KOLHAPUR DISTRICT TOURISM PLAN KOLHAPUR DISTRICT TOURISM PLAN 2012 Total Estimated Expenditure Rs. 520 crore District Collector, Kolhapur 2 CONTENTS PART - A Introduction 1 - 4 Survey – Survey method 5 Classification of Tourist Destinations 6 - 7 Domestic and Foreign Visitors 8 Classification of Tourist Destinations as per their importance 9 Class ‘C’ Pilgrimage and religious places 10 Actual Observation Charts 11 - 21 SWOT Analysis 22 - 26 Classification – Discussion 27 – 30 Maps – As per classification 31 - 35 Brief Information of Tourist Destinations (All Talukas) 36 - 63 Intra city Tourism of kolhapur 64 - 67 Tourist Destinations in Kolhapur City 68 - 75 New Projects 76 - 87 Directions for Intra-city Tourism 88 Directions for transport/ Hotel professionals 88 Do’s and Don’t’s for historical places 89 Hunar Se Rojagar 90 - 112 Packages for Tourists 113 - 114 Funding Agencies 115 -119 ANNEXURE Bed and Breakfast Maharashtra Tourism Policy G. R. of Maharashtra Government G. R. of Maharashtra Government – Eco tourism PART - B Particulars of Development Work New Projects 3 Introduction In today’s busy, fast stressful life the need to get away from it all has become an essential part of life. As a result the number of people opting out for travelling to far away tourist destinations is on the rise. People have a varied purpose during their trips like visiting religious places, historical monuments, sightseeing on new locations, entertainment, etc. Thus tourism has become an important industry, contributing to income source for the local population and adding to the per capita income and GDP in general. There are a lot of tourist attractions in and around the district of Kolhapur. One can find excavated remains dating back to 2nd BC to ancient relics of the Buddha, Mahavir era. There are old caves, temples from the era of shalivan, satavahan, Bhoj and Yadavas to the Maratha Dynasty. We can find forts, temples, stone inscriptions, statues and other relics and signs of the long lost heritage here. Similarly the district of Kolhapur is enriched with a rich biodiversity making it one of the 35 Biodiversity Hotspots in the world. The region falling in Western Ghats is interspersed with thick lush forests, river origins, dams, wildlife sanctuaries and national forests. As a result one is able to see a variety of falls, peaks, valleys, rivers and huge trees along with all types of biodiversity, Kolhapur is nationally and internationally well known for its ancient temples, religious importance and sacredness. It is also known as Dakhshin Kashi ( South Kashi) and it is one of the three important holy paces ( haktipeeth). Tirupati Balaji is the richest temple in south India with a huge tourist inflow. Most of the tourists visit Goddess Mahalaxmi in Kolhapur after their visit to the Tirupati temple. Similarly the number of tourists who visit temples at Jyotiba, Nursinhawadi, Vashi, Adampur and 23 more such places is very high. Tourists from Goa, Karnataka, Andhra visit Kolhapur in large numbers and also tourists from other parts of Maharashtra. Transport is available through air, railways, state transport and other buses. The cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Gondia, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Bangalore are well connected by rail. People from other parts can make use of these stations for their travel to Kolhapur. Historical places have a special importance as heritage sites. These sites are an evidence of social status, changes, social make up of those times. They are also means of research for today. Hence it is essential to conserve them for their future studies and these places can become a major part of the tourist attractions. 4 Existence of Kolhapur can be seen from 200 BC. It has ancient and historical importance. Chh. Tararani has established her capital in Kolhapur. After 1949 this Kolhapur state is declared as district as per the Indian Constitution. Location and Administrative Region Location 16o 42” North 74o 15” on the North west plateau of Maharashtra. The district is surrounded by the steep ridges of Sahyadri to the west, the Warana River to the North, part of River Krishna to the east and Belgaum from Karnataka to the South. The area of Kolhapur district is 7746 sq. km. and it is 2-5% of the the state area. The 12 Talukas are divided into four sub divisions – Karveer. Panhala, Shahuwadi and Kagal form Karveer subdivision, Ichalkaranji, Hatkanangale and Shirol form Ichalkaranji sub division, and Radhanagari, Budhargad and Gaganbawada form the Radhanagri sub division. The district harbours Kolhapur Muncipal corporation and 9 Municipalities. Landforms / Geological structure and Minerals The district can be divided into three areas naturally. To the west mountain ranges with red soil, middle part with fertile soil and the black soil in the east. To the west are the Ajara, Budhargad, radhanagri, Gagan bawada and Panahala talukas; in