Sonwar Bagh

Sonwar Bagh, sometimes referred to as Sonwar, is a residential area in the Badami Bagh Cantonment region on the outskirts of Srinagar city, in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is gradually becoming more commercial, as many schools, hotels and restaurants have been established there.

It is home to many politicians like the ex-Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah who became the 11th, and youngest, Chief Minister of the Indian Administered state Jammu and Kashmir.

Sonwar Bagh was one of the worst affected areas from the 2014 India–Pakistan floods in Jammu and Kashmir. It is surrounded by Takht-i-Sulaiman Hill on top of which is Shankaracharya Temple

Location

Sonwar Bagh lies parallel to the Jhelum river and National Highway road near Sonwar Bazaar (market). It is about 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) from Lal Chowk, the commercial hub of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Languages

The official language of this area is Urdu. English, Hindi and Kashmiri languages are also spoken.

Subdivisions

Due to its large area it is divided into the following subdivisions:

Iqbal Colony
Indira Nagar
Hamza Colony
Old Sonwar Mohalla
Palpora
Banumsora
Gupkar Road

Schools

There are more than ten schools in Sonwar Bagh, including:

Burn Hall School
Woodlands House School
Saint Paul's School
Rosewood School
Government Girls Higher Secondary
Cadgy middle school

2014 Kashmir floods

Sonwar Bagh was one of many areas of Srinagar, including Shivpora, Jawahar Nagar, Rajbagh, Gogji Bagh, Pandrathan, and Batwara, that was worst hit by the 2014 Kashmir floods. Sonwar Bagh was completely submerged for 21 days. Many houses were destroyed and damaged, but only a few people were killed. The water started to enter Sonwar Bagh at about 4:00 am because of a breach in Jhelum River bund. In a few hours it reached a level of more than one and a half storeys.