Ratnagiri

Ratnagiri रत्‍नागिरी
City
Thibaw Palace in Ratnagiri
Ratnagiri
Coordinates: 16°59′40″N 73°18′00″E / 16.99444°N 73.30000°E / 16.99444; 73.30000Coordinates: 16°59′40″N 73°18′00″E / 16.99444°N 73.30000°E / 16.99444; 73.30000
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
Region	Konkan Division
District	Ratnagiri
Elevation	11 m (36 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	76,239
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	415612, 415639
Telephone code	02352
Vehicle registration	MH-08
Website	www.ratnagiri.nic.in

Ratnāgiri is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District^[1] in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan division of Maharashtra

The Sahyadri mountains border Ratnagiri to the east. Heavy rainfall results in highly eroded landscape in the coastal region, but fertile alluvial valleys in the region produce abundant rice, coconuts, cashew nuts, and fruits, "Hāpus" (Alphonso) mangoes being one of the main fruits. Fishing is an important industry in Ratnagiri.

A few illustrious Indians, including "Lokmānya Tilak" (or Bal Gangadhar Tilak), a prime leader in the nation's freedom movement in the British Raj days; Bharat Ratna "Maharshi" Dhondo Keshav Karve, a social reformer and educationist; and Wrangler Paranjpe i.e. Wrangler Raghunath Purushottam Paranjpe, a mathematician and educationist, were born in Ratnagiri or its vicinity. Ratnagiri district is a birthplace of four Bharat Ratna awardees Dhondo Keshav Karve, Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Pandurang Vaman Kane and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. Also, two another Bharat Ratna awardees Sachin Tendulkar and Govind Vallabh Pant have their native places in Ratnagiri district.

Ratnagiri has also been featured in Amitav Ghosh's novel, The Glass Palace. The Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project is located in the district.

Ratnagiri has a large industrial potential.^[2] MIDC has established two industrial estates in Ratnagiri city - Mirjole and Zadgaon. The main industries in city are UltraTech Cement, J.K.Files & Tools, Finolex Group, Bharati Shipyard, Gadre Marine Exports, Auchtel Chemicals, Verron Industries, VAV Life Sciences etc.

Geography

Ratnagiri is located at 16°59′N 73°18′E / 16.98°N 73.3°E / 16.98; 73.3.^[3] It has an average elevation of 11 meters (36 feet).

Climate

Demographics

According to 2011 census of India,^[4] Ratnagiri Town had a population of 76,239, males and females constituting 55% and 45%, respectively, of the population. 86% of males and 87% of females were literate. 11% of Ratnagiri's population was under 6 years of age.70% people in Ratnagiri are Hindus and around 30% are Muslims. Other religions are Buddhist, Christians.

History

In 1731, Ratnagiri came under the control of Satara kings; subsequently, the British gained control in 1818.

Earlier, one of the Bijapur rulers Potu Sri Chenna Reddy had built a fort on a headland near the harbour of Ratnagiri, and Maratha king Shivaji had strengthened it in 1670.

Ratnagiri has a palace, where the last king of Burma (Myanmar), Thibaw, and, later, "Veer" V. D. Savarkar, a freedom fighter in the British Raj days, had been confined by the ruling British.

According to a legend, after their twelve-year exile, Pandavas of the Mahabharata epic had settled for a while in the vicinity of Ratnagiri during their pilgrimage in the thirteenth year, and the then king of the region, Veeravrat Rāy, had subsequently fought on their side against Kauravas during the Mahabharata war at Kuruskshetra.

Ratnagiri Municipality

Ratnagiri Municipality was established in 1876.^[5] The incumbent president is Mr. Mahendra Mayekar from BJP.

Uday Samant (Shivsena), former Minister of State for Urban Development, represents Ratnagiri constituency in State Assembly since 2004; while Vinayak Raut (Shivsena) represents Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency in Loksabha, lower house of the parliament since 2014.

Education institutes

Dr Balasaheb Sawant konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth (Agriculture University) at Dapoli, Dist: Ratnagiri

Marine Biological Research Station

The Government of Maharashtra under the Department of Fisheries established the Marine Biological Research Station (MBRS) in 1958 at Ratnagiri, which is presently attached with Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Dist.: Ratnagiri. The research station has a 10 hectare area as field facility including a three storied building at main campus, a well equipped 'Aquarium and Museum', a modernised brackish water fish farm, a Mechanized Fishing and Research Vessel, Seed Production facilities and various laboratories at its disposal.

The Marine Biological Research Station, Ratnagiri is one of the premier institutes, especially in the South Konkan Coastal Fisheries Zone, having a mandate for development of fish production technologies, transferring the technologies to fish culturists, entrepreneurs and the industry, and generating professionally trained manpower in fish culture.^[6]

Transport

Road

Ratnagiri is connected by road to Mumbai, Mangaluru, Madgaon, Karwar, Udupi and Cochin by National Highway number 17 (NH-17). The Konkan railway also connects to these places by train along with Delhi and Jaipur.

