Dahanu
Encyclopedia
Dahanu is a coastal city and a municipal council
Municipal council
A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

 in Thane district
Thane District
Thane is a district in northern Maharashtra state in western India. As of 2011 it is the most populated district in the nation. The headquarters of the district is the city of Thane. Other major cities in the district are Navi Mumbai , Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar,...

  in the western state of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

The Town

The name "Dahanu Gaon" originates from the word "Dhenu Gram" meaning the village of cows
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

. A lot of cattle, particularly cows were owned by the people in Dahanu. Today, Dahanu has become a major commercial and industrial town in the Thane district. It is well known for rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...

 gardens,coconut grooves and the chickoo fruit and accounts for over 35% of India's chickoo production. Rubber balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...

s, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 mills and manufactured goods, are major manufacturing products which are produced in Dahanu. There is also a 500-MW power plant
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....

 that supplies electricity to Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

. The electricity is distributed by Reliance Energy
Reliance Energy
Reliance Infrastructure, formerly known as Reliance Energy and prior to that as Bombay Suburban Electric Supply , Its India's largest private sector enterprise in power utility and its a company under the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group banner, one of India's largest conglomerates. The...

. It was formerly owned by the government.

Colleges

There are 3 colleges in Dahanu:-
  • S.R.K College in Masoli(Vadkun)
  • Ponda College near Dahanu beach
  • P G Junior College, Bordi.

English middle schools

There are also English middle schools including
  • St. Mary's High School
  • H.M.P High School
  • Shirin Diniyar Iranis Learners Academy

Other Schools

1. Pujya Acharya Bhise Vidyalay Kasa
2. Balakanji Bari High School Bapugaon
3. Surya nagar High school Waghadi
4. K.L. Ponda High School, Parnaka, Dahanu
5. H & H J Vakil Model High School.
6. S P H Highschool, Bordi

Social Entrepreneurship

The virtual platform for social developement activities, AYUSH group is initiated by tribal youth from Dahanu taluka. AYUSH is stands for Adivasi Yuva Shakti, a online platform with technological touch for tribal development activities. Base operated from Waghadi, near Kasa about 25 km from Dahanu Station. This group has initiated various program for guiding rural students, preserving tribal art & culture.

Industries

The BSES (Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply) PowerPlant was renamed as Reliance Energy Power Plant in the year 2005. Dahanu is a coastal region, the staple food of the people living there is rice and fish. Dahanu Road railway station is the last main station within boundary of Maharashtra State en route Mumbai Vadodara Western Railway line. Many Express trains halt at this station. Weather here is very pleasant in the winters. Dahanu is also famous for the tribal people called adivasis. Dahanu and surrounding area is designated by the government of India as an ecologically fragile zone, to protect the greenery from industrial pollution. Dahanu Road also has many balloon factories in the Masoli area. Industrial development received a setback from new ecological regulations hence tourism, animal husbandry, fishing, small scale units and farming are the only industries where expansion can take place.

Temples

Some of the famous temples :[Mahalakshmi Temple], Mata Mahalaxmi & Mahalaxmi Gadh, Santoshi Temple-Ashagadh, Sai Baba Temple- Narpad, Shri Kevda Devi Mandir -Agar Road, Jagrut Hanuman Mandir - Agar & Waghadi, Mata Saptashrungi Mandir Nikane,Shri Gajanan Maharaj Mandir - Parnaka. Shree Ram mandir-Ramwadi,Dahanu Road (East).

Jain Temples
The old Jain temple in Dahanu Gaon (Fort Area) has recently completed 100 years and is now included in Jain Tirth (Teerths) It is a Chandraprabhu Swami's temple and also has idols of Dadaguru Dev.

The newly constructed temple at Kosbad Hill is an attraction for people from Mumbai and Surat as there are many visitors on Sundays. Tour organisers arrange a single day picnic from Mumbai and they come in numbers every weekends.

There is a famous 'Vishveshwar Temple' in Dahanu Gaon and a beautiful Ganesh Temple near Dahanu Fort.

Geography

Dahanu is located at 19.97°N 72.73°E. It has an average elevation of 9.89 metres. To the west of the town is the beautiful coast of the Arabian sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...

 while the east is lined with the magnificent Sahyadri ranges. This unique combination has made Dahanu a major tourist attraction. Sprawling Chickoo wadis (farms), rose gardens, salt pans are among the other things that dot the landscape.

The Dahanu beach is an extensive 15 km stretch - lined by coconut and "suru" trees.this is mostly crowded on the weekend when people from the metropolitian city of mumbai come to visit as it is a short commute.the other days life is very laidback and the beach doesnt see much tourist crowd except inhabitants of dahanu.there are horse,camel and weekend fairs on the beach.

Demographics

India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Dahanu had a population of 1,27,000. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Dahanu has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77% and, female literacy is 64%. In Dahanu, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Art & Culture

The people in dahanu taluka are mostly tribals, mostly inhibiting rural areas and having daily commute to urban areas for work. tribal culture is dominant in the talk and customs.the tribal art mostly predominantly shows village life and the day to day functions. The original people of this land are tribals. World famous tribal art "warli
Warli
The Warlis or are an Indian indigenous people, who live mostly in Dahanu and Talasari talukas of the northern Thane district, parts of Nashik and Dhule districts of Maharashtra, Valsad District of Gujarat, and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. They have their own...

art" originated here.many foreign students have resided in the tribal settlements for learning warli art. Similarly Tarpa dance and Dhole dance are famous all over the world.

Festivals

  1. Koli Bhaji
  2. Nag Panchami
  3. Gauri Ganapati
  4. Sakar Chuvat
  5. Nava Bhat Khane
  6. Sarvapitari Avas or Omasya
  7. Dival Baras or Bagh Baras
  8. Dasara
  9. Divali
  10. Saticha Deva
  11. Sakrat
  12. Holi or Simga
  13. Mahi Bij
  14. Gudi Padwa
  15. Akhati
  16. Boida
  17. Khalyacha Deva
  18. Shri Ram navami
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