Kondur or Kandoora is the largest village in the Sukhnag River valley, located on the eastern banks of the Sukhnag River. It lies on the Beerwah-to-Doodhpathri road and is 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Srinagar, the largest city and summer capital of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir,[3] which is the southern portion of the wider Indian-administered Kashmir region.

Kandoora
Bab Us Sukhnag
Kondur
Village
The Mega Village And Folks Of Kandoora In Sukhnag Valley
Location of Kandoora
Kandoora is located in India
Kandoora
Kandoora
Coordinates: 33°59′32″N 74°35′01″E / 33.9923°N 74.5837°E / 33.9923; 74.5837
Country India
Union TerritoryJammu and Kashmir
DistrictBudgam
Subdistrict, tehsilBeerwah
Named forField of stones
Government
 • TypePanchayati raj
 • BodyGram panchayat (Village council)
 • SarpanchMuzaffer Ahmed Bhat
 • MoqdamAb Lateef Sheik
Area
 • Total200 ha (500 acres)
Elevation
1,580 m (5,180 ft)
Highest elevation
(Bhag de Shafie)
1,616 m (5,302 ft)
Lowest elevation
(Mahal)
1,520 m (4,990 ft)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total3,700
 • Density825/km2 (2,140/sq mi)
DemonymKandoorians or Kondreek
Languages
 • Official
Language
 • SpokenKashmiri
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN INDIA
193411
Vehicle registrationJK04

Kandoora is a rural village, with agriculture its main economic activity. It is a Muslim community, with the inhabitants' first language being Koshur (Kashmiri), with other languages in use for particular purposes.

Etymology edit

The village name, Kandoora, derives from: Kashmiri: کَنِۂ, romanized: kanie, lit.'stone', and Kashmiri: ڈُور, romanized: doour, lit.'field'. As a whole, this gives the meaning, field of stones, and as the name suggests, the village of Kandoora does have plenty of stones in it.[citation needed]

Village administration edit

Kandoora is in the Beerwah subdivision of Budgam district, and governance of Kandoora is by representative democracy. The village is governed by a gram panchayat or village council, according to the 1996 Panchayats Act[4] Its panchayat has eleven members, with each member representing a ward constituency. Each ward has its ward representative.

 
view of Sun Set In Kandoora

Geography edit

Kandoora is a rural village, one of 102 inhabited villages in the Beerwah tehsil. It has a land area of 199.87 hectares (493.9 acres).[5] Nearest to Kandoora is Beerwah, approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) distant (measured from Beerwah's bus stand), and the Beerwah tehsil headquarters, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away. Beerwah, along with Sodipora, lies to the north of Kandoora. Also neighbouring the village are the surrounding locations of Sonapah to the northeast; Rankipora and Khatiruna to the east; Larbal to the southeast; Peth Zanigaam and Latinae to the south; Sail and Bun Zanigaamin to the southwest; Kanigund in the west; and Goriepora and Gohlar to the northwest.

Village layout edit

Kandoora is internally divided into Neiber Kandoora (neiber, meaning, 'spread out' or 'peripheral'), and Gamander Kandoora (gamander, meaning, 'downtown' or 'central portion').

  • Neiber Kandoora has:
    • Hajamabad
    • Najarabad
    • Brandaker
    • Gamudd
    • Ghatpur
    • Sheikhpur
    • Malikpur
  • Gamander Kandoora is composed of:
    • Bunpur
    • Pethpur
    • Mirpur (part)
    • Hajamabad (part)
    • Najarabad (part)
    • Old Graveyard of Kandoora
    • Masheed-e-Aungun (centre)

There are several planned or specially built communities within Kandoora. Such communities are widely known as colonies within the subcontinent.[6] The Kandoorian colonies are: Zandwan; Sheikh ul Alam; Gousia; and Larbal.

Village roads edit

Roads interior to the village include:

  • Ghatpur-Masheed e Aungun Street
  • Diversion-Malikpur Street
  • Diversion-Nagpur Street
  • Sheikhpur-Batehar Street
  • Gamudd-Maxelum Street
  • Maxelumm-Aawrenea Street
  • Batehar Street

Area road system edit

Kandoora is well connected to its neighbouring villages by link road. The roads meet internally in the administrative centre, central Kandoora, locally called Masheed-e-Aungun.

The roads are:

  1. Kandoora-Larbal Link road - 1.5 km (0.93 mi)
  2. Kandoora-Khatiruna Link road - 1.7 km (1.1 mi)
  3. Kandoora-Latina Link Road - 1.9 km (1.2 mi)
  4. Kandoora-Zaniegaam Link Road - 2 km (1.2 mi)
  5. Kandoora-Rankipora Link Road - 1.8 km (1.1 mi)
  6. Kandoora-Kaniegund Link Road - 1.7 km (1.1 mi)
  7. Kandoora-Sail Link Road - 2 km (1.2 mi)
  8. Kandoora-Sodiepora Link Road - 2.4 km (1.5 mi)
  9. Kandoora-Arizal Road - 11 km (6.8 mi)

The village can be accessed from:

  1. Budgam
    • Budgam-Kandoora Road, via Sonpah
  2. Beerwah
    • Beerwah-Doodhpathri Road, via Sonpah
    • Beerwah-Kandoora Road, via Rankipora
  3. Khag
    • Kandoora-Khag Road, via Malpora and Sail
  4. Khan Sahib

Economy edit

The economy of Kandoora is generally agrarian, being derived from agriculture and horticultural produce. The horticultural sector is on the rise, with the help of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-J) and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir. Many apple orchards are being developed and this sector is expected to boost the local economy.

The production and sale of Kashmiri handicrafts, such as Kashmiri shawls, is another avenue for earning income available to Kandoorians.