Roads in Ratnagiri city as well as in many villages is at par above average compared to road conditions in Mumbai. Mumbai Goa National Highway does not run through Ratnagiri city whereas it crosses 13 km away from Ratnagiri at Hatkhamba, and the point of access to Ratnagiri city is Hatkhamba. Ratnagiri-Nagpur National Highway NH-204 connects Ratnagiri to important cities like Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, Nanded, Nagpur and eastern parts of India.

Many Volvo Busses plying towards Goa from Mumbai will always alight at Hatkhamba or Sangameshwar. There are two MSRTC bus stations. One is the main bus station frequently called Madhyvarti bus stand, and the other is just 1 km ahead of Main bus station called Rahataghar. Rahataghar bus station is responsible for MSRTC services moving towards south or east of Ratnagiri, whereas Main Bus stand is responsible for MSRTC services moving towards north and connecting buses to different villages in Ratnagiri. MSRTC runs intercity bus service from Ratnagiri to Chiplun, Ratnagiri to Sawantwadi, Ratnagiri to Kolhapur. Also MSRTC runs intercity bus service from Mumbai to Ratnagiri and very few Ratnagiri to Goa, Ratnagiri to Pune. Although there are lots of MSRTC intercity bus services, there are few private tourists buses such as Ghatge Patil, Sairatna, Ashwini, etc. bus services which ply towards Mumbai and Pune. Even Volvo busses are available to come to Ratnagiri from Mumbai. (neeta, purple) The MSRTC has introduced many bus services from the station to city. The important stations in Ratnagiri District are Chiplun, Khed and Vithalwadi. While booking a train ticket to Ratnagiri, you should book your ticket a month early because most of the month the trains are full.

Most important cities from MSRTC point of view in Ratnagiri Districts are Chiplun, Mandangad, Dapoli, Khed, Guhagar, Sangameshwar, Ratngairi, Lanja, and Rajapur.

MSRTC operates services from Ratnagiri to distant destinations like Ambajogai, Latur, Akkalkot, Vijapur, Belgaum, Panjim, etc.

Railways

Ratnagiri station is one of the most important stations and headquarters of Ratnagiri Division on the Konkan Railway. The Ratnagiri railway station is situated at a distance of 6 km from Ratnagiri city center on NH-204. Nearly every train running on Konkan Railway stops at Ratnagiri Station.

Most frequently used trains to reach Ratnagiri from Mumbai are 10111/12 – Mumbai Madgaon KonkanKanya Express , 11003/04 – Dadar Sawantwadi Express, 10103/04 – Mumbai CSTM Madgaon Mandovi Express , 12051/52 – Dadar - Madgaon Janshatabdi Express , 50103/04 - Dadar - Ratnagiri Passenger, 16345/46 – Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Trivandrum Central Netravati Express , 12619/20 – Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Mangalore Matsyagandha Express & 12201/02 – Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Kochuveli Garibrath Express , 12133/34 - Mumbai CST Mangalore Junction Superfast Express

Also there are two passenger trains 50105 – Diva Sawantawadi Passenger train. To catch this train one can catch any suburban train from Mumbai moving towards Kalyan and get down at Diva station another passenger train is 50103 – Dadar Ratnagiri Passenger. 50103 halts at Dadar, Thane, Diva so one can opt any nearest station to board the train.

All the trains on this route runs have two time tables – a monsoon time table (usually running from 1 June to 31 October), where trains usually run at a reduced speed, and a regular timetable when trains usually run at normal speed 110 kmph for express and 130 kmph for Rajdhani.

The fastest train on this route is 12431/32 – Hazrat Nizamuddin Trivandrum Central Rajdhani Express and the second fastest train to ply Madgaon is 12051/52 – Dadar - Madgaon JanShatabdi Express which takes hardly 8 hours to reach Goa with two classes of journey ( one is 2S commonly known as Second Seating with a fare about Rs. 270/- whereas second is CC commonly known as AC Chair Car with a fare of around Rs. 930/- )

Karbude Tunnel: One of the Asia's longest tunnels, 6608 meters long, this is situated 5 km before Ratnagiri station from Mumbai. A monument has been built in front of Ratnagiri Railway station in remembrance of the people who lost their lives building this tunnel.

Ministry of Railways has proposed two new routes to connect Konkan with Western Maharashtra namely Rajapur/Vaibhavwadi - Kolhapur and Chiplun - Karad. One of these will be soon finalized. Also, a new route will be drawn from Ukshi station to Jaigad port.

Ratnagiri also has a sea port at Mirkarwada, which is important for fisheries industry. Also, Finolex Industries and Ultratech Cement have set up their private jetties. Ratnagiri Airport currently has no scheduled services. It has been transferred to Indian Coast Guard and is being developed as an Air Base for Coast Guard.

