Karad is a town in Satara district of Indianstate of Maharashtra. It is located 302 km (180.19 miles) from Mumbai, 74 km from Sangli and 162 km from Pune. It lies at the confluence of Koyna River and the Krishna River known as the "Pritisangam". The two rivers originate at Mahabaleshwar, which is around 100 km from Karad. Karad is well known for sugar production and is known as the sugar bowl of Maharashtra owing to the presence of many sugar factories in and around Karad. It is considered an important educational hub in Western Maharashtra due to the presence of many prestigious educational institutes.[1] Karad is resting place of the first chief minister of Maharashtra Yashwantrao Chavan situated at the confluence of the Krishna and Koyana rivers. It is ranked as the cleanest town in Swachh Survekshan 2020 in the category of population with less than 1 lakh.[2][3]
Karad has an adjoining small town named Malkapur, Karad which has its own municipal council and a population of 86,671. Karad was awarded a prize under "Sant Gadagebaba Gramswachhata Abhiyan" started by Indian Government.
History
It was originally known as "Karhatak", meaning "Elephant Market". Karad is also a city of historical importance. According to Mahabharata, Sahadeva one of the Pandavas lived in the city also known to be pious as Lord Rama stepped his feet on this land.[4] Located to the south west of Karad is Karad Caves, also known as Aghashiv Caves.[5]
The first capital of the Shilaharas was probably at Karad during the reign of Jatiga-II as known from their copper plate grant of Miraj and Vikramankadevacharita of Bilhana. Hence sometimes they are referred as 'Shilaharas of Karad'. The capital was later shifted to Kolhapur. Among the Silaharas of Kolhapur who ruled over Satara and Belganv districts from 1000 to 1215 A. D., Gonka deserves mention here, as he is described as the Lord of Karhad (Karad), Mairifvja (Miraj) and Konkan.[6]
The city has many important government offices and other institutions of significance. With the vision of great leader P. D. Patil the city was one of the few in India to have a well- planned underground drainage system well before in the 1960s. By end-2010, Malkapur, Karad, on the outskirts of the city of Karad, is delivering water 24x7 to all its residents as a result of concrete steps taken by the Malkapur Nagar Panchayat (MNP) with support from the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP), a state government entity. This is the first of its kind by a public body in India. Major offices and institutions in Karad are as follows:
As of 2011[update] India census,[9] Karad town and surrounding villages had total population of 74,355. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Karad has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 72%. In Karad, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Vast majority of people belong to Hinduism and Speak Marathi language.
Transportation
National Highways
The National Highway 48 (formerly National Highway 4) goes through the Karad city. National Highway 48 (NH 48) is a major National Highway in Western and Southern India. NH 48 links four of the 10 most populous Indian cities - Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune. NH 48 also connects Karad to Uran Islampur, Kolhapur. Pune is the largest metropolis near Karad and Kolhapur, Sangli is an important trade centre and Karad is educational hub for IIT training and a tourist destination.
Airport
An Airstrip was constructed in the 1955 by the Public Works Department to facilitate the Koyna dam project. It is currently being used for General aviation and pilot training. The airport is spread on 65 acres and the acquisition of more than 100 acres has been proposed. Runway 10/28 is 1280 meters long and 30 meters wide with a 60 meter by 60 meter apron. No navigational aids nor night landing facilities are available on the airstrip.
The State run Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) plans to extend the 1,250 meters airstrip by another 1,500 m and widen it by 150 m.
Besides this the nearest airports are Pune Airport and Kolhapur Airport.
All super-fast trains like the Karnataka Sampark Kranti, Deekshaboomi Express, Rani Chenama Express, Haripriya Express and Miraj Hubli Express stop at Miraj Junction. You can take private cars or MSRTC buses from Miraj to Karad. Travel time from Miraj to Karad is approxroximately 1 hour 15 minutes.
Karad Railway Station
Railway Time Table Karad
Towards Miraj
No.
Train No.
Train Name
Train Type
Day
Departure time
Dis
11023
Mumbai – Kolhapur
Sahyadri Express
Discontinued
Discontinued
01
11097
Pune – Ernakulam
Poorna Express
Sun
02.00 Am
02
17318
Dadar - Hubli
Hubballi Express
Daily
03.50 Am
03
17411
Mumbai - Kolhapur
Mahalaxmi Express
Daily
04.10 Am
04
11021
Dadar - Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli Express
Sun, Wed, Thu
04.55 Am
05
11035
Dadar – Mysore
Sharavati Express
Fri
04.55 Am
06
11005
Dadar - Puducherry
Puducherry Express
Mon, Tue, Sat
04.50 Am
07
51441
Satara – Kolhapur
Demu Special
Daily
06.40 Am
08
16209
Ajmer – Mysore
All Mysore Express
Mon, Sat
05.55 Am
09
16505
Gandhidham – Bangalore
GIMB SBC Bangalore Express
Wed
05.55 Am
10
16507
Jodhpur – Bangalore
JU SBC Bangalore Express
Sun, Fri
05.55 Am
11
16531
Ajmer – Bangalore
SBC Garib Nawaz Express
Tue
05.55 Am
12
11040
Gondia – Kolhapur
Maharashtra Express
Daily
09.20 Am
13
12148
Nizamuddin – Kolhapur
Nizamuddin Express
Fri
10.25 Pm
14
12782
Nizamuddin – Mysore
Swarnajayani Express
Tue
10.25 Pm
15
51409
Pune – Kolhapur
Demu Special
Daily
03.56 Pm
16
11029
Mumbai – Kolhapur
Koyna Express
Daily
05.10 Pm
17
12780
Nizamuddin – Vasco
Goa Express
Daily
08.45 Pm
Sahyadri Express >> Discontinued
Information by ( Basargi) : updated In August 2022
The city has a major hall for cultural activities and exhibitions: Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial - Town Hall. Cultural events of various organizations and gatherings of schools are also held here. The "Venutai Chavan Hall" is used for classical concerts, conducting national and international seminars on topics like science, space, traditions, culture, spirituality, etc.
Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856–1895), social reformer and newspaper editor born in Tembhu.
Khashaba Jadhav (15 January 1926 – 14 August 1984) Born in a very poor farming family at Goleshwar Tal. Karad, the only individual Olympic Medal Winner for India until 2000. He won India's first individual Olympic medal by winning the Bronze medal on 23 July 1952, in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games for wrestling in bantamweight, which is the unbeaten record for India in wrestling until today. In 1993, Maharashtra State awarded him the Shiv Chhattrapati Award posthumously. In 2001, the Central Government also awarded him the Arjuna Award posthumously.[11]
Yashwantrao Chavan (12 March 1913 – 25 November 1984), an eminent Congress party politician, hailed from Karad. He was the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra and also served as the defence minister, finance minister, home minister, foreign affairs minister, and as the Deputy Prime Minister of India and became the first and only person from Maharashtra to hold this political post.
Prithviraj Chavan: He was the 17th Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Chavan served as the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions. Chavan was also General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), in-charge of many states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh.
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