Panchkula

Panchkula is a planned city and district headquarter in the Panchkula district, part of the Ambala division in Haryana, India. Panchkula is a border city with Punjab, majority of the population belongs to Punjabi community. The origin of the name Panchkula came from the place where five irrigation canals meet. At present, it forms a part of an adjoining area to the Chandigarh, Mohali and Zirakpur. It is approximately southeast of Chandigarh, southwest of Shimla, from Ambala and northeast of New Delhi, the national capital. It is a part of the Chandigarh capital region or Greater Chandigarh. The Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula metropolitan region collectively forms a Chandigarh Tricity, with a combined population of over two million. The city hosts the Chandimandir Cantonment, the headquarters of the Western Command of the Indian Army. It is a planned city like Chandigarh, with a sector system. The word is derived from the local word panch (पंच) (five) and kula (कुला) (canals) "The city of 5 canals", possibly referring to five irrigation canals that distribute water from the Ghaggar River and these kuls pass through the Chandimandir Cantonment area to Mata Mansa Devi Mandir area. Kuls or canals were made along the contours of the hillocks in a way that they collect the water upstream and convey it downstream at the contour height higher than the actual level of the Ghaggar river at the same spot. One of the canals is called the Singh Nalla which was being beautified in 2021 by building a walking track and by planting the plants and flowers. The city is named after Panchkula village, which is situated on the Ambala Kalka highway, near the junction with the Chandigarh road. The city was planned and developed by the state of Haryana in the 1970s. Panchkula was supposed to be the capital. The fort was built by the rulers of Kahlur State, the headquarters of which was Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh. The King of Bilaspur built the Ramgarh Fort 360 years ago.