Pune District

Pune District is situated in Maharashtra state of India. Pune city is the district headquarters. In the last census (2001), total population of the district is 7,232,555. Urban population comprises 58.08% of the total population [http://www.censusindiamaps.net/page/India_WhizMap/IndiaMap.htm] . The current population of Pune urban agglomerate is over 4 million.

India Districts

Maharashtra Map showing Pune
District	Pune
State	Maharashtra
Head Quarters	Pune City
Population	7.224.224
Area total	15642 sq km
Census Estimate Year	2001
Density	462 (per sq.km)
Website	http://pune.nic.in/

History

The seat of Pune has changed hands a lot many times.Pune was once ruled by the Rashtrakutas. Later on in the 17th century the Mughals were the rulers of Pune. From the mid 1600s the city came under the purview of the Great Maratha King Shivaji. He built a mansion for himself over here called as Lal Mahal.It still stands today.

But the dynasty that brought Pune district its present glory is definitely the Peshwa dynasty.Peshwe Baji Rao I, who was the Prime Minister of Chhatrapati Shahu, moved to Pune and built a palace near the Mutha River in the 18th century. The Shaniwar Wada, the old palace of the Peshwa stands in part even today.During this time Pune was almost the capital of India as the Peshwas ruled out of Pune.

The Battle of Kharda, between the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maratha Confederacy (under the Peshwa), is memorialised at the historical fort at Kharda.Later at the battle of Aundh, inside Pune city, in an area today called Khadki,the British defeated the Maratha and the city of Pune came under British rule. The British built the cantonment towns that exist around Pune.

In 1858, the Pune Municipality was established. Pune was also the centre for social and independence movements. Stalwarts like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Jyotirao Phule, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Mahadev Govind Ranade, RG Bhandarkar, and Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde hailed from Pune.

Geography

Pune District is in the western region in Maharashtra in India. It is bounded by Thane District to the northwest, Raigad District to the west, Satara District to the south, Solapur District to the southeast, and Ahmednagar District to the north and northeast.Pune district lies in the Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountain range and it extends on to the Deccan Plateau on the west.Pune stands on the leeward side of the Western Ghats.Pune is at an altitude of 559m.(1863 ft.).Pune district is located between 17.5° to 19.2° North and 73.2° to 75.1° East. In Pune district, there are two municipal corporations, namely Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchawad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

Pimpri Chinchwad is located at the West of Pune city, touching the Pune- Mumbai National highway. The corporation covers the area of Akurdi, Pimpri, Chinchwad and Bhosari. The said area is developed by MIDC as an industrial zone.

Climate

Average rainfall in the district is 600 to 700 mm. This is usually during the monsoon months from July - October. Moderate temperatures are mainly observed here. The rainfall is unpredictable in tune with the Indian monsoon.Summers here begin from early March to July. Summers are dry and hot. The temperature ranges from 20°C to 38°C, though at the peak they may reach 40°C.From November to January, is the winter season. Temperatures at the peak drop to single digits but usually they hover around 9°C to 14°C sometimes lowers up to 3°C. January to March are the months with moderate temperatures.

Rivers and lakes and Dams

Major rivers of the district are:Pushpavati, Krushnavati, Kukadi, Meena, Ghod, Bhima, Bhama, Andhra, Indryani, Pavna, Mula, Mutha, Ambi, Mose, Shivganga, Kanandi, Gunjavni, Velvandi, Neera, Karha etc

Some Major Dams are

Pimpalgaon (Pushpavati), Manikdoh,Yedgaon (Kukadi), Meena (Meena), Dimbe (Ghod), Chas-Kaman and Ujani (Bhima), Andhra (Andhra), Valvhan (Indrayani), Pavna (Pavna), Mulshi (Mutha), Temghar, Khadakwasla (Mutha), Varasgaon (Ambi), Panshet (Mose), Chapet (Kanandi), Bhatgar (Velvandi), Devghar, Veer (Neera)

Lonavla region (Wadgaon-Maval Taluka) can be called as lake district of Maharashtra due to numerous lakes in this area viz, Bhushi, The Lonavla lake, INS Shivaji, Pavna, Valvhan, Tungarli, Andhra, Shirawta lake

However the Sahyadris and its branches offer lot of opportunity for damming the streams leading to large number of lakes in Pune district

Demographics

As of the census of 2001, there were 7,232,555 people and 1,517,041 households. The population density was 462 people per /km².

In the district the population was spread out with 6,85,022 under the age of 4; 1,491,352 from 5 to 15; 4,466,901 from 15 to 59 and 5,89,280 60 years of age or older. For every 1000 males age 6 and over, there were 919 females.

Education

Higher education

Pune District is home to Pune University.The City itself is known as Oxford of the East. Famous colleges include Wadia college, BMCC, College of Engineering, B.J.Medical College, Fergusson College, S.P.College, ILS Law College, AFMC and others.

Primary and secondary education

Public education in Pune District is administered by the Zilla Parishad. There are a number of Primary and Secondary Schools in the district.

Divisions

Administratively the district is divided into 14 talukas & 13 Panchayat Samitis. These are Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed, Maval, Mulshi, Velhe, Bhor, Haveli, Purandar, Pune City, Indapur, Daund, Baramati and Shirur. Pune city is the administrative headquarters of the district. There are around 1,866 villages in the district.

