Wikipedia
Bathinda ( Punjabi: ਬਠਿੰਡਾ) ( Hindi: बठिंडा) (known by Invaders as Tabar-e-Hind or Tabarhindh meaning the Gateway to India) is a city and Municipal Corporation in Southern part of Punjab.The city, named after the Bhati kings, is one of the oldest cities in Punjab, India and the current administrative headquarters of Bathinda District. It is in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, 227 km west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth largest city of Punjab. Bathinda's nicknamed the 'City of Lakes', courtesy of the artificial lakes in the city.The first empress of India, Razia Sultan was imprisoned in the Qila Mubarak fort in Bathinda.
Bathinda is a home of Central University of Punjab and upcoming AIIMS. Bathinda is home to two modern thermal power plants, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant and Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant at Lehra Mohabbat. The city has a fertilizer plant, a large oil refinery,Bathinda is home of two cement plants, Ambuja Cements and UltraTech Cement Limited. A zoo, and a historic Qila Mubarak fort. Bathinda is one of the largest food grain and cotton markets in northern India; the area around Bathinda is a prolific grape growing area. It is one of the leading cities in education in Punjab.
Three national highways, NH 7 ( Fazilka - Badrinath National Highway) and NH-54 ( Dabwali - Pathankot National Highway) and NH 148B Bathinda to Narnaul (according to the new numbering of highways) pass through the city.
Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 13 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies of Punjab state in northern India.