Dahanu
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| Dahanu (Village) | |
| — town — | |
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| Coordinates | 19°58′N 72°44′E / 19.97°N 72.73°ECoordinates: 19°58′N 72°44′E / 19.97°N 72.73°E |
| Country | India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| District(s) | Thane |
| Population | 44,393 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 0 metres (0 ft) |
| Website | www.dahanu.com/ |
Dahanu (Marathi: डहाणू) is a coastal city and a municipal council in Thane district in the western state of Maharashtra, India.
[edit] Location
Dahanu is located 65 km north of Virar on the Western Railway line of Mumbai Suburban Railway. It can be reached from National Highway NH-8, 20 km off from Charoti Naka. It is 22 km North of Boisar on the Western Railway line. It has nice and beautiful beaches. There is nice beach at Parnaka. Nearby Sai temple is located in Narpad.
Topographically, Dahanu taluka can be divided into a 10-12 kilometre wide bandarpatti, the coastal belt of lowlands and flats extending from the sea coast to the railway line situated at the foot of the Sahyadari range. The entire coastal belt with its rich natural resources, wetlands, mangroves and river deltas, forms a lucrative fishing area. The junglepatti, to the east of the railway line consists of tropical deciduous forests. Interestingly the forest cover in Dahanu is still fairly high at 45.2 percent. A large part of the indigenous community resides in this zone, in remote almost inaccessible villages. Also famous for Mahalaxmi Temple located just 4km from Charoti.
[edit] The Town
The name "Dahanu Gaon" originates from the word "Dhenu Gram" meaning the village of cows. A lot of cattle, particularly cows were owned by the people in Dahanu. Today, Dahanu has become a major commercial and industrial town in the Thane district. It is well known for rose gardens,coconut grooves and the chickoo fruit and accounts for over 35% of India's chickoo production. Rubber balloons, rice mills and manufactured goods, are major manufacturing products which are produced in Dahanu. There is also a 500-MW power plant that supplies electricity to Mumbai. The electricity is distributed by Reliance Energy. It was formerly owned by the government.
[edit] Education in Dahanu
[edit] Colleges
There are 3 colleges in Dahanu:-
- S.R.K College in Masoli(Vadkun)
- Ponda College near Dahanu beach
- P G Junior College, Bordi.
[edit] English Medium Schools
There are also English middle schools including
- St. Mary's High School
- H.M.P High School
- Shirin Diniyar Iranis Learners Academy
[edit] Other Schools
1. Pujya Acharya Bhise Vidyalay Kasa 2. Balakanji Bari High School Bapugaon 3. Surya nagar High school Waghadi 4. K.L. Ponda High School, Parnaka, Dahanu 5. H & H J Vakil Model High School. 6. S P H Highschool, Bordi
[edit] Social Entrepreneurship
The virtual platform for social developement activities, AYUSH group is initiated by tribal youth from Dahanu taluka. AYUSH is stands for Adivasi Yuva Shakti, a online platform with technological touch for tribal development activities. Base operated from Waghadi, near Kasa about 25 km from Dahanu Station. This group has initiated various program for guiding rural students, preserving tribal art & culture.
[edit] Agriculture
Dahanu is well known for its famous delicious chikoos, capsicum and coconuts,tadee a juice of palm tree.
[edit] Industries
The BSES (Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply) PowerPlant was renamed as Reliance Energy Power Plant in the year 2005. Dahanu is a coastal region, the staple food of the people living there is rice and fish. Dahanu Road railway station is the last main station within boundary of Maharashtra State en route Mumbai Vadodara Western Railway line. Many Express trains halt at this station. Weather here is very pleasant in the winters. Dahanu is also famous for the tribal people called adivasis. Dahanu and surrounding area is designated by the government of India as an ecologically fragile zone, to protect the greenery from industrial pollution. Dahanu Road also has many balloon factories in the Masoli area. Industrial development received a setback from new ecological regulations hence tourism, animal husbandry, fishing, small scale units and farming are the only industries where expansion can take place.
[edit] Dahanu Thermal Power Station
Dahanu Thermal Power Station (DTPS) is Reliance Energy Ltd.’s single largest power generating facility. It is a 500 MW (2 X 250 MW) coal based thermal power station.
The power plant was commissioned in 1995. DTPS is the first power utility to get both ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 certificate in India.
Electrostatic precipitators (ESP) are installed to collect fly ash and minimize emissions to the atmosphere.
