Punch
Punch, 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Principal place in the jagir of the same name, Kashmir State, situated in 33degree 45' N. and 74degree 9' E., at an elevation of 3,300 feet above sea-level. It lies on sloping ground above the right bank of the Tawi. Population (1901), 8,215. The town is oblong in shape, and is unwalled, with narrow streets. There are about 750 houses, generally single-storeyed with flat mud roofs. The fort, in which the Raji, resides, stands on a mound about 300 yards from the south-west corner of the town. Punch is well supplied with water brought by channels from the neighbouring streams. The climate is hot in the summer, and the rice-fields in the neighbourhood are probably one of the causes of the prevalence of fever. During the five hot months it is the custom to migrate to the summer camping-ground in the hills known as Dhoks. There is a flourishing market and a large trade is done in grain and ghl, in spite of the fact that there are no roads in the jaglr fit for cart traffic. A good 6-ft. road for pack transport has nearly been completed from the town to Uri on the Jhelum, and there is a project for a road to Rawalpindi, with a suspension bridge over the Jhelum at Lachman Patan. Other important tracks lead to Gulmarg and Tosh Maidan in Kashmir, and to Jhelum. The ancient name was Parnotsa, and the place is often mentioned in the chronicles. The Kashmiris always speak of Punch as Prunts.
