Sopore

Sopore or Sopur, known as Suyyapura in antiquity, is a city in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is 45 km north-west of Srinagar, and 16 km north-east from the city of Baramulla.

Sopore is one of the largest subdivisions of the state of Jammu and Kashmir with 7 tehsils. And it is also the oldest existing subdivision of the state. Sopore has been recognized as an urban area right from the census of 1911 and is considered as the business hub of North Kashmir.

Sopore has Asia's second largest fruit mandi (wholesale market) with an annual turnover of more than 3000 crore thus earning the name 'Apple Town of Kashmir'. Wular Lake which is Asia’s one of the largest freshwater lake is also situated between Sopore and Bandipore district.

Municipal Council Sopore is a local urban body which administrates the city of Sopore. There are 21 wards in Sopore M.Cl (Municipal Council) and two OG's (Outgrowths) as Amargarh and Nowpora.

Some significant localities of Sopore Khaas (Old Sopur) are Hatishah, Jamia Qadeem, Chankhan, Untoo Hamam, Sofi Hamam, Now Hamam, Maharajpora, Takyabal, Chinkipora, Batpora, Mum Kak, Ashpeer, Khushal Matoo, Baba Yousuf, Muslim Peer, Kralteng, Sangram Pora, Arampora, Telian, Shalapora, Neharpora and many others. New Sopore mainly consists of areas like New Colony, Model Town, Noor Bagh, Sidiq Colony, Green Town, Iqbal Nagar, Badam Bagh, Shah Kirman Colony, New Light Colony, etc.

Sopore division encompasses Sopore city and Zaingeer belt. Some important areas in zaingeer belt includes Dangarpora, Wadoora, Dooru, Warpora, Watlab, Bontingoo, Hathlangoo, Bomai, Logripora, Brath, Saidpora, Seelo, Tujar Shareef, Zaloora among many others.

History
Ancient Suyyapura, founded by a reputed Kashmiri engineer Suyya during the reign of Raja Awantivarma (855-883 A.D.) and commemorating his name, is undoubtedly the town known now as Sopore.

J.P. Ferguson in his book entitled 'Kashmir' remarks "Suyya stands out as a person hundreds of years in advance of his time". It is because of the technical intelligence and real skill he possessed and applied for draining off the flood water which could find no outlet and had made the cultivation of land impossible with the result that famine like condition prevailed in the whole of the valley. That is why, in the light of the results achieved by this great engineer, he has been regarded as an incarnation of Lord of Food himself by the great historian Kalhana in his book 'Rajatarangini'. Suyya's reputation attracted many persons who also settled at the place he resided and which eventually came to be known as Suyyapura, meaning the place where Suyya settled. With the passage of time and constant use, the pronunciation of the name was distorted into Sopore by which it is known at present.

M.A. Stein, the English translator of Kalhanas 'Rajatarangini' in his book 'Memoir on maps illustrating the Ancient Geography of Kashmir' published in 1899, (p-208) while writing about Sopore town remarks: Sopore which lies a short distance below the point where the Vitasta leaves the Wular, has retained its importance to this day and still a town of over 8,000 inhabitants. It has during recent times been the official headquarter for the whole of Kamraj. From a passage of Srivara it appears that this had been the case already at an earlier period. Relating a great conflagration which destroyed Suyyapura in Zain-ul-Abidin's time, this chronicle tells us that in it perished the whole of the official archives relating to Kamarajya. The royal residence, however, escaped and the town itself was again built up by the King in great splendour. Of this, however, nothing has remained; nor does the town now show older remains of any interest." As will be clear from the history of the town narrated above, there is no trace left of any historical buildings or ancient monuments which could throw some light on the past. It is quite likely that the ancient remains might have been destroyed in the conflagration that broke out during the reign of Zain-ul-Abdin (1420-1470 A.D.).

Kashmir Sultanate era
In 1459, Sopur was attacked by Adham Khan, son of the sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, during a rebellion against his father. The town's governor resisted, but he was defeated and killed, and Adham had the town destroyed. Zain-ul-Abidin responded by sending an army to Sopur, and they routed Adham's forces in a pitched battle. While Adham and his followers were fleeing across the Jhelum at Sopur, the bridge collapsed and 300 of his followers drowned in the river.

At some point late in Zain-ul-Abidin's reign, the town of Sopur was destroyed by fire (this might be a duplicate reference to Adham Khan's destruction of Sopur; the source isn't clear about this). Sometime after this happened, Zain-ul-Abidin built a new palace at Sopur; another palace at Baramula was demolished at this point and its materials were used to build the new palace at Sopur. Zain-ul-Abidin also had a swinging bridge constructed at Sopur during his reign.

The swinging bridge continued to be the sole communication link across the river until 1955 when it was discarded in favour of an R.C.C. bridge constructed about half a mile down stream. Lately the old bridge has also been reconstructed and thrown open to traffic.

Demographics
India census, Sopore urban area had a population of 71,292 and an area of 18.9 km2. The urban area consisted of the city which has a municipal council and some outgrowths. In the 2011 census, the city had a population of 61,098 and an area of 9.90 km2. In the urban area there were 37,570 males (53%) and 33,722 females (47%). Of the population, 9,329 (13.1%) were age 0-6: 5,042 males (54%) and 4,287 females (46%). The literacy rate for the people over six was 70.8% (males 78.6%, females 62.3%).

Administration
Sh. Shabir Ahmad Raina is serving as the ADC(Addl Deputy Commissioner) Sopore and Ms. Divya D-IPS as SP(Superintendent of Police) Sopore.

Education
The main public educational institutions in Sopore are:
 * Government Degree College, Sopore
 * Government Degree College for Women, Sopore
 * Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Wadoora, Sopore.
 * Sopore Law College
 * Ahmad Memorial Highfield Scientific School Dangerpora, Sopore
 * Apex Public School, Sopore
 * Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Sopore
 * Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Sopore
 * Industrial Training Institute Jalalabad
 * Model Public School, Sopore
 * Muslim Education Trust, Sopore
 * Nether Field School, Sopore
 * Prime Public School, Zaingeer
 * Sanctorum Public School, Sopore
 * SRM Welkin Higher Secondary School, Sopore

Notable people

 * Atiqa Bano, educationist
 * Syed Ali Shah Geelani, politician
 * Ghulam Rasool Kar, politician
 * Saifi Sopori, poet and teacher
 * Abdul Ahad Vakil, politician