Kashmir tribes report by Kashmir correspondent
شوپیان SHOPIAN
Shopian or Shupiyan in kashmir, is a hill district with its administrative division in shopian, located in the indian union territory of jammu and kashmir since it is situated on the historical road commonly known as Mughal Road, most of its area is occupied by forests. Shopian district comes under the Pir Panjal Range which makes it very cold in winter, it was earlier a tehsil of pulwama District. In March, 2007, the district status was granted by the Government Of India. The economy of the district depends on agriculture, particularly apple growing. Shopian is 22 km (14 mi) from aglar which connects it with pulwama district and is one of the border towns of the district.
Shopian or Shupiyan is , located in southern part of Kashmir Valley, bounded by Pulwama, Kulgam, Anantnag, and Peer Ki Gali where temperature often drops to as low as -7°c in winter, which is one of the extremely coldest towns of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The geologist Frederic Drew stated that Shopian derived its name from a distortion of word shah-payan, i.e. “royal stay”. However, the local people hold the view that Shopian was earlier named as “Shin-Van” meaning “snow forest”. The Shias have a different view, believing it was earlier inhabited by Shias so it is “Shin-Van” that is “The Forest of Shias”. Shopian is an ancient town of Kashmir and had an importance due to it being situated on the ancient imperial route, commonly known as Mughal Road, which connects Lahore and Srinagar.[4] Shopian was one out of six Wazarat Headquarters in Kashmir from 1872-1892 A.D. Shopian town is 51 kilometres (32 mi) from Srinagar and 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Pulwama at an elevation of 2,146 metres (7,041 ft) above sea level. It has decades-old road connectivity with Anantnag as well as Kulgam.
Economy: The local economy depends on agriculture. Apple growing “provides employment to about 60% of the population and is the main source of livelihood of many households. Apple-growing is more profitable than other crops, partly because the hilly nature of the land makes it harder to cultivate other crops than apples.
Healthcare : The district has a number of hospitals and healthcare facilities, some of which include its adjoining areas they are: District Hospital, Shopian, Sub District Hospital zainapora, Sub District Hospital keller , NTPHC Ramnagri, PHC Herman, PHC Pinjura, PHC DK Pora, PHC Vehil, PHC Sedow, PHC NadiGam.
Places of interest : Shopian district has many places with tourism potential: Arshi Pora Lahanthour, Sedow, Hirpora wildlife sanctuary, Dubijan – 6 km (3.7 mi) from Heerpora Village; Peer Marg/Peer Gali – 20 km (12 mi) away from Heerpora on the historical Mughal Road; Lake Nandansar – 2 km (1.2 mi) away from the Peer ki Gali; Hash Wang Bagam Pather, Sok Saray, and Mughal Saray at Jajinar. The Jamia Masjid in Shopian is one of the famous historical monuments built during the Mughal reign resembling that of jamia Masjid Srinagar. The Aasar-i-Sharief Dargah at Pinjura, attracts thousands of devotees on the occasion of Eid-i-Milad-un- Nabi and Shab-i-Mehraj. Darul Uloom Islamia Pinjura where large people gather to seek (spiritual and moral) knowledge and propagate to others.
On the outskirts of Shopian town near Nagbal area, there is a Siva temple called Kapalmochan Mandir with three natural springs and a unique Shivling with small Rudraksh shaped knots spread all over it.
