Mahad ( əɦaːɖ is a city in

Raigad district Raigad district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �aːjɡəɖ, previously Colaba fort, Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The district was renamed to Raigad fort, Raigad after the fort that ...

(formerly Kulaba district) situated in the North Konkan region of

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 ...

state, India. It is located from District's headquarter Alibag, and from

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- ...

, the state capital of Maharashtra and economic capital of India, towards western coast. Mahad is home to

Raigad Fort Raigad is a hill fort situated in Mahad, Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the strongest fortresses on the Deccan Plateau. It was previously known as Rairee or Rairy fort. Many constructions and structures on Raigad were b ...

, the capital of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

's era and revolutionary

Mahad Satyagraha Mahad Satyagraha or Chavdar Tale Satyagraha was a satyagraha led by B. R. Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 to allow untouchables to use water in a public tank in Mahad (currently in Raigad district), Maharashtra, India. The day (20 March) is observed ...

launched by (Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar) at ''Chavdar Tale'' (Testy Lake) in the wake of modern India.

Geography

Mahad is situated at southernmost tip of

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

region and is surrounded by Sahyadri Mountains.

Savitri river Savitri River is one of the 5 rivers which originate from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra state in India.It originates at Savitri point near Mahabaleshwar and flows through the bankot village and directly goes to Arabian sea Raigad district a ...

originates from Savitri Point in

Mahabaleshwar Mahabaleshwar () is a small town and a municipal council in Satara district, Maharashtra, India. It is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus because Krishna river has its origin here. The British colonial rulers developed the town as a hill station ...

and flows through Mahad to the delta in

Arabian sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

via

Bankot Bankot is a town in Maharashtra, India. It became part of the Bombay Presidency in 1756. Its most famous structure is Bankot Fort, which was the first residency of the British Raj in Southern Konkan. Business Mango is one of the most importan ...

. Mahad has a tropical climate and witnesses heavy rainfall during

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

. Summers are very hot and winters are cold with a thick fog lay over city during morning hours. Mahad receives the highest rainfall in Raigad district because of the rain catcher forest of Raigad Fort Natural Reserve and famous hill station Mahabaleshwar. Mahad averages with an annual rainfall of above . The city is located at an altitude of . Mahad has a favourable climate for the growth of alphonso mango and

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

trees.

Demographic

As of 2011 India Census, Mahad has a population of 1,80,191.

Natural Disasters

The Savitri River Bridge Incident

In 2016, a major flood hit Mahad because of the collapse of the British era bridge on

Mumbai-Goa highway National Highway 66, commonly referred to as NH 66 (erstwhile NH-17 and a part of NH-47), is a mostly 4 lane long busy National Highway that runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India, parallel to the Western Ghats. It con ...

and caused great losses. The incident resulted in the loss of 42 lives. Several disasters like floods and landslides have continuously devastated markets and old houses, specifically classic Konkani-styled architecture, causing great loss of life. This is primarily due to lower elevation of the city compared to surrounding areas and being surrounded by rivers on all sides, making the city like a triangular island. Also, Konkan, receives predominantly very heavy rainfall in comparison to rest of Maharashtra.

Tourist attractions nearby

Raigad, popularly known as "Gateway of Konkan", is among the city's tourist destinations. Other attractions include: * Raigad Fort * Pratapgad Fort * Gandhar Pale Buddhist Caves * Shivthar Ghal * Lingana Fort * Birwadi Fort * Warandha Ghat * Mulshi-Tamhini Ghat (Bhira) * Poladpur * Mahabaleshwar * Vireshwar Temple * Chavdaar Tale Park * Walan kond * Mandala waterfall * Sav hot water spring * Kol caves * Mangad * Hari-Hareshwar,

Shrivardhan Shrivardhan (also spelled Shriwardhan) is a taluka, city and municipal council in the Raigad district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It has developed into a seaside resort, along with the nearby town of Harihareshwar, which also has a Shi ...

and Diveagar Beach * Dapoli-Mandangad Beach

Etymology

The word "Mahad" is derived from Konkani-marathi words "महा" (Mahā) and "हाट" (Hāt)."महा" meaning "Great or big" and "हाट" meaning "market", collectively meaning "a big market". The oldest reference of Mahad is found in historical documents in 225 BC. Around 130 AD, Mahad was under rule of Buddhist king Vishnu Pulit of Kambhoja dynasty. He built the

Gandharpale caves Gandharpale Caves, also called Mahad caves is group of 30 Buddhist caves, 105 km south of Mumbai on Mumbai-Goa Highway near Mahad. The caves are located near the NH-17 and well connected by road. Important cave include: *Cave 1: has Verandah in ...

opposite to Mahad port. Under his rule, Mahad was a port and business centre which continued until

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. The development of Mahad as a business centre continued under the rule of

Yadavas of Deogiri The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a Medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of t ...

in the 13th century. Yadavas were the first make

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

the official language of Maharashtra. Mahad was taken by British in 1818 and was a place of administrative work when Raigad fort was made the capital of

Chavdaar Tale Satyagraha and Freedom Movement

Mahad is considered as the land of freedom fighters. Many revolutionary freedom movements of India originated in Mahad. It is famous for the Chavdaar Tale Water Satyagraha of Dr.

Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...

for

Dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

at Chavdar Tale, which played as a turning point in Indian sociopolitical history. Dr. Ambedkar and his followers of over 2,500 dalits marched to the tank. Dr. Ambedkar was the first to take his hand and sip water from the tank, followed by the rest. This was a revolutionary step for the time and broke the taboo of caste discrimination. This came to be known as the Mahad Satyagraha. Many disciples of

Lord Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

and followers of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar visit Chavdaar Tale every year on Kranti Din (Day of Revolution). However, this was not the end of the struggle. There was tremendous backlash from the rest of the community and some even performed a purification ritual to counter the act of revolution. Dr. Ambedkar made another statement by burning the Manusmriti at the very same spot on 25 December 1927.

Shivaji and Raigad fort

Mahad has a glorious history during the rule of the Maratha king

. The capital of Hindavi Swarajya and Samadhi of Chhatrapati Shivaji is at

Raigad fort Raigad is a hill fort situated in Mahad, Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the strongest fortresses on the Deccan Plateau. It was previously known as Rairee or Rairy fort. Many constructions and structures on Raigad were b ...

. which is around from the city. It was part of Birwadi Subha (

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 ...

) and was ruled by Birwadi Subhedar's Kadams (Mahamunkars). The village Umarath of

Tanaji Malusare Tanaji Malusare was a warrior and commander of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. A local poet Tulsidas, wrote a powada describing Tanaji's heroics and sacrifice of life in the Battle of Sinhagad, which has since made him a popular figure in Indian ...

& Kinjaloli of

Murarbaji Murarbaji Deshpande (17th century) was a general in the early Maratha Empire during the reign of Shivaji. He is best remembered for his defense of the Purandar Fort against Dilir Khan, a Mughal general who accompanied Jai Singh I in the 17th ...

are also in the vicinity of Mahad.

Shivtharghal and Daasbodh

The Shivtharghal is the birthplace of

Samarth Ramdas Samarth Ramdas (c. 1608 - c. 1681), also known as Sant Ramdas or Ramdas Swami, was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer and spiritual master. He was a devotee of the Hindu deities Rama and Hanuman. Early life Ramdas or previously N ...

, author of the spiritual book

Dasbodh ''Dāsbodh'', loosely meaning "advice to the disciple" in Marathi, is a 17th-century bhakti (devotion) and jnana (insight) spiritual text. It was orally narrated by the saint Samarth Ramdas to his disciple, Kalyan Swami. The ''Dāsbodh'' prov ...

Mahad Port

Mahad was a flourishing port in the past. The Gul (

Jaggery Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can ...

) of Shahupuri Kolhapur and Satara was exported to Gujrat via Mahad. Since the banks of Savitri river changed during the course of time, only creek water fishing is carried out and Mahad is no longer a port.

Gangharpale Buddhist Caves

According to the mythological story,

Gandharpale Caves Gandharpale Caves, also called Mahad caves is group of 30 Buddhist caves, 105 km south of Mumbai on Mumbai-Goa Highway near Mahad. The caves are located near the NH-17 and well connected by road. Important cave include: *Cave 1: has Verandah in ...

are the sculptured houses built in one night by the Pandavas. Originally these caves are Buddhist caves build during the reign of Prince Vishnupalita Kanbhoja.

Festivals

Mahad is one of the well-known holiday destinations in

Konkan region The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

. The festivals most celebrated by local people are Holi (which falls in summer around the month of March) and Ganpati festival (which falls during the

, around the month of September).

Shimga Festival

The most important festival among whole Konkani community spreading from Thane, Raigad to Goa and Karawar coast is "Shimga". It is speciality of "

and

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

". Every City, every town or village has its own way of celebrating it. Almost every Konkani working day and night, sleeplessly in metropolis like

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 ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

or in foreign countries rush to their homeland during Shimga. People worship their local deities, fun-fairs are organised; the Palkhis of local deities are main attraction and is considered prestigious among locals. Each town represents its own religious culture and traditions.

Shimgotsav in Mahad

Vireshwar is the most-worshipped local deity of Mahad. The temple of Vireshwar was believed to be constructed during or before

's reign. A local fair is organised during shimga called "Mahad chi Jatra", uniquely known as "Chabina Utsav of Mahad". The "Palkhis" of seven sisters of Vireshwar who are Gram-devi (goddess) of nearby villages and towns like

Mangaon Mangaon is a small town (and ''taluka'') in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, India. It is located in the Raigad district, from Alibag, Alibaug headquarters, and from the state capital of Mumbai, towards the Panjim side. Industrial developmen ...

Poladpur Poladpur is a census town in Raigad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Etymology Poladpur is a town named after Poladjung, one of the knights in the army of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. He was beaten and buried at Poladpur during the S ...

and Khed are brought at Vireshwar Temple in Mahad. Goddess Zolai Devi is considered the most favourite sister of Vireshwar. The people are so devoted that they bring Palkhis from many miles far villages by walking, sometimes bare-footed, they consider this holy and sacred and feel lucky to be part of it.

