Bhiwandi () is a city in the

Thane district Thane district (Pronunciation: �ʰaːɳe previously named Taana or Thana) is a district in the Konkan Division of Maharashtra, India. At the 2011 Census it was the most populated district in the country, with 11,060,148 inhabitants; however, i ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is located northeast of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and northeast of the city of

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...

. The city is a part of the

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (abbreviated to MMR and previously also as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai (Bombay) and its satellite towns in the northern Konkan division, of the Maharashtra state in we ...

. Bhiwandi is a commercial city and a major trade center that connects Mumbai and the rest of India through the Mumbai–Agra highway. It is known for its textile industry, though in recent years, economic downturn has forced the closure of a large portion of the sector. Bhiwandi lies in the Konkan coastal lowland, a region known geographically for its hills and streams. The city houses the

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

headquarters of Bhiwandi, and it is administered by the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation. According to the 2021 census, the total population of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation area is 874,032.

Business and employment

The city of Bhiwandi has the largest number of

power loom A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...

s and handlooms in the country. The majority of the population is employed in the power loom sector. The second-largest power loom, after the one in

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

, is located in Bhiwandi. Since 2012, the city's textile industry has been in decline, partly caused by the sudden enactment of new goods and services taxes. Another concern facing textile producers is a lack of contact with buyers, leading many to sell primarily to middlemen, mostly from Gujrat, who charge significant markup prices. Bhiwandi has also a red light area. Bhiwandi initially developed as an industrial hub for the textile industry, but more recently has hosted other industries and logistics sectors. Bhiwandi is among Asia's biggest warehousing hubs; its

godown A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, tow ...

s are considered Asia's largest. It is a major contributor to the logistic landscape of Mumbai and India due to its close proximity to the Nhava Seva port of

, India's financial capital. Many e-commerce companies like

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Flipkart Flipkart Private Limited is an Indian e-commerce company, headquartered in Bengaluru, and incorporated in Singapore as a private limited company. The company initially focused on online book sales before expanding into other product categories ...

Reliance Industries Reliance Industries Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, headquartered in Mumbai. It has diverse businesses including energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, mass media, and textiles. Reliance is ...

Snapdeal Snapdeal is an Indian e-commerce company, based in New Delhi, India. It was founded in February 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal. Snapdeal was one of the largest online marketplaces in India. Snapdeal targets the value e-commerce segment, ...

, and

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

have branches in the city. The city is the next developed region for

MMRDA Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is a body of the Government of Maharashtra that is responsible for preparation oRegional Plan for MMRand the infrastructure development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The MMRDA was se ...

, which has developed other regions such as the Bandra–Kurla Complex,

Mumbai Metro The Mumbai Metro is a rapid transit (MRT) system serving the city of Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region in Maharashtra, India.Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority is responsible authority for maintaining the metro system ...

, Monorail Project, and Eastern Freeway. Bhiwandi's economy is divided into three sectors: textiles, groceries, and service (supplying, logging, and food delivery). During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, small hotels faced significant challenges.

Infrastructure

Bhiwandi's infrastructure is centered around the national highway which passes through it. Bhiwandi has a large water treatment plant at Panjrapur with 455 MLD capacity, making it one of the largest water treatment plants in Asia. A city bus proposal was scheduled to be realised in Bhiwandi but was canceled due to the Auto Rickshaw strike. Bhiwandi has a central railway station at Anjur Phata. The train station has a link with the central railways and the local train of Mumbai as well. Bhiwandi Metro Project (Mumbai Metro line 5) is proposed with completion anticipated in 2025.

Climate

References

{{Authority control Talukas in Maharashtra Textile industry in Maharashtra Cities in Maharashtra

Business and employment

Infrastructure

Climate

See also

References