Tral is a town, sub-district and a notified area committee in the Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir. The town is situated at a distance of 40 km from summer capital, Srinagar and 26 km from district headquarters, Pulwama. Tral is the second largest area committee in Pulwama district.

History

Gufkral represents an important site in the area. Gufkral is located at Banmir village in Hurdumir area of Tral, 5 km from the sub district headquarter. The area falls between two nallahs (streams) on an extensive deposit of Karewa (elevated table-land) where people used to live in ancient times.

Geography

Tral is located at 33.93°N, 75.1°W. The average elevation is 1662 m and its average area is 110 km2. The main town area of Tral is divided into two parts/divisions – Upper Tral (Tral-i-Bala) and Lower Tral (Tral-i-Payeen). There is a significant difference in the altitudes of these two divisions/parts as their name suggests. The population of Lower Tral (Tral-i-Payeen) is more than that of Upper Tral (Tral-i-Bala).

Villages in Tral Tehsil

Batagund is a village which is 3.5 kilometres away from tral town and about 40 kilometres away from Srinagar city. There are about 500 families in this village which live on the banks of a river which runs in the center of village. There is a Higher secondary school, a primary hospital, post office, veterinary and panchayat in the village. The people of village follow Islam.

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian Census, Tral had a population of 1,10,196 with 57,536 males constituting 52.21% of the population and 52,660 females constituting 47.79% of the population. Out of 1,10,196, 17,844 is urban and 92,352 is rural population of Tral.

Religion

According to the 2011 census, Islam is practised by about 89.51% of the population, while 7.41% follow Sikhism and 2.48% follow Hinduism.

Education

Tral has an average literacy rate of about 64%. There are various educational institutions in and around Tral town. Tral has two educational zones:- Zone Tral and Zone Lurgam which consist of 201 government educational institutes and 33 private schools up to senior secondary level besides a degree college, an Islamic College for females namely Islamic Oriental College and an Industrial Training Institute.

Tourist attractions

Nagaberan (Upper Dachigam), Wasturwan (Syedabad), Gufkral, Shikargah, Panner Dam, Aripal Spring, Narastan, Hajan and Dilnag are the main tourist attractions of Tral. Tarsar-Marsar lakes are also accessible via the meadows of Nagaberan.

Tral Wildlife Sanctuary

On 26 October 2019, the government declared a new breeding ground for endangered Kashmiri stag (Hangul) in Tral area. It was named as Tral Wildlife Sanctuary which is spread over 154.15 sqkm and came into being by merging Paner-Shikargah forest area in Tral with Overa-Aru Wildlife Sanctuary in Pahalgam.

Security situation

Tral is a volatile area and a traditional hotbed of militancy. Burhan Wani, former commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, hailed from Sharifabad, Tral. Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Bhat, successor of Burhan Wani, also hailed from Rathsuna Tral and was killed in Saimoh village (Tral) by Indian security forces, thus sparking days of unrest. Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (Kashmir based Al-Qaeda Cell) is also believed to be operated from Tral as its founder and chief, Zakir Musa, hailed from Noorpora area of Tral.

Notable people

Notable people living in or coming from the Tral area include: