Buchal Kalan
Buchal Kalan (Urdu: بوچھال کلاں), (or simply Buchal) is a village, union council and administrative sub-division of Chakwal District in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. It is part of the Kallar Kahar Tehsil.[1] As of the most recently available data, the population of Buchal Kalan is 14,074 people and there are 2916 households in the village. [2] Buchal Kalan is located 35 km southwest of Chakwal and 12 km southwest of Kallar Kahar. The elevation of Buchal Kalan is 841 meters and it is situated close to the villages Dharokna and Jhamrah.
Buchal Kalan | |
|---|---|
Village and Union Council | |
.jpg.webp) Neela Wahn located in Buchal Kalan | |
  Buchal Kalan Location in Pakistan | |
| Coordinates: 32°40′47″N 72°38′02″E | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Region | Punjab Province |
| District | Chakwal District |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.4 km2 (0.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 841 m (2,759 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
History
This village is named after Bahauddin (Booch) Multani who migrated here in the 16th century with his sons and was originally from Multan. He in turn is from the lineage of Arabs belonging to the descendants of Ali. He was looking for a place to resettle and found this area to be great place for him to herd his cattle. Over 70% of the people living in Buchal Kalan today are among his descendants.
Education
A great amount of shaheeds are buried under the soil of this village. In this village, there are two degree colleges and one high school. The people of Buchal Kalan are well (92.9%) educated due to the high literacy rate. The area of Buchal Kalan is disputed however the area of the main village as presented on the bottom right photo is approximately 2 sq. km. Buchal Kalan is the best village of the Chakwal Administrative District on the basis of literacy rate. According to the photo to the right it can be concluded that a mixture of Dhani and Shapuri Punjabi is spoken in Buchal Kalan.
Geography
Buchal Kalan is located approximately 12 km southwest of Kallar Kahar and 30 km west of the Khewra Salt Mine. However, even though the distance between Buchal Kalan and Kallar Kahar is relatively short, there is an important difference to note in regards to elevation. Buchal Kalan is located on the Punjab salt range which is a geographical feature east to a section of the Indus River basin and south of the Postwar Basin. This salt range is a distinctly elevated area about 13 km wide and 126 km long.[3] However, the city of Kallar Kahar is located in the Postwar Basin relatively close to the salt range highlands. The Salt Range is the youngest and the most southern part of the western Himalayan Ranges in Pakistan.
The physical arrangement of the village itself in regards to buildings and housing is fairly centralized, as illustrated by the aerial graphic. Crop fields as well as open areas can be found in the outskirts of the village proper.
Neela Wahn (Blue Waterfalls)
What locals refer to as "Neela Wahn" is a series of water springs and waterfalls. As shown on the aerial photo, the location in which the waterfalls are located, is distinctly green as compared to the rest of the plateau.
References
- Tehsils & Unions in the District of Chakwal Archived 24 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- "POPULATION AND HOUSEHOLD DETAIL FROM BLOCK TO DISTRICT LEVEL" (PDF). pbs.gov.pk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 August 2019.
- Ghazi, Shahid; Ali, Syed Haroon; Sahraeyan, Mohammad; Hanif, Tanzila (1 March 2015). "An overview of tectonosedimentary framework of the Salt Range, northwestern Himalayan fold and thrust belt, Pakistan". Arabian Journal of Geosciences. 8 (3): 1635–1651. doi:10.1007/s12517-014-1284-3. ISSN 1866-7538. S2CID 129093451.