Sindhudurg district


Sindhudurg is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in India, which was carved out of the erstwhile Ratnagiri District. The district headquarters are located at Oros. The district occupies an area of 5207 km² and has a population of 849,651 of which 12.59% were urban.
As of 2011 it is the least populous district of Maharashtra.

Origin of name

The district is named after the fort of Sindhudurg, which lies on a rocky island just off the coast of Malvan. Sindhudurg fort, built in the 16th century by King Shivaji is the only fort which has Shivaji's temple inside the fort and a palm imprint of King Shivaji. Sindhudurg district has 37 forts, the highest number of forts in Maharashtra as well as all types of forts, and.

Brief History of Sindhudurg District https://sindhudurg.nic.in/en/about_district/history/

Sindhudurg district is the southern part of the greater tract known as the ‘Konkan’ which is historically famous for its long coast line and safe harbors. Sindhudurg district was earlier a part of the Ratnagiri district. For administrative convenience and industrial and agricultural development Ratnagiri district was divided into Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg with effect from 1 May 1981. Sindhudurg district now comprises eight tahsils of Sawantwadi, Kudal, Vengurla,Malvan,Devgad, Kankavli, Vaibhavwadi and Dodamarg.The word ‘Konkan’ is of Indian origin and of considerable antiquity, though the origin of the name has never been sufficiently explained. The seven kingdoms of the Konkan of mythology are mentioned in the ‘ History of Kashmir’ and are said to have included nearly the whole west coast of India. The Pandavas, are said to have passed through this region in the 13 th year of their exile and had settled in this area for some time. The Raja of this region Veerat Ray had accompanied them in the famous war at Kurukshetra with the Kauravas. In the second century A.D. The great empire of Mauryas annexed all the Konkan coast. In the middle of the sixth century, kings of the Maurya and Nala dynasties appear to have been ruling in the Konkan. The district of Ratnagiri was under the Silahars and the capital of their kingdom was probably Goa and later it may have been transferred to a more central place in the vicinity of Ratnagiri or Kharepatan. Chandrapur was one of the most ancient towns in Kokan, probably founded by Chandraditya a son of the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II.The 16th century saw the advent and rise of Portuguese power on the west coast of India and Sindhudurg was no exception. The sultan lost hold on the district in 1675 with the rise of Shivaji leading finally into the hands of Marathas. Marathas continued to the district till 1817 i.e. when the struggle between the British and the Peshvas came to an end and the whole of Konkan was transferred to the British.In 1819 South Konkan was formed as separate district with its headquarters first at Bankot and later at Ratnagiri. Three northern subdivisions were transferred to Thane District in 1830 and the district was reduced to a sub-collectorate level under Thane district. In 1832, it was again made a full-fledged district and named as Ratnagiri district. In the year 1945, a new mahal called Kankavli Mahal was formed. The former Indian state of Sawantwadi was merged with the district and the taluka boundaries were reorganized in the year 1949. In the same year the new taluka of the Sawantwadi was created and two new mahals namely Kudal and Lanja were formed. With the reorganization of the states in 1956, the district was included in the Bombay state and since 1960, it forms a part of Maharashtra.The name of the district has been adopted form the famous sea fort of Sindhudurg. This was built by Shivaji Maharaj near Malwan and it literally means ‘Sea Fort’. Its construction started on November 25, 1664 and after 3 years it was completed in such a fashion that it could not be seen easily by the enemy coming from the Arabian Sea.

About The District

Established on 1 May 1981,
Tehsils and Panchayat Samiti:
  1. Dodamarg
  2. Sawantwadi
  3. Kudal
  4. Vengurla
  5. Malvan
  6. Kankavli
  7. Devgad
  8. Vaibhavwadi
Nagar Palika:
  1. kudal
  2. Sawantwadi
  3. Malvan
  4. Devgad-Jamsande
  5. Kankavli
  6. Vengurla
Cities:
  1. Sawantwadi
  2. Vaibhavwadi
  3. Malvan
  4. Kankavli
  5. Vengurla
  6. Kudal
  7. Oros
  8. Devgad
  9. Dodamarg
Smaller towns include :
  1. Dodamarg
  2. Vaibhavwadi
  3. Vijaydurg
  4. Banda
  5. Amboli – hill resort
  6. Rameshwar
  7. Girye
  8. Mangaon
  9. Shiroda
  10. Mhapan
  11. Phondaghat
  12. Bhedshi
  13. Kot Kamte
  14. Kandalgaon
  15. Katta
  16. Talere
  17. Shirgaon
  18. Naringre
  19. Kharepatan
  20. Achara
  21. Sukalwad
  22. Khotale
  23. Hedul
  24. vanygawde
  25. Kasal
  26. pawashi
  27. Kadawal
  28. Trimbak
  29. Masure
  30. Bandiwade, Malvan
  31. Jamsande
  32. Shiroda
  33. Ghonsari
  34. Hivale
  35. Poip
  36. Tirlot
  37. Navanagar
  38. Amberi
  39. Waghotan
  40. Tirawade
  41. Redi
  42. Talvade Gate
  43. Tale Bazar
  44. Salgaon
  45. Bhuibawada- Vaibhavwadi
  46. Kunkeshwar
  47. Katwan
  48. Phanasgaon
  49. Undil
  50. Manache-mutat
  51. Mathbudruk
  52. Budhavle
  53. Sanadave
  54. Masure
  55. Shivapur kudal
  56. Ovaliye
Major Crops are Rice, Coconut, Kokam, Mango, Cashew.
Annual Crop
Kokam, Mango, Cashew
Irrigated 33,910 Hector
Non-Irrigated. Hector
Forest 38,643 Hector
74% of total land holding in the district, are held by small and marginal farmers. The irrigated area is only 23.48% through well and small channels.

