Buldhana district


Buldhana district is located in the Amravati division of Maharashtra, India.
The name of the district is probably derived from Bhil Thana. It is situated at the western border of Vidarbha region and is 500 km away from the state capital, Mumbai. The district has towns and cities like Shegaon, Jalgaon Jamod, Malkapur, Khamgaon, Lonar, Mehkar, and Chikhli. It is surrounded by Madhya Pradesh in the north, Akola, Washim, and Amravati districts on the east, Jalna district on the south, and Jalgaon and Aurangabad districts on the west. Latitudes are 19.51° to 21.17° N and longitudes are 75.57° to 76.59° E. Bounded on the north by Madhya Pradesh state, to the east by Akola and Washim, to the south by Parbhani and Jalna districts, and to the west by Jalna and Jalgaon districts.
Buldhana holds religious significance as it is the site of the Shri Gajanan Maharaj temple, Shegaon.

History

Buldhana, along with the rest of Berar Province, was part of the Vidarbha kingdom mentioned in the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic poem. Berar formed a part of the Maurya Empire during the reign of Ashoka. Berar came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty, the Vakataka dynasty, the Chalukya dynasty, the Rashtrakuta Dynasty, the Chalukyas again, and finally the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri.
A period of Muslim rule began when Alauddin Khalji, the Sultan of Delhi conquered the region in the early 14th century. The region was part of the Bahmani Sultanate, which broke away from the Delhi Sultanate in the mid-14th century. The Bahmani Sultanate broke up into smaller sultanates at the end of the 15th century. In 1572, Berar became part of the Nizam Shahi sultanate, based at Ahmednagar. The Nizam Shahis ceded Berar to the Mughal Empire in 1595. As Mughal rule started to unravel at the start of the 18th century, Asaf Jah I, the Nizam of Hyderabad, seized the southern provinces of the empire in 1724, forming an independent state. Berar was a part of the independent state.
In 1853, the whole district came under the administration of the British East India Company. Berar was divided into East and West Berar with Buldhana district being included in West Berar. In 1903, Berar was leased by the Nizam of Hyderabad to the British Government of India. Thus, Berar became part of Central Provinces. In 1950, it became part of Madhya Pradesh with Nagpur as its capital. In 1956, along with other Marathi-speaking regions of Vidarbha, it became part of the newly formed state Maharashtra in 1960.
The name of the district is probably derived from Bhil Thana.

Administration

Sub-Divisions

The district has six revenue sub-divisions headed by a Sub Divisional Officer : Buldhana, Mehkar, Khamgaon, Malkapur, Jalgaon-Jamod and Sindkhedraja.

Tehsils

As of 2010, the district of Buldhana comprises thirteen talukas : Buldhana, Chikhli, Deulgaon Raja, Malkapur, Motala, Nandura, Mehkar, Sindkhed Raja, Lonar, Khamgaon, Shegaon, Jalgaon Jamod, and Sangrampur.

Agriculture

The district superintending agriculture officer comes under the Divisional Joint Director of Amravati Division. There are three sub-divisions at Buldhana, Khamgaon, and Mehkar with a taluka agriculture officer posted at each taluka.
There are multiple circles under each taluka. They are Dhad, Shelapur, Dhamangaon, Motala, Shelsur, Amdapur, Chikhli, Dharangaon, Malkapur, Janephal, Mehkar, Bibi, Lonar, Sakharkherda, Sindkhed Raja, Mera Khurd, Deulgaon Mahi, Deulgaon Raja, Ganeshpur, Pimpalgaon Raja, Nandura, Shegaon, Jalgaon Jamod, Warwat Khanderao, and Sangrampur.

Police

The district has six police subdivisions and thirty-three police stations.

Electricity

The distribution of electricity comes under Akola Zone and Buldhana Circle with Buldhana, Khamgaon, and Malkapur Divisions. Each subdivision caters to more nearby talukas and has 33KV distribution substations under them.

