Vehari

Vehari (Urdu: وہاڑی) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city, which is the capital of the district and tehsil of the same name , is located at 30°1'60N 72°20'60E at an altitude of 135m (446ft) and lies about 100 kilometres from the regional metropolis of Multan and about 25 kilometres north of the river Sutlej - the southernmost of the five rivers of the Punjab region. A headworks of canals is located on this river near Luddan on the Luddan-Vehari canal providing irrigation water to both banks of the river, which includes the upper fringes of the Cholistan Desert.

The summer in Vehari is very hot, but the weather becomes much more pleasant between October and February. Light rainfall leaves the land generally arid and dusty, but the country's agricultural products include mangoes in the summer and guava and other citrus fruits in the winter. Vehari is considered the capital of cotton growing in this part of Pakistan, with dozens of cotton processing factories and cottonseed oil manufacturing plants, and sugarcane farming and processing is also common.

Vehari is located on the southern alternate route of both railway and road between Multan and Lahore, the capital of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The northern route is the main route. Both of these routes run roughly in a northeasterly direction, almost parallel to each other and only 20 to 30 miles apart at any given point. A section of the railway between Multan and Lahore is electrified on the main line between Khanewal and Lahore. The Vehari route goes to Lahore through the famous religiously renowned city of Pakpattan, where the Sufi Saint Fariduddin Ganjshakar is buried. Thousands of pilgrims come annually to Pakpattan for the saint's "Urs" celebration which include all sorts of festivities. Baba Fareed's poetry has been included in the religious texts of the Sikh religion.

Sports

In sports, Vehari has produced many players. It is famous in the field of hockey. This soil has enormous talent in this field. The famous players in the history of the game are :

• Waseem Ahmed Ex Olympian and former captain of Pakistan National Hockey Team. He is one of the best left half produced by the world. He also got selected in World XI.
• Saleem Sherwani Ex hockey Olympic champion and world hockey champion.
• Sajjad Anwar International Player,represented Pakistan National Hockey Team.
• Waqas Akbar Olympian and currently representing Pakistan National Hockey.
• Waqar younis.Formar Caption Pakistan cricket team and world fastest bowler.

Education

It has best education facilities with different schools and colleges. Divisional Public School, Vehari is working under the management of District Government, Vehari. There are also separate degree colleges for boys and girls. University of Education also has a campus located in this city of cotton. Recently, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology has opened its campus at Vehari which is one of the best Universities in Pakistan ranked by HEC. The level of education is very high in the city famous for cotton crops.

Weather

The climate of the city is hot and dry. The summer season starts from April and continues until October. May, June, and July are the hottest months. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures for these months are about 47 and 28 degrees Celsius. Dry, hot, and dusty winds are common during summer. The winter season lasts from November to March. December, January and February are the coldest months. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures for this period are about 22 and 4 °C. Fog is very common during winter

Most of the area's rain falls during the monsoon season from July to September. During winter season there is very little rain, however, deluges and floods can occur.

Notable people

• Major Muhammad Tufail Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haider) Pakistan's first recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider (the highest military honour).
• Mumtaz Ahmad Khan Daultana an active member of Pakistan Freedom Movement and the first Chief Minister of Punjab province.
• Mian Muhammad Khurshid Anwar(late), founder of District Vehari, deputy opposition leader during Bhutto regime.
• Waseem Ahmed Ex Olympian and former captain of Pakistan National Hockey Team
• Ch Qurban Ali Chohan, a renowned politician
• Waqar Younis former test cricketer of Pakistan.
• Tehmina Daultana, a renowned activist of Pakistan Muslim League (N).
• Saeed Ahmad Khan Manais, a renowned politician and former Speaker Punjab Assembly.
• Col.(R) Rafaqat Ali Rana, a renowned activist and leader of Pakistan Muslim League (N)

Towns and places

• Tibba Sultan Pur
• Karam Pur
• Luddan
• Machiwal
• Garha More
• Gaggo
• Maitla Chowk

References