Bhiwandi is a commercial city in the Thane district of Western Maharashtra. Bhiwandi lies in the Konkan coastal lowland with hills and streams. Bhiwandi is well-known as a major trade centre. The city is the major link between Mumbai and the rest of India through Mumbai–Agra highway. Bhiwandi has been given the nickname "the Manchester of India". In the early 16th century, Bhiwandi used to have a port on the Kamwadi River in Bunder Mohalla. Waswoods & Spices were traded the most from the port. During the reign of the Moghul Empire the city of Bhiwandi was known by the name "Islamabad". There is a mosque named Islamabad Masjid & Eidgah. In the early 20th century, Bhiwandi was a small town and was inhabited mainly by Maharashtrians. Most people worked in agriculture, fishing and weaving. With the introduction of electricity, the hand looms were replaced by power looms. It became a hub of the textile industry in the 1930s. With the decline of the textile industry in Mumbai, Bhiwandi became attractive to textile companies due to the convenience for transport and 24-hour power service. The power loom of Bhiwandi is the second largest power loom after the one in Surat. Bhiwandi produces and transports most of the Power loom for textile industry all over India. The increase in Bhiwandi's population is directly or indirectly related to the power loom industry. The place is also known for its large godowns which are considered Asia's largest. Bhiwandi was initially inhabited by the Kolis and Konkanis who were fishermen that used to live near the Konkan sea coast. Bhiwandi was once a trading town as it had its own port in Bunder Mohalla. Some of the traditional wooden fishing boats can be seen even today in the Bhiwandi area. The Kolis have their own customs and speak a different dialect of Marathi. Bhiwandi's total population was about 500,000 in 2001. The bulk of the population forms the workforce for a number of textile and other industries. The first textile loom was set up by Khan Saheb Samad Seth in 1927. He told the local people to sell gold and purchase iron. Today the city of Bhiwandi has about 500,000 power looms, though handlooms are few in number.
Business
The city of Bhiwandi, known for its textile industry, has the largest number of power looms and handlooms in the country. The majority of the population is employed in the power loom sector. Bhiwandi developed as an industrial hub for the textile industry in the past, but more recently has hosted other industries and logistics sectors. Bhiwandi is one of Asia’s biggest warehousing hubs. It is a major contributor to the logistic landscape of Mumbai and India due to close proximity to Nhava Seva port of Mumbai and servicing Mumbai,India’s financial capital Many e-commerce companies like Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance, Snapdeal, and FedEx have branches in the city. a warehousing hub dispatching hundreds of thousands of retail and industrial goods to consumers in the financial capital every day.Bhiwandi is the next development region for MMRDA, which has developed other regions such as the Bandra–Kurla Complex, Mumbai Metro, Monorail Project and Eastern Freeway.
Transportation
Road
The NH3 highway passes through the city of Bhiwandi. Only auto-rickshaws are available in the city. Bhiwandi is connected to the neighbouring cities Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Wada, and other parts of Maharashtra.
