Machh
Pakistani town
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Machh, or Mach (Balochi, Urdu: مچھ), is a town and union council of Kachhi District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.[1] The town has an altitude of 1006 metres (3303 feet) and is located at 29°52'0N 67°19'60E,[2] - some about 50 km (70 km by road) southeast of Quetta, the provincial capital.
Machh مچھ | |
|---|---|
Municipal Committee and Union Council | |
Machh railway station | |
  Machh مچھ Location in Pakistan  Machh مچھ Machh مچھ (Pakistan) | |
| Coordinates: 29°52′01″N 67°19′35″E | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province | Balochistan |
| District | Kachhi District |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local Government |
| Population (2023 census) | |
• Total | 44,542 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
Geography
Machh is located in between the stony hills. It is divided into 3 parts; area for jail, railway and town. There is only one bazaar.
Demographics
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 3,211 | — |
| 1961 | 4,921 | +4.36% |
| 1972 | 7,273 | +3.62% |
| 1981 | 8,419 | +1.64% |
| 1998 | 14,488 | +3.24% |
| 2017 | 19,152 | +1.48% |
| 2023 | 44,542 | +15.10% |
| Source: [3] | ||
As of the 2023 census, Machh has population of 44,542.[4]
Languages
Religion
| Religious group |
1941[6]: 13–14 | 2017[7][8] | 2023[9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Islam  |
1,632 | 73.51% | 18,581 | 97.08% | ||
Hinduism  |
421 | 18.96% | 277 | 1.45% | ||
Sikhism  |
121 | 5.45% | N/a | N/a | ||
Christianity  |
38 | 1.71% | 282 | 1.47% | ||
Judaism  |
8 | 0.36% | N/a | N/a | ||
| Total population | 2,220 | 100% | 19,140 | 100% | 44,542 | 100% |
Economy
Most of the economic activity in Machh revolves around coal mines and the buying and selling of coal. The major source of employment is the public sector - Railway, Jail, Wapda, Sui Gas and Levies Force. Machh town has a market that caters to coal miners and residents. Mach has a jail, built in 1929.
Weather
The climate is dry. It rains 3 or 4 times in a year. Machh experiences extreme winter and summer temperatures. The winter of 2016 saw heavy snowfall along the Kolpur and Kohebash areas of Machh.
Transportation
People use cars, bikes and cycles for transportation in town. Pakistan National Highway N-65 runs along Tehsil Machh and is the only major road in the area.