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CHAPTER III PROFILE OF AHMEDNAGAR DISTRICT 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Administrative Units 3.3 Brief History of the District 3.4 Topography 3.4 a. Relief Features 3.4 a. i. Mountains 3.4 a. ii. Plateau 3.4 a. iii. Plain 3.4 b. Drainage 3.4 c. Forest 3.4 d. Soil 3.4 e. Agriculture 3.4 f. Irrigation 3.5 Climate 3.5 a. Rainfall 3.5 b. Temperature 3.5 c. Wind 3.6 Demographic Features 3.7 Income and Employment 3.8 Education and Medical Services 3.9 Transport Facilities 3.9 a. Road 3.9 b. Railway 3.9 c. Airways 3.10 Communication Facilities 3.11 Occupational Structure 3.12 Industries 3.13 Co-operative Movement and Sugar Industry in the District References 63 CHAPTER III PROFILE OF AHMEDNAGAR DISTRICT 3.1 Introduction: Ahmednagar District, which is known to be the “Place of Saints”, is situated between Pune and Aurangabad on road line and between Manmad and Daund on Railway line and central part of the Western Maharashtra. It is the largest district in the area in Maharashtra comprising 14 taluka places. Ahmednagar district is the birthplace of Sugar Co-operative Association in the country owing to the strong presence of (17 Co-operative) and (05 Private) total 22 Sugar Industries, Distilleries, Paper Mills, Milk Federation Dairy, Spinning Mills etc. in the co-operative sector and a few co-operative manufacturing estates. The district has well road network linking it to all the mega markers in the country. It can be said that the district is the “Gateway” of the Marathwada and Vidarbha to Bombay. The North part of the district is richer in water resources with the help of Godavari and Pravara rivers and South part is dry land except few spots in Shrirampur and Parner. The district has very good industrial development.1 3.2 Administrative Units: Ahmednagar district popularly known as “Nagar” is one of the important district of Western Maharashtra, Which is located partly in Upper Godavari basin and partly in the Bhima basin. The district is divided into 14 Tahasils, Akola, Sangamner, Kopargaon, Rahata, Shrirampur, Newasa, Shevgaon, Pathardi, Rahuri, Nagar, Parner, Shrigonda, Karjat and Jamkhed. There are 53 Revenue Circles, 18 cities, 14 Development blocks, 01 Mahanagar Palika, 08 Nagar Parishad, 01 Nagar Panchyat, and 01 Katak Mandal, 1311 Gram Panchayat, and total 1581 Villages. Ahmednagar district is bordered by Beed and Osmanabad district in the East, by Thane and Pune district in the West, by Nasik district in the North, by Aurangabad district in the North East, and by Solapur in the South.2 64 India N Map No. 3.1 Location Map of Ahmednagar District. 65 3.3 Brief History of the District: The district of Ahmednagar is named after Ahmednagar town. The town is famous since the medieval times. In the year 1490 when Ahmed Nizam Shah, the founder of the Nizam dynasty defeated the Bahamani troops under Jahangir Khan near its site. This victory was called the “Victory of Garden” because on that spot Ahmed Shah built a place and laid out a garden. In the year 1494, foundation of the city close to Sina River was called after him as Ahmednagar or ‘City of Ahmed.’ Ahmednagar came into prominence when Nizam selected it for the capital. Ahmednagar region is familiar by the name of Malik Ahmed. It was the kingdom of Nizamshah. Ahmednagar is a city in which Jawaharlal Neharu was imprisoned in the 1940. This is a city of walls and gates. This place today has almost gates and entire wall around the old town, perished, traces of it give some idea. The city wall was 6ft. in width and 12ft. high. There were eleven gates through the old city to enter. The names suggest that these were build during different periods. Nizamshahi came into existence after the end of Bahamani rule. Nizamshahi has it’s headquarter first at Junnar which was later on shifted to Ahmednagar in the area called Bhingar. Nizams of Ahmednagar had their rule over large part of Maharashtra and had constant fights with Mughals and Marathas. Akbar, the Mughal king almost finished the Nizamshahi, but actual end came in 1835-36, when Shahjahn conquered Shivaji. The great Maratha Sardar and father of Chhatrapati Shivaji who tried to save Nizamshahi and its young heir. Ultimately Shahaji had to give up and Mughals captured Ahmednagar and the heir. Thus came to an end the Nizamshahi Mughal ruled this area till the death of Aurangzeb. 3 After the death of Aurangzeb, Shahu, the son of Sambhaji was released who came to Satara and after sometime appointed himself as the King of Marathas, thus began the Maratha rule in Maharashtra. In 1818 the British took over the Maharashtra till 1947. 