|
|
The city, which lies just south of the Sutlej River, was founded in 1748 by Muhammad Bahawal Khan and was incorporated as a municipality in 1874. It is the site of the Adamwahan (Empress) Bridge, the only railway bridge over the Sutlej River in Pakistan, and has rail links with Peshawar and Karachi. Two palaces of the nawabs (the Nur Mahal and Gulzar Mahal) are located in Bahawalpur, as are a library, hospitals, a zoological garden, and a museum. Dring stadium, a major Asian athletic facility, is supplemented by a nearby swimming pool, and there are several colleges affiliated with the University of the Punjab. The city is the seat of Islamia University (1975) and the Qa'id-e A'zam Medical College and is also an important agricultural training and educational centre. Soapmaking and cotton ginning are important enterprises; cotton, silk, embroidery, carpets, and extraordinarily delicate pottery are produced. Factories producing cottonseed oil and cottonseed cake were built in the 1970s.
The region surrounding Bahawalpur to the west, called the Sind, is
a fertile alluvial tract in the Sutlej River valley that is irrigated
by floodwaters, planted with groves of date palms, and thickly
populated. The chief crops are wheat, gram, cotton, sugarcane, and
dates. Sheep and cattle are raised for export of wool and hides.
East of Bahawalpur is the Pat, or Bar, a tract of land considerably
higher than the adjoining valley. It is chiefly desert irrigated
by the Sutlej inundation canals and yields crops of wheat, cotton,
and sugarcane. Farther east, the Rohi, or Cholistan, is a barren
desert tract, bounded on the north and west by the Hakra depression
with mound ruins of old settlements along its high banks; it is
still inhabited by nomads. The principal inhabitants of the region
surrounding Bahawalpur are Jat and Baluchi peoples. There are many
historical sites in the area, including Uch, southwest of Bahawalpur,
an ancient town dating from Indo-Scythian (Yüeh-chih) settlement
(c. 128 BC to AD 450). Pop. (1981) city, 180,263; (1981 prelim.)
metropolitan area, 695,000.