Irrigation

The district comes under Buldhana Irrigation Project Circle along with Akola and Washim district. The circle comes under Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation, Nagpur. It has its Major Project division at Shegaon, Kadakpurna at Deulgaon Raja, Mun Project division at Khamgaon, and Minor Irrigation Division at Chikhli and Akola.
The completed irrigation projects are the Nalganga Dam project in Motala and a major project in Vaan having one-fourth of the benefit accrue to Akola district. Many further irrigation projects are under way or are in the planning stages.

Public Works Department

The district comes under Amravati Public Works Region and Akola Public Works Circle. It has one Public Works division at Buldhana with subdivision at Buldhana, Chikhli, Mehkar, and Deulgaon Raja; and a second, Khamgaon division, with subdivisions at Khamgaon, Jalgaon Jamod, and Malkapur; plus the Buldhana District Mechanical Subdivision.
There are Road Project subdivisions at Buldhana and Khamgaon under the Road Project Division of Akola. There is a separate Zilla Parishad Works Division at Buldhana with subdivisions at Buldhana, Kahmgaon, Mehkar, and Malkapur. The department manages Government Rest houses at Buldhana, Khamgaon, Shegaon, Malkapur, Motala, Jalgaon Jamod, Sangrampur, Chikhli, Amdapur, Lavhala, Mehkar, Dongaon, Deulgaon Raja, Deulgaon Mahi, Sindkhed Raja, Lonar, and Nandura.

Politics

The district contributes one seat to the Lok Sabha, namely Buldhana. Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav of Shiv Sena is the current Member of Parliament from Buldhana.
The district has seven seats in the Maharashtra State legislature assembly: Buldhana, Chikhli, Sindkhed Raja, Mehkar, Khamgaon, and Jalgaon Jamod. The seventh seat at Malkapur is part of Raver in Jalgaon district.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Buldhana district has a population of 2,586,258, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait or the US state of Nevada. This gives it a ranking of 159th in India. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.93%. Buldana has a sex ratio of 928 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 82.09%.

Tehsilwise Religious Population Percentage

Tehsil NameHinduBuddhistMuslimJainChristianSikhOtherAtheist
Buldhana68.9113.1016.990.590.260.050.020.09
Shegaon69.6316.8013.080.240.090.020.010.09
Khamgaon65.9216.4016.500.710.170.170.0050.10
Malkapur67.8510.6020.140.980.120.030.010.30
Nandura70.4613.9015.120.240.060.030.010.12
Jalgaon Jamod75.2410.7013.370.150.160.040.010.29
Sangrampur75.0212.511.930.0070.050.190.090.18
Motala73.1713.1013.170.210.050.010.030.18
Mehkar75.0015.0009.150.450.100.050.0080.20
Chikhli70.8215.0013.530.370.150.010.010.10
Deulgaon Raja73.3314.7010.541.040.190.060.0070.16
Sindkhed Raja74.6516.807.940.220.120.040.020.22
Lonar77.7011.609.570.680.080.040.0010.27

Languages

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 78.67% of the population in the district spoke Marathi, 10.99% Urdu, 7.43% Hindi, 0.89% Bhili, 0.59% Telugu and 0.42% Konkani as their first language.
Residents of Buldhana communicate in Marathi language. Nihali language, a language isolate of India, is spoken by some 2,000 people in the Buldana district of Maharashtra. Apart from the commonly used Varhadi, a dialect of Marathi language used in the district includes Andh, an Indo-Aryan language spoken by 100,000 people. Hindi and English are also spoken in the region.

Geography

Rivers

The district lies in the Tapi River and Godavari River basins. Purna River is a tributary of the Tapi River. Nalganga river is a tributary of Purna river. The Penganga and Khadakpurna rivers are tributaries of Godavari River.
Here are the rivers in the district, with their tributaries.
Buses, jeeps, two-wheelers, and railways are the common modes of transport.

