Chitta Batta
Chitta Batta is a small village with around 5,000 inhabitants in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 34°22'0N 73°16'0E[1] and lies on the highway to Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir and it is 10 km from downtown Mansehra.
General
It has 100% Muslim population (Sunnis) its population increased due to the Earth Quake in 2005 when many people migrated to this village. The people of the village welcomed them and provided the necessary support. People here are from the Swati caste. The history goes back to then when some people from Swat Valley come here and found this place very favourable to live. It is said that before their arrival it was a disputed land amongst two tribes (unknown) and they settled down by capturing the land for themselves. Swati are known for the wealth and cleverness, commonly known as “Khans” they relate to “Pathans”. Thereafter they scattered in different areas of Mansehra Valley.
This village has a fantasy story of Hathi Gut means “Elephant Rock”; it is said that a marriage ceremony was held a long time ago when a magician converted their caravan into rocks although there are no well meaning signs of others but a sculpture of elephant can be easily seen at the entrance of the village. This village is very organised as to habitual land and agricultural land. The village population is mostly on the road sides people living far from road are mostly who cultivate land. They mostly processes no land but they get it on contract from land lords and they are called “Mazaraas” means tenants .Half of the yield goes to them with any waste like food for cattle’s i.e. Grass. A time ago there was a great jungle of Pine Trees there but due to non-supply of natural gas it has vanished. Wild animals includes rabbits, wild hens. It has two streams – one is larger and located in between Chitta Batta and Sand-e-Sar village near it. The smaller stream is named “Paan Da Nara”.
Among food people like Rice, Corn Bread and Saag (special leaves) from various plants. The literacy rate of the village is high as people have a great interest in education
After the earthquake of 2005 a settlement was established to help victims of the quake,[2] the camp looked after 800 outpatients a day.[3] A Turkish relief organisation, the Turkish Light House, launched a project to build two schools in the area.[4]
References
Coordinates: 34°22′N 73°15′E / 34.367°N 73.250°E