There are 18 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district. These are Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed-Alandi, Maval, Mulshi, Haveli, Bopodi, Shivajinagar, Parvati (SC), Kasba Peth, Bhvani Peth, Pune Cantonment, Shirur, Daund, Indapur, Baramati, Purandhar and Bhor. The 3 Lok Sabha constituencies of the district are Khed, Pune and Baramati.

Cities and towns

Pune city and the twin city Pimpri-Chinchwad are the major cities in the district.Pune city is administered by the Pune Municipal Corporation while Pimpri - Chinchwad is admistered by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.There are three cantonment areas in the district.
** Pune Cantonment
** Khadki Cantonment
** Dehu Road CantonmentSome smaller towns in the district with Nagarpalikas or Municipal Councils are:
** Junnar
** Narayangaon
** Khed
** Chakan
** Lonavla - Khandala
** Bhor
** Saswad
** Nasrapur
** Pirangut
** Daund
** Shirur
** Indapur
** Walchandnagar
** Bhigwan
** Baramati
** Talegaon Dabhade
** Wadgaon

Pilgrimage centers

* Alandi
* Dehu
* Bhimashankar
* Jejuri
* Ranjangaon
* Ozar
* Lenyandri
* Morgaon
* Theur
* Bhigwan

Forts

There are several forts in and around Pune District, including:

* Jivdhan
* Hadsar
* Chavand
* Shivneri
* Narayangad
* Chakan or Sangramgad
* Rajmachi
* Lohagad
* Visapur
* Tunga or Kathingad
* Tikona
* Korigad
*Sinhagad or Kondhana
* Rajgad
* Torna or Prachandagad
* Purandar and Vajrangad (Rudramal)
* Sonori or Malhargad
* Rohida
* Kenjalgad
* HarishchandragadThere are many small hill forts and numerous fortified castles.

Economy

Pune is 'The Detroit of India', It is an industrial center as well as agriculture based economy.

Transport

Air

Pune International Airport (code PNQ) is located in Vimannagar northeast of Pune city. The airport offers service to over domestic and international destinations.

Highways

Total road length of Pune district is 13,642 km.Several National Highways and State Highways criss cross Pune district. They include:
* Pune Mumbai and Pune Bangalore National Highway (NH 4)
* Pune Solapur Hydrabad National Highway (NH 9)
* Pune Nashik National Highway (NH 50)
* Mumbai Pune Expressway

Major State Highways include
* Pune Ahmednagar Aurangabad State Highway
* Pune Alandi State Highway
* Pune Saswad Pandharpur State Highway
* Pune Paud Road State Highway
* Talegaon Chakan State Highway

The municipal bus system operates buses that serve the region and connect places in Pune and Pimpri-Chinwad areas. The State Transport buses of MSRTC serves all villages in the district.

Railway Lines

All railway lines through Pune are broad gauge and have double track. They belong to Central Railway
* Pune-Mumbai.
* Pune-Daund.
* Pune-Daund-Solapur (single track from Bhigwan to Solapur).
* Pune-Daund-Manmad (single track from Daund to Manmad).
* Pune-Daund-Baramati branch line (single track).
* Pune-Daund-Kurduwadi-Latur Road (single track on branch line from Kurduwadi to Latur Road).
* Pune-Daund-Kurduwadi-Miraj (single track on branch line from Kurduwadi to Miraj).
* Pune-Miraj-Hubli (single track from Pune to Hubli towards Bangalore).
* Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur branch line (single track from Miraj to Kolhapur).

The Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur railway line was metre gauge and converted to broad gauge in 1995 under Project Unigauge.

The railway line from Latur to Kurduwadi to Miraj was narrow gauge. The Kurduwadi-Pandharpur section towards Miraj was converted to broad gauge in 2002. The Latur to Osmanabad section was converted to broad gauge in September 2007. (Osmanabad did not lie on the narrow gauge railway line and the alignment was changed for the new broad gauge track to pass through Osmanabad.) The Osmanabad-Kurduwadi section of broad gauge track is planned to open in 2008-09. The Pandharpur-Miraj section is still narrow gauge and the conversion to broad gauge is low on priority.

ports

The Maharashtra Cricket team has its home ground in Pune City playing at the Nehru Stadium in Pune.

The Pune Football Club of the I-Leagues are located in Pune City The team plays in the 2nd Division of the I-League

The 1994 National Games were held in Pune City. The Sports City is now to host the 2008 Commonwealth Youth games. Krida Prabodhini in Baner is a sports school. The presence of water bodies has given rise to a number of boat clubs. Namely COEP, RCBC, KPRC and MIT Alandi.

Pune has given many well known sports personalities to the nation which includes Abhijit Kunte(Chess GM), Hrishikesh Kanitkar(Cricket), Dhanraj Pille(Hocky) and so on.

Medical Facilities

Pune District is served by 3 government hospitals, Sasoon Hospital, Budhrani and Dr. Ambedkar Hospital. In addition to these there are a number of big private hospitals. KEM Hospital, Ruby Hall and Mangeshkar Hospital are the famous ones.

External links

* [http://www.pune.gov.in/ Government of India website for Pune District]
* [http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/gazetteer.php?level=2&showFile=1&gazetteerSqlId=20020426074413&gazetteerMainId=&gazetteerFile2Id=&distId=25&gazId=20020426074254&pubYear=&fileExists=&headingSqlName=Preface&chapter= Pune District Gazetteer]
* [http://www.puneprime.com/City_Guides/Pune_District.htm Pune District Guides] - PUNEPRIME.com
* [http://www.pmtpune.org/ Pune Bus Transport]

References