Parnotsa".

References
  1. Hasan, Mohibbul (1959), Kashmir under the Sultans, Aakar Books, pp. 23–24, ISBN 978-81-87879-49-7
  2. Georg Bühler (1877), Detailed Report of a Tour in Search of Sanskrit Mss. made in Kasmir, Rajputana, and Central India, Bombay: Society's Library, Town Hall. London: Trübner & Co., p. 3
  3. Negi, Sharad Singh (1991), Himalayan Rivers, Lakes, and Glaciers, Indus Publishing, p. 111, ISBN 978-81-85182-61-2
  4. Drew, Frederic (1875), The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories: A Geographical Account, E. Stanford, p. 38
  5. Parnai HEP project set for completion by 2017: JK govt, Business Standard, 17 August 2015.
  6. Fate of power projects, Daily Excelsior, 10 April 2018.
  7. "PDD for Parnai hydropower project". Retrieved 28 January 2019.
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