Irrigation

Major Projects 2
Medium Projects 4
Small Projects State owned : 33, Z.P. owned : 460

Education Section

Primary Schools - Zilla Parishad – 1469, Private – 49
Secondary Schools Grantable : 184, Central Govt. : 1, Private : 22
Junior Colleges :43
Senior Colleges :7
D.Ed./ BEd Colleges: 4 + 1
Medical Colleges :1
Engineering Colleges: 2
Polytechnic Colleges :3
Industrial Training Institutes - 1.Sawntwadi 2.Malvan 3.Deogad 4.Sindhudurgnagari 5.Vengurla 6.Phondaghat 7.Vaibhavwadi

Banking Sector

Nationalised Banks 66 Branches
Cooperative Banks 106 Branches
Rural Banks 15 Branches

Fisheries

Sea Coast Length 121 km
Fishing Area 16000 km2.
Main Fisheries Centers – Vijaydurg, Devgad, Nivati, Achara, Malvan, Sarjekot, Vengurla, Shiroda
Fisherman Population 25365
Total Fish Production 19273 M. Tons
Fisheries Co.Op. Soc. 34

Location and Climate

Sindhudurg is bordered on the north by Ratnagiri District, on the south by the state of Goa, on the west by the Arabian Sea, and to the east across the crest of the Western Ghats or Sahyadris is Kolhapur District. Sindhudurg is part of Konkan region, a narrow coastal plain in western Maharashtra which lies between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea.
Sindhudurg has a semi-tropical climate and remains warm and humid in most of the year. It has three clear seasons : Rainy, winter and Summer. Temperatures vary between Max. 32 °C and monsoon winds bring heavy rains.

People

Language - The people of Sindhudurg District mostly speak konkani and a distinct dialect of konkani; "malvani", almost all are fluent in Marathi as well.

Cuisine

The cuisine of the district is popularly known as Malvani cuisine. Coconut, Rice and Fish assume prime significance in the Malavani cuisine. Seafood containing fish, especially Bangada Paplet, Prawns, and Tisrya is very popular. "Kombdi Vade"also called Vade Sagoti, a chicken savoury, is the most popular dish here. Others include Ukadya Tandulachi Pej and Sol Kadhi. Dry fish is also a local delicacy like "Golma".
Malvani cuisine is one of the unique cuisines than rest of the Maharashtra with very low oil and spices but very tasty with use of locally available spices. Even TAJ group has also included Malvani cuisine in their menu. Below are some of the famous dishes/ sweets are Malvani
Mango is a major factor to the life of Sindhudurg. Varieties of Alphonso Mango from Devgad are particularly popular. Other varieties of mango: Mankur,Goa Mankur,Keshar, Pāyari and Karel,rayval are also popular for their distinct taste. Jackfruit is also one of, the most popular fruits of Sindhudurg.
The Malvani cuisine also has many vegetarian dishes, including garyache sandan, pickle of karmal, bimble, amba halad, karadichi bhakri, kanyacha sanja, appe, ghavan, dalimichi usual, and kaju usual, Raiwal Ambyacha Rayta, Yelapp.

Places of attraction

Tourist Destinations

* dream land garden, navivadi
*Bharatgad Fort masure
' *Manohar Manosantosh Gad
*Shivapur waterfall Gadakarwadi, GhawhalWadi
''

Temples

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Sindhudurg district has a population of 849,651, roughly equal to the nation of Qatar or the US state of South Dakota. This gives it a ranking of 474th in India. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was -2.21%.
Sindhudurg has a sex ratio of 1037 females for every 1000 males which is second highest in Maharashtra, and a literacy rate of 85.56%.
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 91.22% of the population in the district spoke Marathi, 2.78% Konkani, 1.81% Hindi, 1.54% Urdu, 1.16% Bhili and 0.93% Kannada as their first language.
PopulationLiteracy
Overall8,49,65185.56%
Male4,17,89091.58%
Female4,50.93579.81%

The area is largely rural populated with 87.41% of rural population.

Divisions

The 8 talukas of this district are Devgad, Kankavli, Malvan, Kudal, Sawantwadi, Vengurla and Dodamarg and Vaibhavwadi.
There are 3 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district. These are Kankavli, Sawantwadi and Kudal. All of these are part of the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency.

Transportation

The Sindudurg district is connected to state capital Mumbai by road through National Highway 17 which is now renumbered as NH-66. This highway also connects district to neighbouring state Goa and Karnataka also. There are regular MSRTC and private luxury buses connecting to adjoining cities like Kolhapur, Belgaum, Panaji – Goa. Towns and major villages has good connectivity with Mumbai as major migrated population of district is located in Mumbai area. According to one source, there are roughly more than 120 luxury buses running daily towards Mumbai and suburbs. District is also well connected by Konkan railway to Mumbai, Thane,Goa and other parts of the country like Mangalore, Karwar Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Hapa, Veraval, New Delhi, Jodhpur, Porbundar by Konkan Railway. The main railway stations on this route are Kudal, Kankavli and Sawantwadi. Many trains halt at these stations. The nearest airport is Dabolim Airport in Goa which is very close for cities like Sawantwadi, Kudal and Vengurle. New airport Sindhudurg Airport at Chipi-Parule is under construction.