Maharashtra - Principal Urban Agglomerations

Principal Urban Agglomerations

Maharashtra has one of the highest level of urbanization of all Indian states. The mountainous topography and soil are not as suitable for intensive agriculture as the plains of North India; therefore, the proportion of the urban population (42.4 per cent) contrasts starkly with the national average of developing metros and many large towns. Mumbai is the state capital with a population of approximately 15.2 million people. The other large cities are Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Aurangabad, Amravati, Solapur, Kolhapur, and Sangli.

• Mumbai: Mumbai (including Thane and Navi Mumbai in its metropolitan area) is the financial and commercial capital of India and is the Administrative Capital of Maharashtra. It has the largest proportion of taxpayers in India and its share markets transact almost 70 per cent of the country’s stocks. It offers a lifestyle that is rich, cosmopolitan and diverse, with a variety of food, entertainment and nightlife. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai is the biggest and the second busiest airport in India. The new airport, the state of the art Navi Mumbai International Airport coming up at Panvel, Navi Mumbai will have all modern facilities. The city is India's link to the world of telecommunications and the Internet. VSNL (Now Tata Communications Limited) is the terminal point in India for all telephone and internet traffic. Mumbai is India's flagship port destination. It is also home to the Indian Navy's Western Command (INS). The film industry of India Bollywood is associated in Mumbai.

• Pune: Pune, the second largest city in Maharashtra and the seventh largest in India, is the state's cultural and heritage capital with a population of 4.5 million people. About 170 km from Mumbai by road, Pune was the bastion of the Maratha empire. Under the reign of the Peshwas, Pune blossomed into a centre of art and learning. Shaniwarwada, Saras baug, Aga Khan Palace, Parvati Temple, Khadakwasla Dam, Sinhgad are the most visited places by tourists in Pune. 'Ganeshotsav', a festival of Lord Ganesh is celebrated in Pune with lot of enthusiasm and worship.

Pune is connected to Mumbai by the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Pune also has very important military cantonments as well as the HQ of the Southern Command, the National Defence Academy, the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, CME, and the Indian Air Force base at Lohegaon too. Pune is a major Information Technology hub of India as well as a foremost destination for automobile manufacturing and the component industry.

• Nashik is the third largest and third most industrialized city in the Maharashtra. One of the holy cities of the Hindu tradition, Nashik lies on the banks of the sacred river Godavari and has a population of about 1.8 million people. It is believed that Lord Rama, hero of the great Indian epic, the Ramayana, spent a major part of his exile here. Nashik hosts the Kumbhmela once every twelve years. Nashik is the wine capital of India with many vineyards thriving owing to the favorable climate for grapes. Nashik is dubbed the Napa Valley of India.

• Nagpur is the fourth largest city in Maharashtra and 13th largest in India. The erstwhile capital of the Nagpur Province since 1853 in British India, in 1861 it was made the capital of Central Province, in 1903 it was made capital of CP & Berar, in 1935 it was made capital of a provincial assembly with same name Central Provinces and Berar providing for an election by, Government of India Act, passed by British Parliament. After Independence of India, the “CP & Berar” was kept a separate entity with Nagpur as capital.

In 1950 Nagpur became the capital of Madhya Pradesh. In 1956, Nagpur and the Marathi-speaking southern region Vidarbha was ceded to Bombay state. Nagpur was recommended as capital of Vidarbha state by Hon. Fazal Ali commission for reorganisation of states. Nagpur was described by the first Prime Minister of India Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, as the "Heart of India". Nagpur is the nerve centre of Vidarbha (eastern Maharashtra), Nagpur - the Orange City as it is known - is located in the centre of the country and is a geographical center of India, with a population of about 2.4 million people (2.1 million as per census 2001). It is the second administrative capital of Maharashtra.

Nagpur is home of many industries, ranging from food products and chemicals to electrical and transports equipment. An international cargo airport, MIHAN is being builton the outskirts of the Nagpur city which will house number of service industries in its SEZ. The Maintenance Command of Indian Air Force is located in Nagpur. The "Zero Mile Stone" or the geographical center of India is located in Nagpur. Deekshabhoomi, Sitabardi Fort, Ambazari Lake, Seminary Hills, Ramtek Temple, Khindsi Lake, Pench National Park are some of the tourist attractions in and around Nagpur.

