Why Pakistan's City of Eagles is known as the California of the East
In short: Sargodha, a planned city in Pakistan's Punjab province, has transformed from a colonial-era canal colony into a global agricultural powerhouse. Known as the City of Eagles, it dominates the world's kinnow production and serves as a vital educational and administrative hub for over eight million people in its division.
Established by the British in 1903 as a canal colony, Sargodha was initially a small tehsil within the Shahpur district. Its name is derived from the words 'sarowar' (pond) and 'sadhu' (holy man), reflecting its origins as the 'Pond of Godha.' Despite early struggles with bubonic plague outbreaks in 1903 and 1904, the city’s strategic location eventually led the British Royal Air Force to establish an airport there. By 1940, it became a district headquarters, and in 1960, it was elevated to a divisional headquarters.
Today, Sargodha is celebrated as the 'California of Pakistan' due to its status as the world's largest producer of kinnow, a high-quality citrus fruit. This agricultural success is supported by a landscape of flat, fertile plains situated 190 metres above sea level. Beyond citrus, the region is a significant producer of wheat, cotton, and rice. The city's industrial base is equally diverse, featuring textile mills, rice processing plants, and major juice manufacturing facilities like Nestle and Shezan, all monitored by the Sargodha Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The city has experienced rapid growth, with its population rising from 458,440 in 1998 to 872,557 by the 2017 census. This expansion has necessitated significant infrastructure development, including the 2019 upgrade to a Metropolitan Corporation and the 2017 establishment of the Sargodha Development Authority. Educationally, the city acts as a regional anchor, boasting a literacy rate that climbed to 80.5% by 2017. With its fifteen specialized bazaars—ranging from the gold-focused Sarafa Bazaar to the book-centric Urdu Bazaar—Sargodha remains a bustling center of trade and daily life in central Punjab.
Modernization efforts are ongoing, most notably with the 2024 launch of a security project modeled after Lahore’s, which utilizes thousands of CCTV cameras to enhance urban safety. As the administrative capital of the Sargodha Division, the city continues to manage the needs of a vast population, balancing its historic roots with the demands of a fast-growing, modern metropolitan area.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Sargodha
- Also: Wikidata — Sargodha · CC0
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