Karad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Karad
Karad Location of Karad in Maharashtra and India
Coordinates	17°17′N 74°12′E / 17.28°N 74.2°E / 17.28; 74.2
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District(s)	Satara
Population	56,149 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

Karad (Devanagari: कराड) is a city and a municipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It lies at the confluence of Koyna River and the Krishna River, popularly known as 'Preeti Sangam'. The rivers meet exactly headon, thus forming letter "T". The two rivers originate at Mahabaleshwar which is around 100 km from Karad. They diverge at their origin and then meet again in Karad. Hence their confluence is called 'Preeti Sangam' meaning "Lovely Meeting". It will be of interest to know that their length from originating point to meeting point is almost same. That is unique in the world. Karad is well known for Sugar Production & is known as the "sugar-bowl" of Maharashtra owing to the presence of many sugar factories in and around Karad. It has many prestigious educational institutes such as Govt. College of Engineering, Govt. College of Pharmacy and KIMS Medical college and hotels such as Hotel Sangam.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 History 4 Demographics 5 Educational Institutes 6 Notable residents 7 References

[edit] Geography

Karad is located at 17°17′N 74°12′E / 17.28°N 74.2°E / 17.28; 74.2Coordinates: 17°17′N 74°12′E / 17.28°N 74.2°E / 17.28; 74.2.^[1] It has an average elevation of 566 metres (1856 feet). Karad is located near Agashiva 17°14′15″N 74°09′07″E / 17.237506°N 74.15205°E / 17.237506; 74.15205. It has been referred in great epic Mahabharata. It has "Aum" (Devanagari ॐ) shape when viewed aerially.

Karad has strong influence over Politics of Maharashtra, as first Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Honorable Mr. Yashavantrao Chavan, was from Karad and he is the person who could reach up to as high as the place of Deputy Prime Minister of India. Karad city got award as the winner of Sant Gadagebaba Gramswachatta Abhiyan started by Indian govt.

[edit] History

Karad is also known as "Dakshin Kashi" it was originally known as "Karhatak" which later on evolved to be known as Karad. karad is well known as mogal architecture great jama masjid ,twins minare(domes),worlds second rank kabristan, hajj point thrue river krishna koyana.it is also was meeting point of Haji for journy thru river Krishna to holy piligrime "HAJ" in mogal period, coz krishna river meets last to Arabian sea. and words second big area 'KABARISTAN'also here.It is also known as the Eidgah(the place where the two Eid prayers are held every year.)( half of karad area ),and Adilshahi architecture. The Jama Masjid of Karad is very notable.and has twin towers that can be seen from afar.

[edit] History

Karad is historical city, according to epic Mahabharatra, Sahadeva one of the Pandava lived in the city also known to be pious as Lord Rama stepped his feet on this land.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census^[2], Karad had a population of 56,149. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Karad has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 72%. In Karad, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Educational Institutes

1. Government Engineering College
2. Government Polytechnic College
3. Government Pharmacy College
4. Government ITI
5. Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences
6. Yashwantrao Chavan College of Science
7. Pramilatai college of polytechnic Karad
8. Venutai Chavan Commerce college
9. SGM Arts, Science, Commerce College
10. Am. Anandrao Chavan College
11. Diploma College of Architecture
12. Bharti Vidyapeeth Law College
13. Law College
14. Yashavantrao Mohite Institute of Management
15. Shri Shivaji Vidyalay
16. Vithamata Vidyalaya
17. Yashwant Highschool
18. Tilak High School
19. Lahoti Kanya Prashala
20. Shikshan Mandal's English Medium School
21. Mahila Maha Vidyalaya
22. Bapuji Salunkhe College
23. Holy Family Convent High School
24. Keshavrao Pawar English Medium School
25. Bansode Sadashiv Mahavidlaya

[edit] Notable residents

1. Yashwantrao Chavan (12 March 1913 - 25 November 1984), an eminent Congress party politician hailed from Karad. He was the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra and also served as the Defence minister, Finance minister, Home minister, Foreign Affairs minister, and as the Deputy Prime Minister of India and became the first and only person from maharashtra to reach up to the this political level. Tembhu, one of the mega-projects under the Krishna Valley scheme, is situated near Karad.
2. Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856-1895) Also Tembhu is the birth place of Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. Gopal Ganesh Agarkar was a social reformer from Maharashtra, India during the British rule. He was the first editor of Kesari, a well-known Marathi weekly at that time. He left Kesari after ideological differences with Lokmanya Tilak and started his own periodical named Sudharak. The difference of opinion was about the primacy of political reforms versus social reforms. Agarkar, Tilak and Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar were the founder members of 'Deccan Education Society'[1]
3. Khashaba Jadhav (15'th Jan. 1926 - 14 August 1984) Born in very poor farmer family at Goleshwar Tal. Karad, the only Olympic Medal Winner for India till 2000. He was honored by individual Bronze medal on 23 July 1952, in 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games for Wrestling in bantamweight which is the unbeaten record for India in wrestling till today. In 1993, Maharashtra State awarded him Shiv Chatrapati Award posthumously. In 2001, Central Govt. has also awarded him 'Arjuna Award' posthumously.^[3]

1. Mr.P.D.Patil (1 July 1916 - 17 September 2008), the another notable resident of Karad who was the President of Karad Municipal Corporation for 42 years (1955-1996). He was also MLA of Karad-North of Maharashtra State (1963, 1980, and 1995) and Chairman of Sahyadri Sugar Factory, Sahyadri Bank and many other institute.

[edit] References