Fort Abbas


Fort Abbas , , formerly Pholra, is a town in Bahawalnagar District in the Cholistan Desert of Punjab, Pakistan. It is situated south of Haroonabad, near Faqirwali, on the border of Pakistan and India.There is also a river flowing towards the eastern side of Fort Abbas which is known as GHAGRA river. The president of Pakistan Ayub Khan also visited this city. He came to meet Hajji Ghulam Qadir cheema. President stayed with him in 270HR now known as Qadir Town. The governor of Jeddah also visited this tehsil to meet Hajji Ghulam Qadir.

History

Fort Abbas is a historical city and had strategic importance during the Nawab of Bahawalpur's rule. It was known as Pholra until it was renamed in 1927 by Sadeq Mohammad Khan V, who named it after his eldest son; Muhammad Abbas, and then in 1927 this city got the status of tehsil. It was one of the mini states of Bahawalpur which was ruled by its separate rulers called cheema sardars.

Geography

Fort Abbas is a Tehsil of Bahawalnagar District, in southern Punjab, Pakistan. It is famous for its desert Cholistan. The Fort Of Diravar is also situated in Fort Abbas, and is where the Cholistan Desert Rally is conducted every year. The city is surrounded by forests, deserts and agricultural land. The land of Fort Abbas is highly fertile, but there is a shortage of water, causing much of the fertile land to be left uncultivated. Hakra Canal is the main water source to the area. The major crops are wheat, cotton and sugar cane. The Indian border is located 5 to 6 kilometers of the eastern side of the city. The India also releases the flood water in the areas of this city in river Ghagra.

Demographics

As the Rajisthan is on the eastern border the main language spoken here was Hithari which was similar to the language spoken in Rajisthan with the time after independence. The language transformed into Riasti and saraiki.
The main language of this City is Punjabi, however Urdu and Saraiki are also spoken. The main castes in the area are Arain, Jats and Rajputs.

Transportation

The city is connected by the roads to other parts of the country. The main roads are from Fort Abbas to Haroon Abad which also leads towards Bahawalnagar, Sahiwal and Lahore. The 2nd road is from Fort Abbas to Chishtian, while a third road leads to Bahawal Pur via Yazman.
The Main Transport companies:
The railway track has not been used since 2002. The track was used by Pakistan Railway but nowadays the situation is so poor that even Pakistan Railway cannot manage to run any kind of train service.

Banks

The literacy rate of Fort Abbas is 29%.
Major private educational institute