Sonwar Bagh

Sonwar Bagh
Sonwar Bagh Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India Show map of Jammu and Kashmir Sonwar Bagh Sonwar Bagh (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 34°4′17″N74°50′39″E / 34.07139°N 74.84417°E / 34.07139; 74.84417
Country	India
Union territory	Jammu and Kashmir
Division	Kashmir
District	Srinagar
Settled	Ancient
Government
•  MLA	Mohammad Ashraf Mir
•  Member of Parliament	Farooq Abdullah
Elevation	1,559.5 m (5,116.5 ft)
Languages
• Official	Kashmiri, Urdu, Hindi, Dogri, English [1] [2]
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	190001 and 190004 [ citation needed ]

Sonwar Bagh, sometimes referred to as Sonwar, is a residential area in the Badami Bagh Cantonment region on the outskirts of Srinagar city, in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is gradually becoming more commercial, as many schools, hotels and restaurants have been established there.

It is home to many politicians like the ex-Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah ^[3] who became the 11th, and youngest, Chief Minister of the Indian Administered state Jammu and Kashmir.

Sonwar Bagh was one of the worst affected areas from the 2014 India–Pakistan floods in Jammu and Kashmir. It is surrounded by Takht-i-Sulaiman Hill on top of which is Shankaracharya Temple ^[4]

Location

Sonwar Bagh lies parallel to the Jhelum river and National Highway road near Sonwar Bazaar (market). It is about 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) from Lal Chowk, the commercial hub of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Languages

The official language of this area is Urdu. English, Hindi and Kashmiri languages are also spoken.^{[ citation needed ]}

Subdivisions

Due to its large area it is divided into the following subdivisions:

• Iqbal Colony ^[5]
• Indira Nagar ^[6]
• Hamza Colony
• Old Sonwar Mohalla
• Palpora
• Banumsora
• Gupkar Road

Schools

There are more than ten schools in Sonwar Bagh, including:

• Burn Hall School
• Woodlands House School
• Saint Paul's School
• Rosewood School
• Government Girls Higher Secondary
• Cadgy middle school

2014 Kashmir floods

Sonwar Bagh was one of many areas of Srinagar, including Shivpora, Jawahar Nagar, Rajbagh, Gogji Bagh, Pandrathan, and Batwara, that was worst hit by the 2014 Kashmir floods.^{[ citation needed ]} Sonwar Bagh was completely submerged for 21 days. Many houses were destroyed and damaged, but only a few people were killed. The water started to enter Sonwar Bagh at about 4:00 am because of a breach in Jhelum River bund. In a few hours it reached a level of more than one and a half storeys.^{[ citation needed ]}

Features

One of the three halls of Inox Multiplex Srinagar. The cinema will be thrown open for general people in the September 2022.

The main pincodes of this area include 190001 and 190004.^{[ citation needed ]}

Hospitals

GP Panth Hospital, Kashmir's only children's hospital, is situated in Sonwar Bagh. ^[7]

Hotels

There are many hotels in Sonwar Bagh. The most famous of them are:

• Hotel Four Points
• Hotel International
• Hotel Akbar Residency

Cinemas

• INOX multiplex at Shivpora in Sonwar near Badami Bagh Cantonment is situated. ^{[8] [9]} Earlier Broadway Cinema was situated at the same site. ^[10]

Restaurants and cafes

• Krishna Dhaba
• Cafe Coffee Day
• Seasons Restaurant
• Bites
• Go Chatzz

References

1. "The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
2. "Parliament passes JK Official Languages Bill, 2020". Rising Kashmir. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
3. "Omar Abdullah News". Faisal Wani.
4. "Shankarachrya on top of Shankracharya Hill". Faisal Wani.
5. "Indra Nagar and Iqbal colony mentioned as subdivisions of Sonwar Bagh". Faisal Wani.
6. "Indra Nagar mentioned as subdivision of Sonwar Bagh". Faisal Wani.
7. "GP Panth kashmirs only child hospital situated at sonwar bagh". Faisal Wani.
8. "It's heart and headache as Kashmir gets its first multiplex". 11 September 2022.
9. "Kashmir's first multiplex likely to open with Lal Singh Chadda or Vikram Vedha by Sept end". 7 September 2022.
10. "'Are there Kashmiris in the hall?' — Palladium to INOX, Kashmir's love for cinemas is back". ThePrint . 10 October 2022.