Roha () is a town and

taluka 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 ...

in the

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

of the Maharashtra state of

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 120 km southeast of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. It is the starting point of Konkan railways and end point of central railways (Mumbai). Many chemical industries have opened up their manufacturing bases in Roha. Roha is located between the banks of the

Kundalika River The Kundalika is a small river flowing from the hills of Sahyadri to the Arabian Sea. This river originates at a small town called Bhira in the Indian state of Maharashtra, 150 km south east of Bombay (Mumbai). The important towns located o ...

and the hills of Kalasgiri. It has a population of over 20,849. Roha is connected to

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 Corpor ...

-Roha railway line. Roha is also the northern end of the

Konkan Railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The first passenger train ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993, between Udupi and ...

. Roha is off of the Mumbai Goa Highway, via the

Kolad Kolad is a village in Raigad district, Maharashtra State, India. It is 117 km from Mumbai on the National Highway no 66(Mumbai-Goa) its also connected Pune via kolad Pune- kolad state highaway . It lies on the banks of River Kundalika. ...

road.

Tourism

Roha is very well known for its Dhavir Temple. Dhavir Maharaj is the prime deity of Roha. Every year the town celebrates

Navaratri Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is o ...

by holding a ten-day festival called ''Dasra'' at the Dhavir Temple. On the day following ''Dasra'', a ''

palkhi The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

'' (sedan chair) carrying the statute of Dhavir Maharaj is taken through the town where it visits each house for the '' aarti''. It is presumably, only after

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...

, Kolkata, that the palkhi is given government salaami (21-gun salute) with full honours. Hanuman Tekadi
A beautiful temple of Lord Hanuman is built on a hill (Tekadi). At its top, the full city of Roha can be seen, as well as panoramic views of the city and the sunset. The road to the top is a popular route for morning and evening walks among residents of Roha. Getaways & Places of Tourist Interest
* Dhavir Temple - Roha * Bande Ali Sha Dargah - Roha * Wilder West Adventures, Kolad - 12 km (River Rafting and Adventure Activities) * Birla Mandir, Salav - 36 km *

Kolaba Fort Kolaba Fort located at Alibag beach is an old fortified maritime base in Alibag, Konkan, India. It is situated in the sea at a distance of 1–2 km from the shores of Alibag, 35 km south of Mumbai, in the Konkan region of Maharashtr ...

, Alibag - 48 km * Murud Janjira Fort - 36 km * Shri Ballaleshwar Ashtvinayak Temple, Pali - 30 km *

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 ...

- 60 km
There are many beaches in the vicinity - * Murud Beach - 33 km * Nandgaon Beach - 38 km * Alibag Beach - 48 km * Kashid Beach - 50 km * Kihim Beach - 57 km * Mandwa Beach - 65 km

Kundalika River

The

is a small river flowing from the Hills of Sahyadri to the Arabian Sea. This river originates at a small town called Bhira in the Indian State of Maharashtra, 150 km southeast of

. Roha is located on the banks of Kundalika. The river is gaining popularity in recent times due to the rafting opportunities it provides during certain months at Kolad, a place on the National Highway no 17, about 10 km from Roha.

Notable people

# Sir C. D. Deshmukh, was the first Indian Governor of RBI (1943-1949) and

Finance Minister of India The Minister of Finance (Vitta Mantrī ) (or simply, the Finance Minister, short form FM) is the head of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India. One of the senior offices of the Union Cabinet, the finance minister is responsible for ...

(1950−56), who spent his childhood in Roha. He was also member of an

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

. # Pandurang Vaijnath Shastri Athavale was born on 19 October 1920 in the village of Roha. He was an Indian philosopher, spiritual leader, social reformer and Hinduism reformist, who founded the Swadhyay Movement and the Swadhyay Parivar organization.

Fort

Avchitgad:- The fort is situated near Roha. At the base of this fort is a village called Medha. The approximate height of this fort is 977 feet It is a fairly easy trek through the jungle up to the fort which takes about an hour to climb. The great Maratha king Chhatrapati

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 Adil ...

is also believed to have reconstructed this fort. The work was carried out in a hurry and hence the name 'Avchit' (hurry) 'gad' (fort).

