Mr. Farooq Ahmad Pandith

Bandipora District is one of the 20 districts in Jammu and Kashmir UT in northern India. Bandipora town is the administrative headquarters of the district. Bandipora, a township with peculiar scenic beauty is located in the foothills of the snow clad peaks of Harmukh overlooking the schores of Wular has produced hundreds, of scholars and intellectuals. Before, 1947, this town was a big trade and literary centre of Kashmir. Bandipora, the birthplace of great Historian, Hassan Khoehami. This district was carved out from the erstwhile Baramulla district in 2007. The district is bounded by Kupwara district in the west, Baramulla district in the south and Kargil, Srinagar and Ganderbal districts in the east. This district occupies an area of 345 km².The district has a population of 392,232.Bandipora is the administrative headquarters of the district of Bandipora in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located on the northern banks of Wular – the largest fresh water lake in Asia. Bandipora has a terraced garden similar to that of Nishat Bagh in Srinagar. In Kashmiri there is a famous phrase about Bandipora or in other words Bandipora is famous for three A’s – A’lim (knowledge), Adab (good habits or literature) and Aab (water).As can be known from the folklore, the name of Bandipora originated either from Bund of Wular as Bund e pur, from the local Folk-singing Bands as Baand e pur or from the enlosed geographical location as Bandh e pur. Bandipora is bound by mountains on three sides and by Wular Lake in the fourth. Bandipora is situated on the banks of the Wular, the largest fresh-water lake in Asia which is home to a lot of migratory birds. Bandipora is also a stepping town to the higher reaches of Razdan, Gurez and Tragbal. The famous Lolab valley in Kupwara district is adjacent to the Bandipora. It is just 30 km from Bandipora via Aloosa village. Once this road is upgraded it will become a lifeline of the Lolab valley and it will provide an additional route to the Kupwara district. Bandipora was the connecting link between North India and Central Asia via the Silk Road. At Pazalpora village there was a custom and immigration department which is now a forest check post. Due to the fact, Bandipora is also known as Gateway to Central Asia. There are strong links between skardu gurez and Bandipora.