Katra, Jammu and Kashmir
Katra or Vaishno Devi is a city within the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India, situated in the foothills of the Trikuta Mountains, where the shrine of Vaishno Devi is located. Katra is located 24 km (15 mi) from the town of Reasi, 42 km (26 mi) from the city of Jammu and around 685 km (426 mi) north of the national capital New Delhi and is the base camp for Mata Vaishno Devi.
Katra Vaishno Devi | |
|---|---|
Temple City | |
Katra Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India Katra Katra (India) | |
| Coordinates: 32°59′22″N 74°56′0″E / 32.98944°N 74.93333°ECoordinates: 32°59′22″N 74°56′0″E / 32.98944°N 74.93333°E | |
| Country | India |
| Union Territory | Jammu and Kashmir |
| District | Reasi |
| Elevation | 875 m (2,871 ft) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
| • Total | 9,008 |
| Language | |
| • Official | Dogri, Hindi.[2][3] |
| • Other | Kashmiri |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Vehicle registration | JK |
| Literacy | 70% |
Geography
Katra is located at 32°59′N 74°57′E / 32.98°N 74.95°E.[4] It has an average elevation of 875 metres (2,474 feet). The Banganga River passes through the village.
There have also been reports of possible oil reserves in the area[5]
Climate
| Climate data for Katra (1981–2010, extremes 1980–2012) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 25.8 (78.4) | 28.9 (84.0) | 33.1 (91.6) | 39.3 (102.7) | 43.7 (110.7) | 46.2 (115.2) | 39.7 (103.5) | 36.3 (97.3) | 33.4 (92.1) | 33.3 (91.9) | 29.7 (85.5) | 27.6 (81.7) | 46.2 (115.2) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 21.8 (71.2) | 24.3 (75.7) | 29.1 (84.4) | 35.2 (95.4) | 39.2 (102.6) | 40.2 (104.4) | 35.8 (96.4) | 33.1 (91.6) | 32.1 (89.8) | 30.9 (87.6) | 27.3 (81.1) | 23.2 (73.8) | 40.8 (105.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 17.1 (62.8) | 19.2 (66.6) | 23.7 (74.7) | 29.6 (85.3) | 34.0 (93.2) | 35.2 (95.4) | 31.2 (88.2) | 29.9 (85.8) | 29.8 (85.6) | 28.0 (82.4) | 23.9 (75.0) | 19.5 (67.1) | 26.7 (80.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.1 (46.6) | 12.0 (53.6) | 16.7 (62.1) | 20.5 (68.9) | 22.2 (72.0) | 21.7 (71.1) | 21.3 (70.3) | 19.3 (66.7) | 15.0 (59.0) | 11.0 (51.8) | 7.8 (46.0) | 15.1 (59.2) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) | 4.0 (39.2) | 7.5 (45.5) | 11.1 (52.0) | 14.6 (58.3) | 16.9 (62.4) | 18.2 (64.8) | 18.2 (64.8) | 15.4 (59.7) | 11.9 (53.4) | 7.7 (45.9) | 4.7 (40.5) | 2.3 (36.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) | −1.0 (30.2) | 3.0 (37.4) | 5.5 (41.9) | 10.0 (50.0) | 14.2 (57.6) | 16.2 (61.2) | 10.8 (51.4) | 10.0 (50.0) | 9.0 (48.2) | 4.6 (40.3) | 1.1 (34.0) | −1.0 (30.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 110.3 (4.34) | 131.2 (5.17) | 141.7 (5.58) | 75.0 (2.95) | 61.3 (2.41) | 137.2 (5.40) | 589.6 (23.21) | 635.1 (25.00) | 199.6 (7.86) | 35.2 (1.39) | 23.4 (0.92) | 58.7 (2.31) | 2,198.3 (86.55) |
| Average rainy days | 4.9 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 7.2 | 17.1 | 17.3 | 8.1 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 82.7 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) | 69 | 61 | 52 | 40 | 35 | 45 | 75 | 83 | 75 | 63 | 64 | 67 | 61 |
| Source: India Meteorological Department[6][7] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
As of 2011 Indian Census, Katra had a total population of 9,008, of which 5,106 were males and 3,902 were females. The population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 1,012. The total number of literates in Katra was 6,841, which constituted 75.9% of the population with male literacy of 79.4% and female literacy of 71.4%. The effective literacy rate of the 7+ population of Katra was 85.6%, of which the male literacy rate was 89.2% and the female literacy rate was 80.8%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 1,925 and 9 respectively. Katra had 1594 households in 2011.[1]
Languages
As per the 2011 census, the majority, 78.2% of the population spoke Dogri, followed by 10.6% Hindi, 2.5% Punjabi, 2.2% Assamese, and 1.4% Kashmiri speakers.[9]
Tourism
Katra serves as the base camp for pilgrims who visit Vaishno Devi. It has a thriving tourism industry that offers plenty of hotels, guest houses, restaurants, dhabas, fast-food joints that fit all kinds of budgets. Free accommodation is provided by some registered trusts in the form of "Sarais" for the poor. The number of pilgrims who visit the shrine every year has increased from 1.4 million in 1986 to 8.2 million in 2009. Over the years, a lot has changed, but main attractions include the "bazaar" (market) for buying souvenirs, dryfruits, woolen garments, hosiery, leather jackets, etc. To reach Vaishno Devi, the pilgrims have to register at Katra before starting the trek. By registering, the pilgrims get accident insurance up to 100,000 INR while on the trek of 14 km. There is another trek of 2.5 km from Vaishno Devi temple for Baba Bhaironnath. Electric Vehicles and helicopter services are available for pilgrims. A new ropeway system has just been inaugurated from the Vaishno Devi Bhawan to the Bhairon Baba Mandir, reducing the journey to time to just 3 minutes. The ropeway can carry 800 people every hour.
Transport
Road
Katra is well-connected by roads with other places in Jammu and Kashmir and India. The NH 144 passes through Katra. Presently, it takes around 12 hours to travel from New Delhi to Katra. The planned Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway will shorten the duration to 7 hours.[10]
Rail
The Jammu–Baramulla line connects the Katra Railway Station of Northern Railways to the rest of the Indian railways' network. It was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi on 4 July 2014.[11]
Air
The nearest airport to Katra is Jammu Airport located at a distance of 50 kilometres. There are numerous helipads in and around Katra which has services to the Vaishno Devi Temple.
References
- ^ a b "Census of India: Katra". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ "The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ "Parliament passes JK Official Languages Bill, 2020". Rising Kashmir. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Katra, India". www.fallingrain.com. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ Naqvi, Jawed (23 February 2008). "Joint search for oil in Kashmir". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 401–402. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M76. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ "Katra Population". Census India. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ "C-16 Population By Mother Tongue - Town level". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Delhi to Vaishno Devi in less than 7 hours: Delhi-Katra express road corridor to be completed by 2023". Times Now. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ "Modi flags off inaugural train from Katra". The Hindu. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
External links
- All Trains at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station