Kalakote
Kalakote is a tehsil located in Rajouri district of Jammu region in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Kalakote is noted for its coal mines and is only producer of lignite coal in northern India. Etymology. Kalakote is producer of coal from late 19th also there was a court at Danga village which was only court of constituency at that time. So the word "Kalakote" is made up of two words 'Kala' and 'Kote'. Kala means black in Pahari. It indicate the presence of coal throughout the tehsil. And Kote means court in Pahari. It indicate the  presence of justice. History. Before independence Kalakote was a small village with coal mines. In the beginning of 50s, a thermal power station was established at Kalakote to utilize the local coal resources. Colonies like Mine Colony, Thermal Colony were established for residence of power plant workers. Because of the influx of workers many shops and hotels were constructed. After commissioning of this project, it was found that the coal available at site was not suitable for the project due to which the project is closed at present. However, coal remains the primary resource of the Tehsil, which is presently  being exported outside. During 1970's Kalakote and Nowshera are used to be one Tehsil with same constituency but it was very difficult to manage both towns by single head because Kalakote was very vast and share boundaries with Kotranka. After that separate tehsil and constituencies were allotted to Kalakote. Geography. Kalakote is located at . Its area is 413 km sq (159 sq mi). It has an average elevation of . Kalakote has a humid subtropical, dry climate. Its yearly temperature is 28.16ºC (82.69ºF) and it is 2.19% higher than India’s averages. It typically receives about 22.15 millimeters (0.87 inches ) of precipitation and has 28.48 rainy days (7.8% of the time) annually. Kalakote share its boundaries with Nowshera in East, Reasi in West, Rajouri & Kotranka in North and Sunderbani & Siot in South. Demographics. Population and sex ratios. All the population of Kalakote Tehsil lives in urban areas. The total population of the tehsil in 2022 is 93,014. India census, total population of Kalakote Tehsil is 72,667 of which 37,864 are male and 34,803 are female i.e. sex ratio of 919 females per 1000 of males. The population of children of age 0-6 years is 12768 which is 18% of  the total population. There are 6842 male children and 5926 female children between the age 0-6 years. Thus as per the census 2011 the child sex ratio of Kalakote Tehsil is 866 which is less than average sex ratio ( 919 ) of Kalakote Tehsil. Total number of villages in tehsil Kalakote is 69. The literacy rate is 59.13%. Literate people are 35,418 out of 21,123 are male and 14,295 are female. The total working population was 38,661, of which 20,899 are men and 17,762 are women. There total of cultivators is 5,395, with 4,344 men and 1,051 women. 718 people  work in agricultural land as a labour in Kalakote, split between 588 men and 130 women. Religion. The majority of Kalakote's population is either Hindu or Muslim. These two religions have 99.09% of the tehsil's population with Muslim population of 51.60% & Hindu population of 48.03%. Other religions like Sikhism & Christianity are followed by 0.37% of the total population. Education. As of 2022 Kalakote has one government college, 47 government schools and 19 private schools. Government Degree College is only college of Tehsil. Some of Good Government Schools are Some of Good Private Schools are Healthcare. Kalakote has only  one main hospital named CHC Kalakote with three more hospitals under construction in different parts of the tehsil. For medical emergencies some have to go to GMC Rajouri which is around 36 km away or GMC Jammu which is around 107 km away. Transport. Air. Rajouri Airport is located 34 km from the town but currently is non-operational. The nearest airport to Kalakote is Jammu Airport which located 115 kilometres from Kalakote and is a 3.5 hr drive. Rail. Kalakote doesn't have its own railway station. The nearest railway station to Kalakote is Jammu Tawi railway station which  is located at a distance of 113 kilometres from the town and is a 3.5 hr drive. Road. Kalakote is developing tehsil where almost every village is connected through single lane road. The Rajouri Katra Highway pass through tehsil which connects Kalakote with Rajouri & Katra along with 14 other villages. A 22 Kilometre single lane road connects Kalakote with National Highway at Siot. Tourism. Manma Mata Cave. The Manma Mata Temple is a pilgrimage site that lies on Rajouri - Katra highway. This site is devoted to Mata Devi as it is believed that Manma Devi had arrived in this region  for meditation purpose. Visitors will find a cave in proximity to this pilgrimage site. This place is 8.9Km away from Kalakote. Tata Pani. This place is famous for the hot spring whose water is believed to have healing powers. It is located at about 14 km from the Kalakote town. Thousands of people throng the place from June to ending November every year from within and outside the state to take a dip in springs. Tata Pani is around 14 km away from Kalakote. Thermal Power Plant Kalakote. In the beginning of 1950s, a Thermal Power Station was established at  Kalakote keeping in view the available coal resources. But after commissioning of this project, it was found that the coal available at site was not suitable for the project due to which, the project is closed at present. However, coal is the main resource of the Tehsil, which is presently being exported outside. Thermal Power Plant Kalakote is 0 km away from Kalakote. Points of interest. Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Katra. The Vaishno Devi Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Vaishno Devi located in Katra at the Trikuta Mountains within the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir . The temple is one of the 108 Shakti Peethas dedicated to Durga, who is worshipped as Vaishno Devi. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage centers of India. Every year millions of visitors visit the temple. During festivals like Navaratri, the count even increases to one crore visitors. Shri Mata Vaishno Devi temple is around 120 km from Kalakote. Shiv Khori. Shiv Khori, is a famous cave shrines of Hindus devoted to lord Shiva, situated in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Shiv Khori cave is around 56 km away from Kalakote. Mangla Mata Temple. Mangla  Mata Dev Asthan is located near village Bhawani in Nowshera Tehsil of District Rajouri in a forest area. It is a beautiful cave with the pindies of Mangla Mata. No doubt that the people are visiting every day to this place, but two important melas are also organized during the days of Navratras during the months of April and September, every year. It is said that the people had seen tigers visiting the site during night hours. Apart from the pindies, there are two snakes of stones carved in the cave. It is said that originally, this cave was closed  but when the people started coming for darshan of Mata Ji, the cave automatically opened. Apart from main cave, there are two other caves also namely Vaishnoo Cave and Naina Mata Cave. The pindies of Naina Mata are also installed in the cave. This temple is around 61 km away from Kalakote to Nowshera side. Shahdara Sharief. Shahdara Sharief is the shrine of Baba Ghulam Shah. The shrine is commonly known as Shahdara Sharief and is a popular tourist spot of the Rajouri District. Ghulam Shah made Shadara his abode for the rest of his life. Over a period of  time, this shrine has grown into symbol of communal harmony as Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs visit this place in large numbers, offer prayers and seek blessings of the Pir. Shahdara Sharief is around 61 km away from Kalakote.