Road

passes through Khamgaon, Nandura, and Malkapur towns in the district and Aurangabad Buldana National Highway 753A. There are many Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus stands in all towns of the district. There are State Transport bus depots at Buldhana, Malkapur, Chikhli, Mehkar, Khamgaon, Shegaon, and Jalgaon-Jamod.
Vehicles from Nagpur, Amravati, and Akola pass through Khamgaon, Chikhli, Deulgaonraja while going towards Jalna, Aurangabad, and Pune.Regular State Transport buses are available from any Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation Bus Stand.
National Highway 6 passes through Khamgaon, Nandura, and Malkapur Talukas in Buldhana District.

Rail

, Nandura, and Shegaon railway stations fall under the Bhusawal-Badnera Section of Bhusawal Division of the Central Railway. The nearest railway station is at Malkapur which is 45 km from District Headquarters. Malkapur, Shegaon, Nandura railway stations come under Bhusawal Division of Central Railway. Bhusawal and Akola are also the nearest railway junctions from the District headquarters. There is a branch line from Jalamb to Khamgaon. The main line was originally under the Great Indian Peninsula Railway and the branch line between Jalamb and Khamgaon was under the Khamgaon State Railway.
The railway stations in the district, with their codes, are Khamkhed, Malkapur, Wadoda, Biswa Bridge, Nandura, Kumgaon Burti, Jalamb Junction, Khamgaon, Shegaon, and Shrikshetra Nagzari.
A computerized railway reservation facility is available at Buldhana, Malkapur, and Shegaon, while manual reservation facility is available at city booking office, Khamgaon, Nandura, and Jalamb Junction.

Airport

The nearest airport is at which is 102 km from district headquarters.
the nearest airport is at Aurangabad is at 145 km.

Economy

, sorghum and other cereals, oilseeds, soybean, sunflower, and groundnuts are the predominant crops grown in the district.
Khamgaon and Malkapur are the major cotton trading towns in the district. The district has many minor and medium size irrigation projects. The important ones are Nalganga and Vaan. There are thirteen Agriculture Produce Market Committees-Main Market, one in each tehsil, and there are twenty sub-markets in the districts.
The Indian Council for Agriculture research funded a farm science centre Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jalgaon Jamod in the district in 1994.
The district has major industrial areas at Khamgoan and Malkapur and has smaller industrial areas at Chikhli, Buldhana, Dasarkhed, Deoulgaonraja, Mehkar, Sangrampur, and Lonar.

Culture

There is a fair called Chaitra Masa Suklapaksha Navami at Shegaon on Rama Navami in Chaitra each year.
Common folk arts are Bhajan, Kirtan, and Gondhal.
Youth Hostel Buldhana is one of two youth hostels in Maharashtra and is located near Zilla Krida Sankulan with a 50-bed dormitory and five double rooms.

Places of interest

Lonar lake

Lonar crater lake is located in Buldhana district. It is the second largest impact crater in basaltic rock in the world. It was formed 60,000 years ago by a meteor impact. The pH of the water is about 11. Lonar Crater has very different flora and fauna in its vicinity.

Sant Gajanan Maharaj Temple

Gajanan Maharaj from Shegaon, was a saint from India. "Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj Sansthan", a body of 12 trustees was formed on 12 September 1908 to commemorate the holy place which the saint had hinted about, for Samadhi. Later, a temple was built around his Samadhi/tomb.
This temple has a tourist attraction called "Anand Sagar", an INR 3 billion project. It is maintained by the Gajanan Maharaj Sansthan. It surrounds a big artificial lake. It has a meditation center, an aquarium, temples, playgrounds, lawns and open theatre where fountain-show is conducted for entertainment. It has been decorated with artifacts and carvings. An amusement park has also started with a toy train encircling the entire place.

Sindkhed Raja

Sindkhed Raja is birthplace of Veer Mata Jijabai, mother of Shivaji, the town still has the palace and tomb of Lakhuji RajeJadhav, father of Jijabai.lakhuji jadhav fatjar.

Pentakali Dam