Jaranwala (Punjabi and Urdu: جڑانوالہ) is a city and capital of Jaranwala Tehsil located in the Faisalabad District of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 58th largest city of Pakistan.
Geography
It is located at 31°20’0N 73°26’0E with an altitude of 184 meters (606 feet). It is located 35 km southeast of Faisalabad and 110 km from Lahore. The city serves as the headquarters of Jaranwala Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of the district.
Etymology
Jaranwala’a name originates from a Bohar, Bargad Banyan tree known as Jaranwala Bohar. Jaranwala is combination of two Punjabi words: Jaran and Wala, where Jaran means “roots” and “Wala” means place.
History
According to legend, a Banyan tree was positioned at the bank of a pond near Chak No. 240 GB, around what would be later known as Jaranwala.
Bhagat Singh, who was influential in the Indian independence movement, was born in Chak 105 GB, which is now part of Jaranwala. There is a 100-year-old gate, Pakistan Gate, in front of Rail Bazaar in Jaranwala, which was later rebuilt and redesigned by the town municipality.
Pakistani Gate Jaranwala
The Pakistani Gate is a central point and historical monument of Jaranwala. In January 1917, Sardar Harbeel Sing notified the area committee of Jaranwala to construct a wooden gate to welcome the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Sir Michael Francis O’Dwyer, in Jaranwala. After his visit, the gate was named O’Dwyer Gate. However, after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the people demanded to rename the gate to no avail. Due to heavy wind, the name of O’Dwyer was removed from gate and it was renamed the Railway Gate. On his visit of Nehru on 1 June 1936, it was renamed the Nehru Gate, and the president of Municipal Committee Jaranawala Lala Harnam Das approved the name the on 30 March 1937. The name was changed again after the independence of Pakistan, when the first president of the Municipal Committee of Jaranawala, Syed Altaf Hussain, renamed it the Pakistani Gate. The Pakistani Gate was reconstructed in 1956, 1967, and 2009.
Demographics
According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, the population of the Jaranwala MC (Municipal Committee) is 150,380.
Agriculture
Jaranwala has fertile land. It produces crops like rice, wheat, sugarcane, vegetables and fruits. Jaranwala’s grain market is one of the busiest markets in Punjab. It is also the biggest consumer of fertilizers by volume in Pakistan. Jaranwala has one commercial sugar mill, Husein Sugar Mills.
Transportation
Jaranwala is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the M3 motorway interchange. There are daily bus services from Lahore and Faisalabad. There are many trains coming from Lahore on the Shorkot–Sheikhupura Branch Line. The nearest airport is the Faisalabad International Airport, which is approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the city.
Sources: Wikipedia