Maira Saroo

Geography

It is situated at 36°22'59.9"N 75°46'59.9"E. It is about 15 km away from Chickar. Chickar is towards east of the Maira Saroo. Danna Kachil towards west. Rahimkot and Mashtimba are other places fairly near. Maira Khurd is situated right in front of Maira Saroo.

History

The history of Maira Saroo is little known. However it is known that it had been the main base of the Khakha Rajput dynasty.Raja Muhammad Feroz Khan and Raja Nawaz Khan (Noor Khan) was the inhabitant of this place.Raja Muhammad Feroz Khan and Raja Said Akbar was the Jaagirdar of this place. During the old time it was the rest place of people who used to travel from Rawalpindi to Srinagar. Ruins of an ancient rest house are also found there, near the school ground and the mosque.After the death of Raja Said Akber Khan his sons made valuable role in society to solve the problems of deserving people.His son Raja Muhammad Younis Khan played important role in Mera Saru and as well as in sub villages like Kassian , Riat , Padder etc and near by villages like Mishtimba ,Mera Khurd, Chikar etc to introduce these in Whole district.

Meanings of the Maira Saroo

"Maira" is word of Kashmiri language which means place without water, or a place from which water flows to other areas. "Saroo" is the name of a tree. There is a tree of saroo. It is very old tree. And at one time it was very large tree. Perhaps the largest tree of this area and with the time it became the landmark of this place. The old name of Maira Saroo was Maira Kalan. Maira Kalan is still the official name of this place. People of other places often call it Saroo Maira. This is vice versa. In short people call it Maira.

Religion

100% of the population is Sunni Muslim. Before the independence of Pakistan, the Sikh religion also prevailed and it was 50% Sikh community. Very few Hindu houses were also there. But after independence the Sikh community migrated to India, most of them to Jammu district. Stories of Sikh people of Maira Saroo is available in the book "wounded memories.

Weather

The weather normally remains moderate. The highest temperatures are recorded in June and July, about 35 °C. Then August is a beautiful month here. The coolest weather is in January and February. In the winter the lowest temperature is recorded, near -6 °C. Months of June and July are rainy months; and similarly January and February also. Snow falls between December and March.

Language

Pahari is the main language of the area. The Gujar community speaks Gojri language. Hindko is also spoken here, but Urdu is the official language.

2005 Earthquake

8 October 2005 at 8:52 am 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit Azad Kashmir and KPK. Sixteen people died in this earthquake including Raja Abdul Khan, a famous person, and many were injured. About 70% of the houses were demolished completely. Then rescue and rehabilitation work started. People restored in two years and they built their houses to be more beautiful and earthquake proof

Social problems

There is one Bazaar from where people can buy their daily items. Maira saroo is situated far from the city. It takes about 3 hours from the nearest city of Muzaffarabad. This time can be reduced by development of the road. Transport is the major social problem of the maira saroo and around. Road which connects it with the other areas is damaged and only jeeps can travel there. 2 buses are also runs. The biggest social problem is education. That’s why people are migrating from here. There are 3 schools in the town. Govt. Higher secondary school for boys, Govt. Middle school for girls and Read Foundation school. There are some primary schools in Dhaar, Paandi, Samlati, padar and Mandri. But the education condition is miserable. The third problem of this area is health. There is only a dispensary but only first aid is provided in it. If someone is in serious condition he will have to suffer. Because Muzaffarabad takes three hours from here.

Famous places

Awaira, Manja Kair, Mandri, Dhaar, Padar, Pacha Sharif, Upper Maira, Kassian Riat and Dudalvan are the some notable places of the Maira Saroo.

Agriculture

Makai” corn is the main crop but wheat and rice is also the product of Maira saroo. Rice is grown downhill places Awaira and Mandri . In the old times agriculture was the only mean of livelihood. People used to work in the fields and earn from their land. In that time people were poor, but later people became educated and started jobs and left work in the fields. Nowadays people work in the fields part-time. Fruits like apple, peach, pear, walnut are grown here.

Sports

Cricket is the most popular sport of this area. There was a large cricket ground but in 2009 Govt. started to construct school. Now boys go to the Paandi, Awaira and Madri to play cricket. People watch cricket on TV. Volleyball is another popular sport. It is played a lot because it does not take much space to play. Old people say they used to play Kabaddi in their time, but this game became the part of history.