Vehari District

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Vehari District (Urdu: وہاڑی) was created in 1976 out of the three tehsils of Multan District namely Vehari, Burewala, Mailsi and Sub-tehsils Machiwal and Gaggo of Sahiwal District. Its boundaries meet with Khanewal District on North West, with Lodhran District on West, with Bahawalpur District on South and Bahawalnagar District on the South East across the river Sutlej, which passes from East to West. The Sahiwal District lies on its North East. The district Vehari is spread over an area of 4,365 Square kilometres comprising of following three tehsils:-

• Vehari
• Burewala
• Mailsi

Vehari district has an extreme climate i.e. very hot to the extent of 48.7ºC in summer and very cold in winter up to 1ºC. The average rainfall is about 127 mm. The land of the district is very fertile. The river Satluj passes from East towards West along the Southern side of the district.

The district had a population of 2,090,416 of which 15.75% were urban in 1998.[1] Now as per recent survey Vehari has approximate population of 2.5 million rupees. VEHARI>>>>>>>>>>>>>Mismanagement and negligence on the part of the Auqaf department have made a mess of things at all 15 shrines in Vehari district it governs. Followers of these Sufi saints have to come across innumerable problems owing to lack of basic facilities at these shrines. A survey reveals that a total of 15 shrines are under the command of the Auqaf department in the district. The biggest among them is Haji Sher Muhammad shrine, prominently known as Baba Dewan Chawli Mashaekh. The shrine is located in Burewala Tehsil near Sahoka town, where lies the district office of the Auqaf department as well. Considered to be the first shrine in the subcontinent, it is commonly believed that Dewan Sahib was martyred in 131 AH. A district press club team led by President Ghulam Bari Ch which visited the shrine recently, came to know that despite an annual income of around Rs5 million, the shrine offered no facility to its visitors. Dewan Ghulam Awais, one of the Sajjadah Nashins of Dewan Sahib, said the shrine had been under the Auqaf department control since 1960, but it hardly bothered to take steps for the betterment of visitors. He said no arrangements had ever been made for the langar of followers who flocked to the shrine from all over the country and abroad. He claimed that the department was already getting monthly funds on this account. In clear violation of rules, he alleged that Auqaf officials had set up shops in shrine’s compound despite their protest, causing problems for the people, especially on Fridays, when followers swarmed the place. He said contractors of toilets and shops were minting money from visitors in connivance with Auqaf officials. Most of the graves in the ancient cemetery, situated nearby the shrine, had been destroyed in the absence of any sewerage system, he further pointed out. Pir Ghulam Mustafa told reporters about the non-availability of the potable water and the pathetic unsanitary conditions at the shrine. Complaining about the deteriorating law and order situation at the shrine, residents of Dewan Sahib have demanded the establishment of a police post there. They also alleged that Auqaf officials had used substandard material in the construction of 45 new shops around the shrine. Auqaf district manager Haji Manzoor Ahmed said that he along with his team was trying hard to provide every facility to visitors in limited available resources. He claimed that only Rs20, 000 funds had been provided to the department at the time of annual Urs while he denied getting any funds for the langar. The shrine, visited by thousands of followers, had a total income of around Rs3.5 million which it drew from cash boxes, contracts and rents. He said that the total income the Auqaf was getting from 15 shrines in Vehari was about Rs7.6 million annually as against total expenditures of only Rs2.7 million. His own office was also housed in a dilapidated building, he asserted.

[edit] External links

• Official Web Site
• Official Vehari Police Web Site
• Web Site in National Language URDU of Pakistan
• Vehari News

Administrative Divisions of Punjab (Pakistan)
Capital	Lahore
Districts	Attock | Bahawalnagar | Bahawalpur | Bhakkar | Chakwal | Dera Ghazi Khan | Faisalabad | Gujranwala | Gujrat | Hafizabad | Jhang | Jhelum | Kasur | Khanewal | Khushab | Lahore | Layyah | Lodhran | Mandi Bahauddin | Mianwali | Multan | Muzaffargarh | Nankana Sahib | Narowal | Okara | Pakpattan | Rahim Yar Khan | Rajanpur | Rawalpindi | Sahiwal | Sargodha | Sheikhupura | Sialkot | Toba Tek Singh | Vehari