Attractions

• Aareware and Kalbadevi Beach: Beautiful blue water beaches with white sand are near the holy place Ganapatipule. Tourists from various places of Maharashtra and other states visit these beaches. These are the most visited beaches in Ratnagiri district.

• Babar Sheikh Peer: A Muslim Saint Shrine or Mausoleum in Hatis Village of Ratnagiri . In Urs Function there is a large crowd of devotees of Hindus and Muslims to pay respect and tribute to Saint. He is also called as King of Ratnagiri.

• Sayyad Zahid Ali Shah Qadri: An Arabian Muslim saint shrine or Mausoleum in Chanderai Village of Ratnagiri. A saint shrine is beautiful so that there are visitors who always visit this shrine and pay tribute to the saint. This saint traveled From Karnataka to this island and he is an Arabian by descendants of Baghdad.

• Lajul waterfall: A huge waterfall on the main line of Konkan railway. The exact location for getting down to it is at 187 km mile stone of Konkan railway. It is an awesome scene.
• Rajapur Ganga: The site of Rajapur Ganga is three km from nearby Rajapur

• Shaikh Ali Baba: A Muslim saint shrine or mausoleum in between waters in Purnagar Village and Gaokhadi Village of Ratnagiri. It is a floating shrine in water. It is located in the spot where Goa and Ratnagiri water joints each other . There is no route to visit the shrine so people walk through the water at 3:00 pm to visit the saint's tomb. There are so many visitors of all religions. It is a famous shrine of Ratnagiri.

• Pir Sayyad Mansoor Shah Qadri: A Muslim saint tomb or Mausoleum in Chanderai Village of Ratnagiri. A grandson of Hazrat Pir Sayyad Zahid Ali Shah Qadri, his tomb is located in front of the shrine of his grandfather Zahid. Many people try to visit him once in a year but they will be able to visit when there is a will of saint will be.

• Thiba Palace: The Thiba Palace was built in 1910–11 for the 1911–16 stay there in exile of the king and the queen of Burma (Myanmar). The place has tombs of the royal couple.

• Mirkarwada Beach: It is the coastal station for marine professionals; all the fishing boats and trawlers land here. It is the major trading spot in Ratnagiri for marine industry. Most of the fishes from here are exported to other city markets such as Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Bangaluru, and Mangalore.

• Mālgund: The Marathi poet, Keshavsut, was born in the village of Malgund. His house has recently been renovated and converted into a students' dormitory. The "Marāthi Sāhitya Parishad" (Marathi Literature Society) has constructed a monument called "Keshavsut Smārak" in Malgund.

• Jaigad: This 17th-century fort is located on a cliff at the entrance of the Sangameshwar river, and it offers a view of the sea. Jay Gad's sea fort is situated at a sheltered bay.

• Pawas: Pawas achieved prominence after Swami Swaroopānand, a recent influential religious leader in Maharashtra, settled in this town. His residence has now been converted into an "āshram".

• Atulit Bal Dham: Atulit Bal Dham is a holy place. This sacred Dham is managed by Sadguru Shree Aniruddha Upasana Trust, Mumbai.

• Ratna Durg: This fort was built during the Bahamani rule. In 1670, Shivaji conquered the fort from Bijapur ruler Adil Shah. In 1790, one Dhondu Bhaskar Pratinidhi rebuilt the fort, and strengthened its ramparts. The fort has the shape of a horseshoe, with a length of 1,300 meters and a width of 1,000 meters. The Arabian Sea surrounds it on its three sides.

• Parashurām Temple (near Chiplun): This temple was built in 1685 by Maharshi Brahmendra.

• Shivasamarth Gad: (at Sawarde near Chiplun) Contains sculptures from Shivaji's times.

• Nivali Waterfall: This waterfall located between the valleys of Nivali Ghats on Mumbai Goa National Highway NH17. It can be seen only during monsoon season and it one of the sight seeing in Ratngiri District.

• Panval Viaduct: The tallest rail bridge then, and currently third-tallest rail bridge in India is about 8 km distance from the city. One will certainly enjoy the breathtaking height of the bridge.

• Caves in Chiplun, Khed, Dabhol, Sangameshwar, Gauhani Velgaum, and Vade Padel: The Buddhist legend in the Papanch, Sudan, and Srath Appakasini records the conversion of Konkan residents to Buddhism during the lifetime of Gautama (BC 560-481). Caves in Chiplun, Kol, and Pabol indicate that the "sarthawalas" (caravan-men) rested in some of them.

See also

• Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project
• Mumbai to Ratnagiri Trains Time Table

Gallery

References

External links

• Ratnagiri Travel Guide Blog
• Luxury Trains of India: Ratnagiri Travel Guide
• Ratnagiri District Homepage
• Harnai Beach Dapoli, IN

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