Gagri

Gagri' is a village in the Sihala union council of the Islamabad Capital Territory in Pakistan. The village is divided into eight dhoks: Gagri Mirzian, Gagri Jatal, Dhoke Shian, Pind Gagri, Bhandar, Dhoke Rajput, Dhoke Darzian and Nai Abadi Bhandar. The biggest of these dhoks is Dhoke Darzian, which is located in the centre of the village.

Gagri is located near Japan Road, about half a kilometre from the Bhandar U-turn on the Islamabad Highway. Japan Road was constructed in the late 1980s by the Japanese Government as part of the Pak-Japan Friendship and stretches from Bhandar to Chakkian village.

People

The main Tribes living in the area are:

Many people in this area have served in the Pakistan Army or in another Defense capacity such as the KRL (military research institution), PEC (engineering regulatory authority) or SPD (strategic planning division for military operations). Agricultural jobs are very common here. Usually children are educated in the model schools situated in the Pind Gagri region.

In terms of education girls are mostly educated at the high school, Islamabad Model School for Girls, and boys at the middle school, Ahmed Mujtaba Shahid Model School for boys. Both the schools are located next to each other opposite the main road.

The village has two main mosques (maseeti as described by the local inhabitants). The bigger mosque comes in the Dhoke Darzian union adjacent to the Soan river. The other mosque, known as "Pind Masjid", is located in the Pind Gagri union.

The village itself has a few little shops ran by the villagers. These little shops are known by locals as an "hatti".

The population is approximately 380, of which at least 60 % are females.

Transportation

A railway line passes through the village and there is a heavy railway bridge constructed by the British government in 1860 that crosses the Soan River on the southern side of Dhoke Shian. On the southern side of Gagri there are many famous places such as CUST and the Kak Pul.

The Soan river cutting through Pothohar

The Kak Pul

Soan River flooding

In recent years, the Soan River has flooded often. The largest floods occurred in 1974, 1992, 1998 and 2010, when rains in the hills caused heavy flooding. 1992 was the worst flood in the Soan River's history, with floodwaters passing over the Kak Pul.

Weather

The weather in this area is similar to the rest of the Punjab region. In the summer months the weather goes up to 45 degrees celsius, however, during the winter months the temperature can drop below 5 degrees celsius, thanks to the heavy fog that gets created by the Soan River and Ling Stream. The period of rain is during late July and early August - rain is rare but can cause heavy flooding if it occurs.

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