Budhwar Peth is one of many commercial localities in the old city of

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, India. The area is located in the heart of the city has a high number of electronics shops, and is known for its

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...

. Three out of the five important Ganesh Mandals (''Mana che Ganpati'') i.e. Jogeshwari Ganpati, Guruji Talim Mandal, Tulshibaug Ganpati are located here, as is

Appa Balwant Chowk Appa Balwant Chowk (also known as A.B.C.) is a popular crossroads in the Shaniwar Peth neighborhood of Pune, India that is particularly noted for the concentration of bookshops in the area. It is also the site of the 15th century Tambdi Joges ...

, known as ABC.

History

For some period, Pune was ruled by the Mughal emperor

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

in mid to late 1600s. When Aurangzeb attacked Pune, he camped Budhwar Peth in 1660. During Mughal rule, this Peth was known as ''Mohitabad'' or ''Moheyabad''. Peshwa

Madhavrao I Peshwa Madhavrao Bhat I (February 15, 1745 – November 18, 1772) was the 9th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his tenure, the Maratha empire fully recovered from the losses they suffered during the Third Battle of Panipat, a phenomenon kn ...

(1761- 1773) renamed it as Budhwar Peth. ''

Tulshibaug Tulshibaug (Marathi: तुळशीबाग) is an area in Pune City in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is located in the old city area. Its main features are a historic temple precinct and a large market. Location The Tulshibaug are ...

'', ''Belbaugh'' and the Jogeshwari temple are some of the historical landmarks of Budhwar peth from the Peshwa era. The ''Bhide Wada'', located near ''Limbraj Maharaj Temple'' hosted the first school for girls in Maharashtra. The school was started by Savitribai and

Jyotiba Phule Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, also known as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890) was an Indian social activist, thinker, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including era ...

in January 1848.

Economy

Budhwar Peth is a business area particularly for electrical goods market, books and traditional items. Places of interest include; Tambdi Jogeshwari Temple, N.M.V High School, part of Laxmi Road, the main shopping area of inner Pune, Appa Balwant Chowk and Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati temple, which is believed to be the richest amongst all Ganesh Temples with the Lord Ganesha icon laden with several , of rupees of gold.

Red-light district

Budhwar Peth houses India's third largest

. It has been estimated to contain about 700

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

s and 5,000

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

s. The area suffers from

sex trafficking Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the ...

child prostitution Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child ...

and police corruption.

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

was formerly a large problem, but an HIV/AIDS programme, including education and

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

distribution has resulted in a considerably reduced HIV prevalence.

References

External links

Vishram Baug Wada

Dagdusheth Ganapati
{{Prostitution in India Prostitution in India Peths in Pune Red-light districts in India

History

Economy

Red-light district

See also

References

External links