the centre are the Karveer, Kagal and Gadhinglaj talukas and to the east are the talukas of Hatkanangale and shirol. The river banks of Bhogavati, Kumbhi, Kasari, Panchaganga, Tulshi, Dhamani, Warna, Dudhaganga, Hirnyakeshi, Ghatprabha contain fertile soil. The mountainous region in the west is made up of red laterite and hard black rock. The district also has deposits of bauxite and basalt rock. Rivers and Irrigation The rivers Krishna, Warna, Panchaganga, Kumbhi, Kasari, Tulshi, Dhamani, Bhogavati, Dudhaganga, Vedgagnaga, Ghatprabha, Hirnyakeshi and Tilari flow through the district. Out of these Tilari is westward flowing river while all other rivers are eastward flowing. The river Warna meets Krishna near Haripur, River Panchaganga meets Krishna at Narsinhwadi while all other rivers meet the River Krishna outside the borders of the state. There are irrigation projects on all the rivers. The district has 12 medium, 81 small, 142 percolation tanks and 257 Kolhapur Type Weirs. The total of 231 projects has a command area of 3,64,443 hectares out of which 2,11,495 hectares have been irrigated i.e., 58.03 % land has been irrigated. 5 Rainfall, Climate and Forest Resources The western part of the district is made up of Sahyadri mountain ranges and steep cliffs with extremely heavy rainfall, dense forests rich with floral and faunal biodiversity. The weather in this region is cold and these areas are well known hill stations and tourist spots. The districts of Shahuwadi, Gaganbawada, Radhanagri, Chandgad, Budhargad are regions of very heavy rainfall. Towards the east proportion of rainfall is very meager. The Western cliffs have received total rainfall as high as 6875 mm in 2011 while the maximum rainfall received is 5875 at Gaganbawada and minimum rainfall 480 mm in Shirol. In the western region hirda, behda, ain, sag, kinjal, narkya, (all local names) plums, cinnamon, mangoes, jackfruits are common. On the lower slopes with heavy rainfall chandan, shisav, kejal, khair, bamboo, babool are found while in region of lesser rainfall we can find bhabli, bori etc. This area also has a lot of medicinal plants and herbs while some medicinal plants also have been protected in specific devrais. A total of 18.23 % of this district is under forest. Towards the noth of the district is the National Forest of Chandoli while the Radhanagri Sanctuary is a in the Radhanagri district. Both these areas are have now been declared as World Natural Heritage sites by UNECO. Population As per the census conducted in 2011 the population of the district is 38.74 lakhs which has risen by 9.96 % in comparision to 2001 census. The male – female ratio is 1000:953 while the ratio in 0 to 6 yrs is 1000:845 which has increased by 4.22 in the last decade. Agriculture, Crops, Landuse, Productivity etc. As per the census of 2002 - 03 out of the total land in the district 18 % is occupied by forests, 10 % unfit for agriculture, 13 % not under cultivation while irrigated land is 59 %. Out of this irrigated land pulses are grown on 30%, rice 18%, sugarcane 19% and 23% oil seeds. According to the 2001 census there are 6,00,000 landholders in the district. There are four markets at Kolhapur, Jaisingpur, Wadgaon, and Gadhinglaj with facility of godowns. Kolhapur is well known for jaggery, Jaisingpur and Wadgaon for 6 groundnuts and soyabean, while Gadhinglaj is well known for jowar and chillies. The turnover at these markets in 2010-2011 was Rs. 152.44 crores. Animal Husbandry According to 2001 there are 12.75 lakhs of animals in the district. Out of thses cows and bulls are 21%, buffaloes are 52%, sheep 13% and goats 14%. In 2010 -11 2502 lakh liters of milk was collected through various cooperatives. In other words milk production is an important part of the economy. Industry Ichalkaranji is well known for textile industry, Hupari for making gold and silver ornaments. Co-operatives and private sugar factories produce 125.20 m tons of sugar. Apart from this industrial estats in Shiroli, Gokul-Shirgaon, Ichalkaranji, Jaisingpur and Udhyamnagar in Kolhapur produce agricultural equipments, parts of various industrial machinery, handlooms and powerlooms and mqchinery for cottage industries. By the end of 2010-11 there has been foreign investment of Rs 1346 crores in 7 different projects and a total of 1345 industries are working with an investment of Rs. 5958 crorein the district. Education As of 2010 there are 2305 primary 835 secondary 185 higher secondary and 51 colleges in the district. Under Shivaji University there are number of medical, engineering, textile engineering, diploma coleges, industrial training institutes and professional colleges in the district. Transport According to 2010-11 figures there are roads of 9299 km in the district. Out of them 6351 km are tar roads, 1085.86 km are rough roads while 1861.95 km are mud roads. According to 2010-11 figures there are 7.09 lakh vehicles in the district.