Karad

Karad is a town in Satara district of Indian state 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. 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.

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. Located to the south west of Karad is Karad Caves, also known as Aghashiv Caves.

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.

Geography
Karad is located at 17.28°N, 74.2°W. It has an average elevation of 566 metres (1857 feet). Karad is located near Agashiva caves 17.23751°N, 74.15205°W.

Nearest Cities

 * Satara: 51km
 * Palus : 38km
 * Uran Islampur : 34km
 * Kolhapur : 64km

Tourism
Tourist places in and around Karad are: (Distance in Km)
 * Preeti Sangam (Krishna-Koyna Confluence) – 2 km
 * Krishnamai Temple – 2 km
 * Pritisangam Udyan – 2 km
 * Late Yashwantrao Chavan's Samadhi – 2 km
 * Historical Monument 'Manore' (2 Minars) – 2 km
 * Naktya Ravlyachi Vihir (Ancient Well) – 2 km
 * Masjid Built by Sultan Ali Adilshah (1557- 1580) – 2 km
 * Sadashivgad – 5 km
 * Khodshi Dam – 5 km
 * Agashiv Caves – 5 km
 * Vasantgad – 15 km
 * Talbid (Ram Mandir) – 15 km
 * Sar-Senapati Hambirrao Mohite Samadhi – 15 km
 * Chauranginath Temple, Sonsal – 20 km
 * Ramling Bet, Bahe – 30 km
 * Shri Khandoba Devsthan, Pal – 30 km
 * Ram Mandir Chaphal – 30 km
 * Yamai Mandir, Aundh – 35 km
 * Uttarmand Dam – 35 km
 * Sagareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary Palus – 30 km
 * Valmiki Temple – 45 km
 * Chandoli National Park Shirala – 49 km
 * Chandoli Dam Shirala – 50 km
 * Koyna Dam – 60 km
 * Nawja Waterfall – 65 km

Cityscape
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:


 * Karad Court, Karad
 * Diwani -Foujdari Court, Karad
 * Doordarshan Kendra, Karad
 * Fire- Brigade, Karad
 * Division Office, Karad
 * Tehsil Office, Karad
 * Khashaba Chounk
 * Panchayat Samiti, Karad
 * Government Rest House, Karad
 * City Police Station, Karad
 * Taluka Police Station, Karad
 * Head Post Office, Karad
 * Railway Station, Karad
 * Airport, Karad
 * MSRTC Depot, Karad
 * Cottage Hospital, Karad
 * RTO Office, Karad
 * Taswade MIDC, Karad
 * Nagarpalika, Karad
 * Town Hall, Karad

Demographics
India census, 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.

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.

Railways

 * Karad – 4 km from city

Karad has railway station situated near ogalewadi about 04 km distance on the Karad Vita road from Karad Bus stand. Karad is onroute from Mumbai to Miraj, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Bangalore (some trains). You can reach Karad from Mumbai or Pune easily by road or rail (Mahalaxmi Express, Koyna Express,"Goa Express", Sahyadri Express or Chalukya Express).

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has allocated funds for a plan to build a new 112 km railway line between Karad and Chiplun.


 * Nearest railway junction

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.
 * Miraj – 72 km




 * Railway Time Table Karad


 * Towards Miraj


 * Towards Pune

Performing arts
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.

Literature
Karad has a tradition of literature lovers. The prestigious 76th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was held at banks of Krishna river in Karad in 2003.

Notable people

 * 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.
 * 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.