'Baramulla' is a town in the
Baramulla District in the
Kashmir valley, about 60 km from the state capital
Srinagar. The name is derived from the early
Sanskrit name ''Varahamula''.
The name is derived from two letters ''Varrah'' and ''Mul'', which adds to living place of ''Varrah''. The town is located on the banks of river Jehlum at the highest point of the river. In fact, the river forms a delta just in the outskirts of the town. The town is strikingly scenic because of open view of valley on the east and tall mountains on the west.
Varrah was an extraordinarily brilliant engineer who lived in Baramulla during ancient times. The story goes that he was first to assess that Baraulla is the highest point for River Jehlum. By his calculations he could make out that if silt is dug out or the river path in vicinity of town it could be a major step towards solution of flood problems in the valley. The task was massive and he realized it could not be done that easily. A brilliant idea, quite norm to his personality, struck him and he threw gold coins into the river in front of a large gathering in the town. This prompted people to dig out silt from river in search of gold coins. It is said that this was a major step towards solving the flood problems in Kashmir. So much so that even in modern times (1970s/80s) the same strategy was applied and a digging machine was implanted on river Jehlum in Baramulla.
Geography
Baramula is located at .
[1] It has an average elevation of 1593
metres (5226
feet).
Demographics
As of 2001 India
census,
[2] Baramula had a population of 61,941. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Baramula has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 63% of the males and 37% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
References
1. Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Baramula
2.