66 After non co-operation movement galvanized the political life of this district. In 1942 Quit India Movement caught up speed. Among all these activities the district took well-known role. 3.4 Topography: Throughout the district, the trap rock is distinctly stratified as in the rest of the Deccan. The whole district is occupied by basaltic lava flows erupted in the Cretaceous- Eocene age, which are popularly known as Deccan traps. These lava flows are sometimes associated with inter tapping beds such as limestone, stand stone, clay shale, red bole beds, and porous ash. Thin mantle of black cotton soil present almost everywhere on the basalts, river alluvium, sands, gravel, clays and silts represent the recent deposits in the district, Calcareous concretions and nodules, known as Kankar, is commonly associated with the soil, more concentrated in the vicinity of the stream courses.4 The lava flows are almost horizontal in disposition but local gentle tilting, undulations and minor flexures are rarely seen. The rocks are, however, traversed by a large number of vertical high angled or sub- horizontal joints, the last ones when closely spaced dissect the basalt into finely laminated of a few cm. to a meter. The flat topped hills at the Mula valley flanks near Ahmednagar cantonment are formed of horizontal trap flows in the form of fine laminations up to a few meters in thick. The Ahmednagar neighborhood comprises a diversity of domain forms. There are mountainous in area. They are Sahyadri, Adula, Baleshwar, Harishchandragad, Ratangad, Kulang and Ajuba. This Ahmednagar can be divided into three wide physiographic divisions. 1. Mountain 2. Plateau 3. Plain. 67 Map No. 3.2 Topography of Ahmednagar District 68 3.4 a. Relief Features: 3.4 a. i. Mountains: The three hill- forts of Kulang, Ratangad and Harishchandragad and the peak of Ajuba Dongar are the most striking of the high peaks of Sahyadri within the district. It’s three eastward offshoots, the Kalsubai, Baleshwar and Harishchandragad ranges, stretch far across the district gradually decreasing in height as they run eastward. When viewed from the west, from the lower levels of the Murbad lowland, the appearance of the range is that of high wall of rocks, about 1000 M. These mark the points of convergence of the transverse spurs with the main range of Sahyadri.5 Kalsubai Range: Further North, the Kalsubai range takes a South-Easterly direction running parallel with the first-mentioned spur and enclosing the valley of Mahalungi. Kalsubai range branching off at Kulang, is the northernmost of the 3 spurs which for some 40 km. Two smaller spurs which run in a south easterly direction enclosing the valley of Adula River branch off near Bitangad and Patta. Almost every hill in this range had been a fort and many still have water cisterns and granaries. The range here sweeps northward to the once celebrated hill- forts to Patta and Avandhe which were scenes of many fierce. Adula Hills: The other spur branching off from the Kalsubai range in Bitangad peak also running similarly with an easterly trend, parallel to the Adula range and south of it has a wider flat top forming a structural level at a height of 1000 m. The Adula hills branch off from main Kalsubai range near the peak of Patta and run southwards at an average elevation of 900 m. Carrying on their top extensive flat-topped plateau levels and open jungles on the steep hill-slopes. This rang also ends abruptly a few km. between the two spurs the Adula River. 69 Map No. 3.3 Physical Map of Ahmednagar District Source: http//www. Indiamap.physical/map/Ahmednagar.html.com Baleshwar Range: The Baleshwar range, the 2nd great spur of the Sahyadri, branches off at Ratangad, 11km. between Baleshwar and Hevargaon which is the last notable peak in the range is the Chandanapuri valley crossed by the Pune- Nashik road. The South East of Kulang completely traverses the Akola and Sangamner Taluka forming the watershed between the Pravara in the North and the Mula in the South. Harishchandragad Range: This is the longest range in district, and main water shed between Godavari and Bhima River. This range forms the boundary between Ahmednagar and Pune district. East of Harishcandragad fort on this range lays the Bala Killa. 70 Near Brahman Wada, the range gradually decreasing in height takes a turn to the Southeast and enters Parner Taluka which is completely traverse. The summits of the hills here widen into the plateau of Kanhor, 850 Mt. above the MSL and 200Mt. above the bed of the Ghod River. And the West the range presents a wall like front toward the river. Near the village of Jamgaon in Parner Taluka, the flat topped ridge shoots to the Northeast to form a watershed between the river of Godavari and Bhima.