Machhiwara
Machhiwara (Punjabi: ਮਾਛੀਵਾੜਾ) is a town and a nagar panchayat in Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. Machhiwara is famous for Gurudwara Sri Charan Kanwal Sahib named after the Guru's feet that are compared to the lotus flower. When Aurangzeb's army attacked the fortress of Chamkaur Sahib, Guru Gobind Singhji successfully resisted their onslaught and slipped away into the forests of Machhiwara. The Mughal forces got wind of his whereabouts and Guru Gobind Singhji was saved by two of his Muslim devotees who disguised him as their Muslim prophet. The place where the Guruji rested is where the Gurudwara stands today.
Location
The town is located 35 km away from Ludhiana, 9Km from Samrala, 40 km from Chamkaur Sahib, 25 KM from Rahon. The river Satluj is towards its north and Sirhind Canal is towards its west.
Approach Roads : The town is approachable by roads from Samrala, Ludhiana, Ropar, Chamkaur Sahib, Nawan Shahr (Satluj bridge).The Satluj Bridge is under construction. On its completion the access to the inhabitants of Doaba & Malwa regions would become easy. Now people from both sides move by boat. By road, it is about 50 Km farther.
Historic Town
The town is historic as 10th Guru of Sikhs Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji came to this town after the battle of Chamkaur Sahib. The town has following famous Gurudwaras namely -
- Shri Charan Kanwal Sahib
- Shri Chobara Sahib
- Shri Ghani Khan Nabi Khan Sahib
- Shri Kirpal Bhaint Sahib
The town has an old Shiva temple on the Ropar Road. It is believed that Pandva’s spent a part of their agyatvas here.
Geography
Machhiwara is located at 30.91° N 76.2° E.[1] It has an average elevation of 262 metres (859 feet).
Demographics
As of 2001 India census,GRIndia Machhiwara had a population of 18,363. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Machhiwara has an average literacy rate of 60%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 64%, and female literacy is 56%. In Machhiwara, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Nagar Panchayat & Other Offices
Nagar Panchayat was formed in Nov,1977 in place of Gram Panchayat through a notification by Punjab Government. Presently,it is working under the presidentship of Sh.Anil Sood. The income of the Nagar Panchayat for the financial Year 2004–2005 is Rs. 2.06 crores. It spent on development an amount of Rs. 1.16 crores. The town is a Sub-tehsil. It has the offices of Naib – tehsildar, Nagar Panchayat. Block development of Panchayat officer, Child development Project officer, Post Office, Market Committee, Police Station, FCI, Punsup, Food & Civil Suplies, Punjab State Electricity Board, Telephone Exchange, Markfed etc. Water Supply About 80% of the population is served by the two tube wells.More shall be installed shortly to cover 100% population of the town.
Other Amenities
Health Services
The population of the area is served by a team of doetoes and Para medical Staff of the civil hospital. Also a homeopathy dispensary exists in the civil hospital that attracts a large crowd of patients, besides the town has many private Clinics / nursing homes. Prominent among them are – Gill Nursing Home. A government veterinary hospital is also there to serve the ailing animals of the area.
Parks
There are three parks in the town. They are Indira Colony, Dashmesh Nagar, Bus Stand
Educational Institutions
Machhiwara town has a good record of education. It enjoys the facility of a degree college for girls. It has two government Sr.Sec.Schools – One for girls &the other is for boys. Five government run Primary Schools also serve the area. Education is also Provided by the private institutions viz:Sacred Heart Convent School, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Public School, Miri – Piri Public School, Shakti Public School, Chopra Public School.
Business
The town cakes to the business needs of inhabitants of a large no. of villages. It has a good whole sale /retail market, four petrol pumps & an LPG gas agency. The volume of business has attracted many banks namely State Bank of India ,Oriental Bank of Commerce Bank of India, central Bank of India, The Land Mortgage Bank, The Ludhiana central co-operatine Bank. Also the grain market has approximately 250 commission agents. The town has more than 10 rice–shellars, a coldstorage of a ice factory.The town is surrounded by a number of factories owned by reputed business houses like oswals, shreyans etc.
Freedom Fighters
Seven persons of the town battled for the freedom of the country from British rulers. They are :
- Dr. Shankar Dass s/o Sh.Salig Ram
- Smt. Hardae w/o Dr. Shankar Dass
- Sh Om Parkash s/o Sh Mulla Ram
- Sh Ram Gopal Rind s/o Sh Pt Gainda Ram
- Sh Diwan Chand s/o Pt Lachman Dass
- Sh Kedar Nath Sharma
- Sh Ram Jas Jain s/o Sh Waliati Ram