• Aurangabad: The city means "built by the throne", once capital of India, named after Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, is a city in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, India. It is fourth most industrialized city in Maharashtra. The city is a tourist hub, surrounded with historical monuments, including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as Bibi Ka Maqbara. The administrative headquarters of the Aurangabad Division or Marathwada region, Aurangabad is said to be a 'City of Gates', as one can not miss the strong presence of these while driving through the city. Aurangabad is also one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

• Solapur: Solapur is one of the cities in Maharashtra, situated near the borders with Karnataka It is the fourth largest district in Maharashtra in terms of land area and seventh largest in terms of population. It is an important junction on the Central railway line. Now Solapur is favorite location for Industrial Zone.Solapur is a city with an array of small and medium scale industries.The chief deity of the city is Shri Siddeshwar. The "Nandidhwaj" procession on Makar Sankranti fair is attended by millions of devotees. An annual fair is held in the month of January wherein huge crowd comes from various parts of country, which is called as Gadda Fair in vernacular language.Solapur is famous for textile industries, Solapur chadars and towels are famous around the globe.The Major contribution to the economy in Solapur is agricultural produce, fruits like grapes, pomegranate etc. Now the city and district is known for pomegranate production, accounts for 40 to 45 percent of state, and also known as ""City Of Fruits"" due to vast variety of fruit production. One of the institute on Pomegranate research is set up near Kondi by Central Government. Solapur is also the leading centre for handlooms, power looms and cotton mills producing chaddars, (Solapur bed sheets), Bath-Towels having great durability and novel designs. The district also consists of medium and small scale industries.

• KolhapurIt is the 6th most industrialised city in maharashtra. It is the "historical capital " of maharashtra .It is a princely state and one of the main cities during the prince Shivaji rule. The famous tourist attractions are the Mahalaxmi temple, Rankala lake, Shalini Palace, New Palace, jyotiba temple, Panhala fort and much more. About 3 million tourists visit kolhapur every year. The city is situated on the banks of river Panchganga and is known as 'Dakshin(south) Kashi'. It is also famous as "city of palaces & wrestlers".The coastal line (western) is only 75 km away from Kolhapur & hence is known as 'Door of Konkan'.

Kolhapur is well known for its " sugar production ","kolhapuri saaj"(an ornament worn in traditional maharashtrian wedding), silver jewellery, jaggery, "kolhapuri chappals"(footwear),"kolhapuri pheta"(turban), "wrestling", kolhapuri masala (spices), cuisines mainly the non-vegetarian variety. Another field that Kolhapur prides itself of is films. In certain circles, Kolhapur was and is still considered the capital of the Marathi film industry. It has been credited as the place where Raja Harishchandra, the first feature film ever produced in India was conceptualised .In 2012, Kolhapur has been declared by the central government as the " Export city " which is the only city from Maharashtra. It is not only famous as a tourist destination but also it is one of the most important places for "foundry businesses" in India. It also hosts "textile mega cluster " which is the largest in maharashtra & one of the largest in India .It has progressed to the status of a very important industrial city being the centre for sugar production, textiles, automobile and ancillaries, engineering and manufacturing, chemicals and dairy & milk industries in the region.

• Amravati is one of the well known cities in the state of Maharashtra. It is the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Maharashtra. Amravati is also the headquarters of the "Amravati Division" which is one of the six divisions of the state of Maharashtra. Amravati is growing rapidly in terms of living quality. New flyovers and roads are being built to renovate the city, and other improvements like new traffic signals are underway under IRDP implemented by government of Maharashtra. Amravati is a growing industrial center, with cotton mills as an important industry. The town is expanding toward Badnera, 10 km to the south, which is the location of the railway junction where the branch railway line serving Amravati joins the main Mumbai - Bhusawal - Wardha - Nagpur - Howrah rail route. The city has two historical temples of the Goddess Ambadevi and Goddess Ekvira Devi.