Khrew

Khrew or Khreuh is a town and notified area committee in Pulwama district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It comes under Tehsil Pampore and District Pulwama of Union Territory of J&K. It is located at a distance of 22 kms from Srinagar. It is famous for Jwala Ji Mandir which is a prominent place of worship for Kashmiri Pandits.

Khrew
city
Khrew Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India Show map of Jammu and Kashmir Khrew Khrew (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 34.02°N 74.99°E / 34.02; 74.99
Country	India
State	Jammu and Kashmir
District	Pulwama district
Area
• Total	12 km^2 (5 sq mi)
Elevation	1,607 m (5,272 ft)
Population  (2014)
• Total	22,627
• Density	1,900/km^2 (4,900/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Kashmiri (Urdu) (English)
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	191103
Telephone code	01933
Vehicle registration	JK 13
Literacy	42%
Website	www.khrew.com

Geography

Khrew is located at 34.020°N 74.99°E / 34.020; 74.99.[1] It has an average elevation of 1,607 metres (5,272 feet) and is located in the Kashmir valley. The area starts from Babapora till Seer and from Bathen to Androosa. Also the foot region is extended to Ladhoo, a village in Jammu and Kashmir.

As of 2014 India census,[2] Khrew had a population of 18,411. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Khrew has an average literacy rate of 42%, lower than the national average of 65.8%; male literacy is 22.08%, and female literacy is 20.00%. In Khrew, 17% of the population is under 15 years of age.

Climate

[hide]Climate data for Khrew (Khreuh)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C	8.3	14.9	20.2	22.6	24.0	28.3	36.9	32.4	28.4	24.8	18.7	16.7	20.95
Daily mean °C	6	10	16	18	20	23	26	28	25	22	17	12.9	18.65
Average low °C	-4	1	10	12	16	19	22	21	20	18	12	2	12.41
Average precipitation mm (inches)	180	6	87	106	80	37	20	51	15	30	30	40	56.83
Average rainy days	11	4	6	14	10	5	3	3	4	6	2	4	6
Mean daily sunshine hours	2	4	6	7	9	11	11	10	08	8	7	7	7.5
Source #1: Khrew IT VRUGlobal Meteorological Department (1901-2017)
Source #2: Climate-Data.org for mean temperatures, altitude: 2214m, Weather2Travel for sunshine and rainy days

Religion

Religion in Khrew (2017)

  Islam (82.00%)

  Hinduism (10.88%)

  Sikhism (4.10%)

  Christianity (2.01%)

  Buddhism (0.01%)

  Other (1.00%)

Khrew is a majority-Muslim area with 82% of people practising Islam. Hinduism and Sikhism, respectively, follow Islam as the most-practiced religions in the town.

Health

Khrew contains one government hospital with approx 20 beds. This hospital provides basic health-care facilities to its patients.

At present 6 cement factories are operating in the area, which although are a major source of employment for locals have led to a lot of pollution in the area. Kashmir Cement Project established the first cement factory in the region. Six cement plants include government sponsored JK cements, TCI Max, HK cements, Cemtac, ARCO, ICC cements. Hundreds of trucks also pass in and out of these plants every day to transport raw material and manufactured cement bags.According to the report from the World Health Organization, Khrew has a more death rate than any other town in the district due to the emission of poisonous gases. Factories release 100,000 kilograms of toxic fumes, poisonous gases and life-threatening elements in the air per day. Lung disease is the primarily cause of fume-related fatalities, followed by kidney failure and heart diseases. The release of the poisonous gases was found to be the responsible factor for these conditions, according to the report. The report also suggested that pollution control should intervene and check on a monthly basis whether the pollution control devices in the factories are functioning properly. Khrew has a majority of population who have directly or indirectly lung or another pulmonary disease. God forbid if Covid-19 is spreading in the town, khrew will have more casualties than other areas of the valley.[3][4][5]

Holy places

Temple at Khrew

Praying to Jawala Bhagwati

Khrew is also famous for an important temple of Kashmiri Hindus.[6] It is a temple which is dedicated to Jawala Bhagwati - the Goddess of fire. In December 2014 this temple caught fire unfortunately due to short-circuiting. Now it is renovated in new design. The old wooden structure is now changed to iron and steel[7] The temple is reached by a flight of stone steps. Mela Jawala Mukhi is held here annually on the 14th day of the bright fortnight of Savan (July–August) when pilgrims visit this shrine from all corners of the country. At the bottom of the hillock is a spring where people take a dip before making the ascent.

SABIR SHAH shrine

The shrine of famous saint Sabir Shah is located in Khrew town. His disciple was Wahab Khar whose shrine is in adjacent village known as Shar Shali.

References

1. Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Khrew
2. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
3. "Cement factories at Khrew, Khanmoh -affecting peoples' health, vegetation - India Environment Portal | News, reports, documents, blogs, data, analysis on environment & development | India, South Asia". www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
4. "Cement factories turning monsters in Khrew". The Vox Kashmir. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
5. "Cement factory pollution pesters Khrew; locals take to roads". www.greaterkashmir.com. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
6. "The Shrine of Jawalaji Khrew". Jammu Kashmir Latest News | Tourism | Breaking News J&K. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
7. Service, Tribune News. "Historic Pulwama temple damaged in a fire". Retrieved 27 February 2016.