People and culture edit

The village population is Muslim and includes adherents of Sunni Islam, schools of Hanafi, Salafism, and Barelvi branches or schools of Islam.[citation needed]

Disputes are usually brought before the local jirga to be resolved. The jirga is an assembly of local Kandoora chieftains. This traditional gathering of leaders has been adapted by Kashmiri Muslims from its origins in erstwhile North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Afghanistan.[7]

The mother tongue of Kandoora locals is Koshur (Kashmiri). Several other languages are occasionally[citation needed] used, including Urdu, English, Persian, Arabic and Hindi.

Demographics edit

The majority of adult Kandoora residents work in agriculture and its associated occupations.[5] There are some government employees. Teenagers and young adults may continue as students, attending further education at institutions in the wider district.[8][failed verification]

Kandoora village: Enumeration and basic demographic details[5]
Detail Total Males Males % Females Females% Sex ratio Notes
Population 2,774 1,492 53.8 1,282 46.2 859 Sex ratio = no. of females per 1000 males
Child (0-6) 677 407 60.1 270 39.9 601
  • Literacy
  • (Tot. literacy rate: 61.56% of pop. aged 7yrs+)
1,291 791 72.90 500 49.41 613 All figures calculated as effective literacy rate = Based on population of those 7yrs and over.
In paid work 707 570 80.6 137 19.4 240
Marginal worker 577 453 78.5 124 21.5 274
No. of households 479 - - - - - Source: Census 2011, 15th National census of India[5]

Clans edit

The clans living[citation needed] within Kandoora include:

  • Ahanger
  • Chopan
  • Ganiee
  • Hajam
  • Khan
  • Magrey
  • Malik
  • Malla
  • Mir
  • Najar
  • Pandit
  • Parry
  • Sheikh
  • Syed
  • Wani
  • Zarger

Religious institutions and organisations edit

 
Jamia Masjid Kandoora

The township has halqa level bodies of:

The village has six masjids, including two jama masjids:[a]

  • Grand Jamia Hanafia, Kandoora (in central Masheed-e-Aungun area)
  • Chanpur Masjid e Shareef (in Chanpur)
  • Masjid e Ramzaan a mosque of the Hanafi school in Sheikhpur
  • Masjid e Gousiyah, of the Barelvi school in Diversion[where?] colony
  • Jamia Masjid Ahlihadith, in Mirpur
  • Masjid e Salafiyah, in Ghatpur, a Salafi School masjid

Sports edit

Sports played locally include:

Education edit

The village has a literacy rate of nearly 62 per cent, according to the 2011 census.[5] This is somewhat lower than the literacy rate of 67.16 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir overall.[5]

Islamic religious education edit

The village of Kandoora has three Islamic educational institutions:

  • Imam e Azam Institute of Islamic Studies, a Hanafi institution
  • Institute of Islamic Theology and Jurisprudence (Urdu: درسگاہ تعلیم القران والحدیث نبویہ)
  • Shah e Hamdan Institute of Islamic Studies, named in honour of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani

Independent schools edit

  • Islamic Educational Institute Kandoora (IES, Kandoora), established in 1986

This institution is the first private school in valley of the River Sukhnaag.[9]

Post-primary schools edit

  • Government Girls Middle School, Kandoora:
    Established in 1975 in order to educate girls locally, past the primary school level.
  • The Government Boys Higher Secondary Institute, Kandoora:
    Established 1953 as a primary school. In 1963 it was upgraded to middle school level and then, in 1971, to the high school level. It attained a higher secondary school level in 2018. This higher secondary school feeds Government Degree College, Beerwah. The institute was only the second school in the area, after the Government Boys Senior Secondary Institute School, Beerwah, established in 1953.

Primary schools edit

  • Government Boys Primary School, Chanpur
  • Government Boys Primary School, Malik Pur

Notes edit

  1. ^ Jamia Masjid is the mosque in which Muslims observe Friday prayers.

References edit

  1. ^ "The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020" (PDF), The Gazette of India, Government of India, 27 September 2020, retrieved 27 September 2020
  2. ^ Yattoo, Irfan (22 September 2020). "Parliament passes JK Official Languages Bill, 2020". Rising Kashmir. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022.
  3. ^ Manzoor, Mir (22 September 2018). "Terrorist over ground workers arrested, Beerwah". Indiatv. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Pincode, Jammu and Kashmir: Budgam – Kandoora". India TV News. Independent News Service. 24 May 2020. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India; Ministry of Home Affairs (2014). "District Census Hand Book, Badgam (Village- and town-wise)". Census of India 2011: Primary Census Abstract (PCA). Government of India. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via censusindia.gov.in.
  6. ^ Macmillan Education. "Areas in towns or cities - synonyms and related words". Macmillan Dictionary. Retrieved 3 October 2021. Colony (noun; Indian English): a planned area within a city for people to live and work in
  7. ^ Raina, Muzaffar (30 October 2006). "Justice rolls in Kashmir, Afghan-style - Jilted, sheep stolen? Some people in the Valley never go to police but pin faith on a time-tested tribal system to settle disputes and redress grievances". The Telegraph India online. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  8. ^ KL News Network (18 April 2019). "LS Polls Phase 2: The Complete Story". Kashmir Life. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. There were a few instances in Budgam district where the crowds resorted to stone pelting at paramilitary men. At a few places including Beerwa, Kandoora, Chewdara Kawoosa, Ratsun, Nasrullah Pora, Hafrooda, the police did react. Unofficial reports said three persons were injured.
  9. ^ Directorate of School Education Kashmir

33°59′32″N 74°35′01″E / 33.9923°N 74.5837°E / 33.9923; 74.5837

External links edit