Kandaghat..
Geography:-
Kandaghat is a small town on the Kalka-Shimla National Highway No. 22 in the Solan District of Himachal Pradesh.Kandaghat is located at Latitude : 30.983 Longitude : 77.117. It can be located at at a height of 1425 metres Kandaghat enjoys moderate climate. The road to the famous tourist destination of Chail turns from Kandaghat which is at a distance of 29 km. The capital of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla (earlier called Simla) is at a distance of 30 km.
History:-
When late Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, the ruler of Patiala State was expelled from Shimla, he built his first palace at Kandaghat known as "Chail View Palace" from where he supervised the construction of the road to Chail and the famous Palace in Chail. The Mahraja conferred Kandaghat with the status of a district and it was known as Kohistan. In the era of Maharajas it was a part of PEPSU state (Patiala and East Punjab States Union).
Present Profile:-
From its heydays as a district Kohistan is now Kandaghat and is a Gram Panchayat (Village Council) despite having urban character.For administrative purposes it is a Sub-Division and the local administration is presided by the SDM. The local body is presided by the 'Pradhan' (Village Council Head). The Gram Panchayat of Kandaghat is known as Sirinagar. It has three polling stations. The present population is around 3000 persons. The entire block of 23 gram panchayats has a population of 35,128 of which 18,085 are males and 17,051 are females as per the last census. The main religions are Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. The languages spoken are Hindi, Punjabi, Pahari and English while languages for writing are Hindi and English. In revenue circles Urdu and Punjabi are also required as older land records are in Urdu and Punjabi.