Economy

Central Market

Mahad was the central market for people of

, the Raigad villages and the hill station

. The city is surrounded by the Sahyadri mountain ranges and the Savitri, Kal and Gandhari rivers originating through Mahabaleswar, hills in Mulshi and Raigad fort respectively. Mahad was a flourishing port in the past. "Mahadi Gul" was well known in Gujarat, which is made in Satara, Pune district and exported to other locations through Mahad's port.

Mahad M.I.D.C. and Economic Corridor

Mahad MIDC

Mahad is now well-developed with town infrastructure. Mahad MIDC which is set up near Birwadi is the small

Chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials (oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals) into more than 70,000 different products. The ...

cluster. It houses several

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

pigments A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

fertilizers A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

, aroma chemical manufacturing industries. Notable industries are - * Pidilite * Piramal Healthcare * Sandoz * Vinati Organic * Lakshmi Organic * Hikal Ltd. * Maharashtra Aldehydes * Sudarshan * Maharashtra Seamless * EMBIO * Privi Organics India Limited Mahad consists of two Industrial zones - Mahad-Birwadi and Mahad Additional Industrial zone.

Bharatmala

Mahad is part of proposed Panvel-Mahad-Chiplun-Panjim Economic corridor under

Bharatmala The Bharatmala Pariyojna ( 'India garland project') is an ecosystem of road development which includes development of tunnels, bridges, elevated corridors, flyovers, overpass, interchanges, bypasses, ring roads etc. to provide shortest, jam f ...

Project.

Civic Administration

Mahad falls under the Raigad Lok Sabha Constituency, along with Pen, Alibaug, Shrivardhan, Dapoli and Guhagar. In 2019,

Sunil Tatkare Sunil Tatkare is an Indian Politician currently serving as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Raigad. He was formerly served as the Member of Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra from Shrivardhan (Vidhan Sabha constituency) as Minister of Wa ...

from

NCP NCP may refer to: Science and medicine * Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (a temporary name for COVID-19), an outbreak that was officially identified in late 2019. * HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7), a target of zinc finger inhibitors * Nucleosome ...

won the Lok Sabha Seat for the constituency.

Transport

Airways

Nearest airports: *

Navi Mumbai International Airport Navi Mumbai International Airport, officially D. B. Patil International Airport, is an international airport being constructed in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It will serve in parallel as an alternative with Mumbai's existing Chhatrapati S ...

, Ulve-Panvel, Navi Mumbai * CSIA, Mumbai *

Pune International Airport Pune Airport is a customs airport located approximately northeast of the historic centre of Pune in the state of Maharashtra, India. The airport is a civil enclave operated by the Airports Authority of India at the western side of Lohagaon ...

, Lohagaon, Pune

Railway

Konkan railway line starts from Roha-Kolad and exits Raigad district via Veer. Main railway stations in Mahad is

Veer railway station Veer railway station located in Mahad taluka in Raigad is a station on Konkan Railway. It serves villages including Dasgaon, Veer, Vahoor, Tempale,Lonere,and Mahad Mahad ( əɦaːɖ is a city in Raigad district (formerly Kulaba dist ...

Road

National Highway NH 66 (previously known as NH 17) passes through Mahad. It connects

Panvel Panvel () is a city and taluka in Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is highly populated due to its closeness to Mumbai. Panvel is also governed for development purpose by the body of Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Panvel Municipal Corpora ...

(Southern Navi-Mumbai) to Kanyakumari, passing through the states of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

MSRTC

Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation has a

bus depot A bus garage, also known as a bus depot, bus base or bus barn, is a facility where buses are stored and maintained. In many conurbations, bus garages are on the site of former car barns or tram sheds, where trams (streetcars) were stored, and ...

at Mahad for public transport. Buses plying from Khed,

Chiplun Chiplun ( ͡ʃipɭuːɳ is a city in Ratnagiri district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the financial and commercial Hub of Ratnagiri, and the headquarters of Chiplun taluka. It is about 320 km south of Mumbai in the Konkan ...

Ratnagiri Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for ...

have halt at Mahad MSRTC Bus depot.

GSRTC

Many people from Mahad commute to cities like

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 ...

Vapi Vapi ( IAST: vāpī,), is a city and municipality in Valsad district in the state of Gujarat, India.It is situated near the banks of the Daman Ganga River, around 28 km south of the district headquarters in the city of Valsad, and it is ...

and

Valsad Valsad (Pronunciation: �alsɑɖ (Gujarati: વલસાડ), historically known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the district headquarters of Valsad district. The city of Valsad ...

in Gujarat from even before the Independence. For inter-state public transport,

Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation, abbreviated GSRTC, is a Government State Transport Undertaking of Gujarat for passengers facilitating with road public transport in moffusil / city services. GSRTC operates within the state of Gujarat, I ...

started buses from Mahad and Poladpur bus stand which are under operations of Mahad MSRTC Bus Depot to

and other cities of Gujarat.

Notes

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Raigad district Konkan Raigad district Economy of Maharashtra