Bhusawal

Bhusawal is a city in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra in India. It is the seat of its eponymous, Bhusawal taluka.

Its Bhusaval Junction railway station is one of the busiest railway station in the nation and is the headquarter of Bhusawal railway division. The railway line and the railway station was constructed in the second half of 19th century by then British government.

The city is situated near the banks of Tapi river and near national highway 53. It is located in the North Maharashtra and historical Khandesh region. Government of India's one of the largest Thermal power plant present near the city at Deepnagar town. It also has an important Indian Army Cantonment. Jalgaon is its nearest city.

History
On 19–23 February 1993, the city hosted its only first class cricket match to date during 1992-93 Ranji trophy season at 'Central railway ground'. Maharashtra's SV Jedhe scored century (168) in 1st inning and 64 in 2nd inning. The home team Maharashtra defeated Tamil Nadu cricket team by 10 wickets. In the game, 1983 World Cup winning team's member Krishnamachari Srikkanth played for Tamilnadu.

Geography
Bhusawal is situated on the banks of the Tapi river, also known as the Tapti river. Tapi flows through Central India, between the Satpura Range and the Ajanta Hills of the Deccan Plateau. It a major river in the Indian peninsula, with a length of around 724 kilometres (450 miles), originating at the Betul district in Madhya Pradesh. Tapi, along with Narmada and Mahi, flows from the East to the West. Bhusawal, being located on the North-Western region of the state of Maharashtra, and being bounded by mountain ranges, has a diverse climate, though the city has dry and hot weather for most of the year.

Topography
Bhusawal is located at 21°02'50.56"N 75°47'15.99"E. It has an average elevation of 209 metres. The city lies on the banks of the Tapi River, falling in the valley between the Satpura ranges and the Ajanta hills of the Deccan Plateau. The total land area of the municipal council is 228.57 sq.km.

Demographics
The population is 187,421 (2011 census), with 96,147 males and 91,274 females. The literacy rate is 88.38%, 91.74% for the males, and 84.87% for the females. Hinduism is the main religion followed by 64.06% of its population, followed by Muslims (24.40%) and Buddhists (8.79%).

Climate
The city has very dry and hot weather. In summers, the temperature reaches around 46 °C to 49 °C, which is amongst the highest in India. In 2010, the temperature crossed the 49 °C mark, touching 49.8 °C. In winters, the temperature falls down to 15 °C to 16 °C, and receives moderate rainfall during the monsoon.

Transport
The Ajanta Caves are about 63 km (via Jamner) from Bhusawal.

Road

Bhusawal is situated near the NH 53 highway. The city is very old and has narrow roads, due to which there is slow movement of traffic.

Rail
Bhusawal Junction Railway Station is a divisional headquarters of the Central Railways. It is on both the Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line and the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line. The Bhusawal Railway Yard is the second largest railway yard in Asia, after the Pandit Din Dayal Upadhyay Junction Railway Yard, Mughalsarai. Bhusawal is the closest junction to Ajanta (83 km away).

Air
Jalgaon Airport is the closest airport to Bhusawal.

Economy
The Railway Coach Factory has been planned to be built here. The city has 2 ordinance factories, out of the 41 factories in India. Bhusawal has a major military base as well. The city has 5 thermal power station units, out of which 4 are operational together with a capacity of over 1420 MW, thus, making it a major contributor to the state's overall electricity generation, providing over 12% of Maharashtra's total power output. A 6th new 660 MW unit is proposed to be developed, which would then take the city's power output to over 2000 MW.

Major industrial facilities include:
 * Bhusawal Thermal Power Station (7 km)
 * Ordnance Factory Bhusawal (8.3 km)
 * Ordnance Factory Varangaon
 * Orient Cement Grinding Unit (12 km)
 * Indian Oil Corporation Limited Depot (15 km)
 * Railway's Zonal Training School
 * Electric Locomotive Workshop Bhusawal

Bhusawal is known for its banana cultivation. The city is a major exporter of banana, with more than 40% of the state's banana cultivation in the Jalgaon district. Traders visit Bhusawal to buy raw bananas. Bhusawal is also known for its special white brinjals (eggplant).