{{Short description|City in Punjab, Pakistan}} {{Redirect|Tonsa|the mountain summit in Canada|Tonsa Peak}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Taunsa | official_name = | native_name = {{nastaliq|تونسہ}} | settlement_type = City | image_skyline = {{multiple image | border = infobox | total_width = 280 | image_style = border:1; | perrow = 1/2/2/1 | caption_align = center | image1 = Taunsa.jpg |caption1 = Shrine of Pir Pathan | image2 = Taunsa Barrage Kot Addu (cropped).jpg |caption2 = Taunsa Barrage }} | imagesize = | image_seal = | image_shield = | image_blank_emblem = | nickname = | pushpin_map = Pakistan | pushpin_mapsize = 300 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Pakistan | coordinates = {{coord|30|42|20|N|70|39|28|E|display=inline}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Pakistan}} | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = {{flagicon|Punjab, Pakistan}} Punjab | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Taunsa | subdivision_type3 = Tehsil | subdivision_name3 = Taunsa | subdivision_type4 = Union councils | subdivision_name4 = 3 | established_title1 = | established_date1 = | parts_type = | parts_style = coll | parts = | p1 = | area_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kmc.gos.pk/contents.aspx?id=14 |title=Karachi Metropolitan Corporation |publisher=City District Government of Karachi |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=23 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623150042/http://www.kmc.gos.pk/Contents.aspx?id=14 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | area_rank = 1st | elevation_m = 157 | elevation_ft = 515 | population_total = 115,704 | population_as_of = 2023 | population_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/punjab|title = Punjab (Pakistan): Province and Major cities, Municipalities and Towns - Population Statistics, Charts and Map}}</ref> | population_density_km2 = auto | population_rank = | population_demonym = | population_note = | timezone = PKT | utc_offset = +05:00 | timezone_DST = PDT | utc_offset_DST = +6 | postal_code_type = Post code | postal_code = 32100 | area_code = 0642 }} '''Taunsa''',{{Efn|{{langx|ur|{{nastaliq|تونسہ}}}}}} or '''Tonsa''', is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the capital of Taunsa District. It is located on the bank of the Indus River and is known for its agricultural and irrigational significance. The city is primarily inhabited by Saraiki speaking people, with a significant minority of Balochi speakers.
==Location== Taunsa is located on the Karachi-Peshawar Highway, which is also known as Indus Highway. It is approximately 120 kilometers from Multan, {{convert|975|km}} from Karachi, {{convert|430|km}} from Peshawar, and {{convert|450|km}} from Lahore. Taunsa is also the location of one of the headworks on the Indus River called Taunsa Barrage. Taunsa is surrounded by Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain range.
==History==
=== Taunsa Barrage === Taunsa is also the location of one of the notable structures on the Indus River called Taunsa Barrage, located several kilometres south of Taunsa city. It was designated a Ramsar site on 22 March 1996. The Taunsa Barrage was completed in 1958, and it has been identified as the barrage with the highest priority for rehabilitation. It requires urgent measures to avoid severe economic and social impacts on the lives of millions of poor farmers through interruption of irrigation on two million acres (8,000 km<sup>2</sup>) and drinking water in the rural areas of southern Punjab, benefiting several million farmers.
In 2003, the World Bank approved a $123 million loan to Pakistan to rehabilitate the Taunsa Barrage on the River Indus whose structure had been damaged owing to soil erosions and old-age. The project was designed to ensure irrigation of the cultivated lands in the area of the Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan Tehsil<ref>[http://www.urbanunit.gov.pk/downloads/rtWSSDGKhan.pdf Dera Ghazi khan canal]{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref> canals, and through the Taunsa-Panjnad Link Canal that supplements the water supply to Panjnad headworks canals.
Taunsa Barrage also serves to provide for a variety of fish, which contributes towards fulfilling the food related needs of area.
== Demographics ==
{{Historical populations|1951|7253|1961|9712|1972|13439|1981|19934|1998|38,297|2017|97,193|2023|115,704|align=center|percentages=pagr|footnote=Sources:<ref>{{cite web |title=Population by administrative units 1951-1998 |url=https://repository.lahoreschool.edu.pk/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/13673/Administrative%20Units.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1 |publisher = Pakistan Bureau of Statistics}}</ref>}} According to 2023 census, Taunsa had a population of 115,704.
==Notes== {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
Category:Taunsa District Category:Populated places in Taunsa District