DTPS has installed a 275.34 m stack to ensure better dispersion of particulate matter. The stack has a diameter of 31.5 m at the bottom and a diameter of 16 m at the top, with two separate flues of 5.25 m diameter at the bottom and 4.75 m diameter at the top for each unit. This is the highest stack in India. (reference: http://www.rel.co.in/aboutus/dahanutps.asp )
[edit] Nearby Industrial Area and Other Power Stations
Tarapur Industrial Estate and Tarapur Atomic Power Station are located close by. The huge industrial area at Tarapur accommodates various specialty chemical, bulk drugs, steel and alloy and textile manufacturing companies.
[edit] Temples
Some of the famous temples :Mahalakshmi Temple, Mata Mahalaxmi & Mahalaxmi Gadh, Santoshi Temple-Ashagadh, Sai Baba Temple- Narpad, Shri Kevda Devi Mandir -Agar Road, Jagrut Hanuman Mandir - Agar & Waghadi, Mata Saptashrungi Mandir Nikane,Shri Gajanan Maharaj Mandir - Parnaka. Shree Ram mandir-Ramwadi,Dahanu Road (East).
Jain Temples The old Jain temple in Dahanu Gaon (Fort Area) has recently completed 100 years and is now included in Jain Tirth (Teerths) It is a Chandraprabhu Swami's temple and also has idols of Dadaguru Dev.
The newly constructed temple at Kosbad Hill is an attraction for people from Mumbai and Surat as there are many visitors on Sundays. Tour organisers arrange a single day picnic from Mumbai and they come in numbers every weekends.
There is a famous 'Vishveshwar Temple' in Dahanu Gaon and a beautiful Ganesh Temple near Dahanu Fort.
[edit] Geography
Dahanu is located at 19°58′N 72°44′E / 19.97°N 72.73°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 9.89 metres. To the west of the town is the beautiful coast of the Arabian sea while the east is lined with the magnificent Sahyadri ranges. This unique combination has made Dahanu a major tourist attraction. Sprawling Chickoo wadis (farms), rose gardens, salt pans are among the other things that dot the landscape.
The Dahanu beach is an extensive 15 km stretch - lined by coconut and "suru" trees.this is mostly crowded on the weekend when people from the metropolitian city of mumbai come to visit as it is a short commute.the other days life is very laidback and the beach doesnt see much tourist crowd except inhabitants of dahanu.there are horse,camel and weekend fairs on the beach.
[edit] Residential
Dahanu is a good residential location. Very good schools & colleges, are located here.
[edit] Public transport
State transport buses (Maharashtra State Transport Corporation) and auto rickshaws are the general mode of transport. Dahanu Road is also accessible by train.
[edit] Demographics
As of 2011[update] India census,[2] Dahanu had a population of 1,27,000. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Dahanu has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77% and, female literacy is 64%. In Dahanu, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] Population of Dahanu Taluka
In spite of a tradition of resistance, the indigenous Warlis have today become poor marginal farmers or migrant labourers barely surviving from year to year. While their narratives and consciousness come from a history of police brutality, exploitation by landlords, moneylenders and liquor contractors and from their continuous struggle for land rights and access to the forests, they are today forced into practicing settled subsistence agriculture. Moreover, categorized as backward and primitive, their culture, heritage and ecological understanding has come under attack. They now live on the margins of industrial and urban areas on the fringes of their slowly eroding forest lands.
[edit] Art & Culture
The people in dahanu taluka are mostly tribals, mostly inhibiting rural areas and having daily commute to urban areas for work. tribal culture is dominant in the talk and customs.the tribal art mostly predominantly shows village life and the day to day functions. The original people of this land are tribals. World famous tribal art "warli art" originated here.many foreign students have resided in the tribal settlements for learning warli art. Similarly Tarpa dance and Dhole dance are famous all over the world.
[edit] Festivals
- Koli Bhaji
- Nag Panchami
- Gauri Ganapati
- Sakar Chuvat
- Nava Bhat Khane
- Sarvapitari Avas or Omasya
- Dival Baras or Bagh Baras
- Dasara
- Divali
- Saticha Deva
- Sakrat
- Holi or Simga
- Mahi Bij
- Gudi Padwa
- Akhati
- Boida
- Khalyacha Deva
- Shri Ram navami
[edit] References
- ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Dahanu
- ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
