# Pandhurna

Pandhurna is the administrative headquarter of the Pandhurna District in Madhya Pradesh, India. Pandhurna city is an important city from the business point of view. The infamous Gotmar Fair is organized every year on the banks of Jam River. Pandhurna is also famous for its orange fields. Pandhurna also has a multinational company called drytech situated at Nagpur road.

## Geography

Pandhurna is located at 21°36′N 78°31′E﻿ / ﻿21.6°N 78.52°E﻿ / 21.6; 78.52. It has an average elevation of 474 metres (1,555 feet). It is located on National Highway-47 (NH-47). The city is situated on the banks of the Jam River.

## Demographics

As of the 2011 Indian census, the municipality of Pandhurna have a population of 193,818, of which 100,657 were males while 93,156 were females.
The population of children ages 0–6 is 4,986, which is 10.96% of the total population of the municipality of Pandhurna. The female sex ratio is 937, as opposed to the Madhya Pradesh average of 931. Moreover, the child sex ratio in Pandhurna is around 959 compared to the state average of 918. The literacy rate of the city of Pandhurna is 87.03%, which is higher than the state average of 69.32%. In Pandhurna, male literacy is around 91.02% while female literacy rate is 82.76%.

## Castes

Schedule Caste (SC) constitutes 8.66% while Schedule Tribe (ST) were 6.02% of total population in Pandhurna (M).

## Work profile

Out of the total population, 18,265 were engaged in work or business activity, of which 13,272 were male while 4,993 were female. "Worker" was defined in the 2017 Indian census as a person who does business, job, service, or cultivator and labour activity. Of total 18265 working population, 86.87% were engaged in Main Work while 13.13% of total workers were engaged in Marginal Work.

## Administration

Pandhurna is a municipality in the district of Pandhurna, Madhya Pradesh. The city of Pandhurna is divided into 30 wards for which elections are held every 5 years.The municipality of Pandhurna has total administration over 10,243 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorized to build roads within municipality limits and impose taxes on properties under its jurisdiction.

## Government

Pandhurna Assembly constituency is one of the 230 Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) constituencies of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. Neelesh Pusaram Uike is MLA from here from INC party.

## Economy

Pandhurna is a typical Indian village with farming as the major occupation. Many farmers grow oranges and cotton as the Kharif crop since the black soil is suitable for its production. Other crops are soybean, groundnut, cauliflower, gram and wheat. There are many edible oil mills here. The village also has a few oil and cotton mills and food processing plants, as well as many cotton ginning and pressing factories.

## Nearby places of interest

1) Hanuman Mandir Jamsaoli, Saosar
2) Durga Mata Mandir Seoni, Pandhurna
3) Vitthal Rukmini Mandir Seoni, Pandhurna
4) Ardhnarishwar Shivling Mohgaon, sausar
5) Bhawani Mata Mandir, Bhawani Ward Pandhurna
6) MPL Ground, Chinese Food, Dosa, Food Chaupati Market, MPL Ground, Pandhurna
7) Hazrat Guncha Shah Wali Dargah Pandhurna
8) Hazrat Jungli Shah Peer Baba Dargah Nandapur
9) Hazrat Chand Shah Wali Dargah Pandhurna
10) Hazrat Baba Farid Dargah Badchicholi
11) Hazrat Gaus Paak Dargah Sausar

## Gotmar Mela

Gotmar literally means stone throwing ('got' = stone and 'mar' = beat). "Gotmar Mela" was celebrated every year on the second day of Bhadrapad, which is New Moon day, on the banks of the Jam River. A long tree was erected in the middle of the river with a flag at its very top. The residents of the villages of Savargaon and Pandhurna gathered on either bank of the river, and started pelting stones at the persons of the opposite village who tried to cross into the middle of the river and remove the flag on top of the tree trunk. The village whose resident succeeds in removing the flag would be considered victorious. The whole activity happened amidst the chanting of the sacred name of "Chandi MAta Ki Jay." People were often left either dead or injured, so the festival was banned in 2009 and 2011, after failed attempts in 2001 and 2002 to get the villagers to use rubber balls instead of stones.