Industrial setup

Roha has a huge industrial setup. This area is a Chemical Industry Zone as declared by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), which was set up in the 1970s is located at Dhatav. Roha Industrial Area has many industrial units. Majority of these are chemical process industries. The late '70s and early '80s saw a major influx of people related to the chemicals industry which gave a unique cosmopolitan nature to Roha which was till then only a farming and trading town. The recession of the early 2000s saw many units being closed down. However, several Industries are still operating. Some major Industries are: • Albright & Wilson Chemicals India Ltd. • Kores India Ltd. • Anek Prayog Pvt. Ltd • Neelicon Food Dyes & Chemicals Ltd. • Anshul Speciality Molecules Ltd. • Pepsico India Holdings(P) Ltd. • DRT Anthea Aroma Chemicals • Raptakos Brett & Co. Ltd. • BEC Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. • Rathi Dye Chem Ltd. • Calchem Industries (India) Ltd. • Roha Dye Chem Pvt. Ltd. • Clariant Chemicals (India) Ltd. • Sadhana Nitro Chem Ltd. • Deepak Nitrite Ltd. • Sempertrans Nirlon Ltd. • Dharamsi Morarji Chemical Company Ltd. • Sudarshan Chemical Industries Ltd. • Excel Industries Ltd. • Taskar Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. • FDC Ltd. • Unichem Laboratories Ltd. • Kisan Irrigation Ltd. • Iftex Oil & Chemicals Ltd. Due to dire need of GST, internal audit, stock audit and Income Tax related knowledge in this area for such a big MIDC and industrial setup as well as the ancillary businesses, a branch of authorised Chartered Accountancy Firm calle
"APMH & Associates LLP"
was setup in 2012.

Educational facilities

The major schools in the region are Roha Public School,J M Rathi English School, Mehendale High School and K.E.S English Medium School, Anjuman Islam Janjira High School and the gregorian Public School (a branch of St.Mary's Vashi). These schools have several alumni working all over the world. S.N.D.Arts, commerce, science, college Gove- kolad

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (Aw). Summers are hot and humid with temperatures touching 37-39 degrees Celsius. Rains are pretty heavy during monsoon. Winters are not so chilly with temperatures falling to 11-12 degrees Celsius. Average annual rainfall in Roha is 3450mm.

Transport

Road
Roha is well connected to other cities of state as well as the country. Roha lies off the National Highway 66. One can reach the highway through Kolad which is 12 km away from Roha.
By road, it is 120 km southeast of Mumbai, 146 km west of

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( 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 As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

and 57 km southeast of the district headquarters Alibag.

Bus
The state owned

MSRTC The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation abbreviated as (MSRTC, or simply ST), is the state run bus service of Maharashtra, India which serves routes to towns and cities within Maharashtra as well as to its adjoining states. It has a flee ...

buses also connect Roha with Panvel,Mumbai,Borivali,Nashik, Pune,Kolhapur , Tulajapur , shirdi,Alibag ,pune,Aurangabad,Satara, Mahabaleshwar,Mahad of Maharashtra.

Rail
Roha falls under Mumbai Division of Central Railways. Roha railway station is the end point of Central Railways and starting point of Konkan Railways. Many trains run from Roha to Mumbai daily Diva Roha Memu.

Air
The nearest airport

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic af ...

is 113 km away from Roha. The under construction

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 ...

in Panvel will be 77 km from Roha. Water
Although this is not a feasible mode of transport for Rohekars, the way exists. Catamaran/ ferry services are available from Mandwa to Gateway of India, Mumbai. Ferry services are also available to Ferry Wharf (Bhau cha dhakka), Mumbai from Revas. Mandwa and Rewas are 65 km and 63 km respectively from Roha.

References

External links

"Murud Janjira"

BBC article
* Ghosalgad (The Fort) (just 10 km away from Roha on Murud road via Bhalgaon)