Mangla overlooking the Jhelum river which divides the Mirpur and Jhelum districts. A part of Mangla fort was razed during the construction of the Mangla Dam, however a large part remains and serves as a public recreation place. After the completion Mangla Dam, most of the Baral & Sultanpure Thill Area was taken over by Pak Army and converted into a Cantonment whereas a small section within the compound walls of Pakistan Army's Officers residences, known as Baral Colony, was allotted to WAPDA named as WAPDA OFFICERS COLONY. Mangla The name Mangla (منگلا)is derived from the name of a small village
Mangla Dam stemmed from the seasonal variations in the river flow due to monsoons and the absence of storage reservoirs to conserve the vast amounts of surplus water during those periods of high river discharge. The Mangla Dam was the first of the two dams constructed to reduce this shortcoming and strengthen the irrigation system of the country as part of the Indus Basin Project, the other being Tarbela Dam on River Indus. Mangla Dam was constructed at a cost of Rs. 15.587 billion (US$1.473 billion) with the funding being provided by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The dam