47 CHAPTER NO . 3 PROFILE OF SATARA DISTRICT 3.1 Introduction :- Every district presents its own particular situation in its own special way. Its uniqueness can firstly be attributed to its natural situation. Because primarily human society tends to adjust itself to its natural environment which is not homogeneous at all over the world. Even in any district the element of heterogeneity is distinctly marked. Some parts of the districts are more advanced while in other part, where rigours of climate make life of people more difficult, remains naturally backward. Thus geographical conditions by and large determine the state of society. As time advances and human culture matures, the human element becomes more influential source in bringing about all sided development of the region and it is partly to be understood in terms of natural or environmental relationship and partly in terms of kind, character and qualities of the people. In order to understand the history – educational, social, economical, political, of a district it becomes imperative to have thorough study of its local, physical as well as socio-economic aspect. Such studies also help us to understand the relationship between co-relation and socio-economic life of the people. 3.2 Brief History of the Satara District :- “Inscriptions as old as 200 B.C. reveal that probably the oldest known place in Satara district is Karad (mentioned as Karhakada ). It is also believed that Wai in Satara district is the “Viratanagari” where Pandavas lived in the 13 th year of their exile. 1 “In the Deccan, the Mauryan Empire was followed by the rule of Satvahanas. For about two centuries (between 550 A.D. tc 750 A.D.) Satara, also known as the Southern Maharatra, was ruled by Chalukyas of Bahamani and later by Rastrakutas, Silhars and Yadavas of Devgiri, the Bahamanis, Adil
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47
CHAPTER NO . 3
PROFILE OF SATARA DISTRICT
3.1 Introduction :-
Every district presents its own particular situation in its own special
way. Its uniqueness can firstly be attributed to its natural situation. Because
primarily human society tends to adjust itself to its natural environment which
is not homogeneous at all over the world. Even in any district the element of
heterogeneity is distinctly marked. Some parts of the districts are more
advanced while in other part, where rigours of climate make life of people
more difficult, remains naturally backward. Thus geographical conditions by
and large determine the state of society.
As time advances and human culture matures, the human element
becomes more influential source in bringing about all sided development of the
region and it is partly to be understood in terms of natural or environmental
relationship and partly in terms of kind, character and qualities of the people.
In order to understand the history – educational, social, economical,
political, of a district it becomes imperative to have thorough study of its local,
physical as well as socio-economic aspect. Such studies also help us to
understand the relationship between co-relation and socio-economic life of the
people.
3.2 Brief History of the Satara District :-
“Inscriptions as old as 200 B.C. reveal that probably the oldest known
place in Satara district is Karad (mentioned as Karhakada ). It is also believed
that Wai in Satara district is the “Viratanagari” where Pandavas lived in the
13th
year of their exile. 1
“In the Deccan, the Mauryan Empire was followed by the rule of
Satvahanas. For about two centuries (between 550 A.D. tc 750 A.D.) Satara,
also known as the Southern Maharatra, was ruled by Chalukyas of Bahamani
and later by Rastrakutas, Silhars and Yadavas of Devgiri, the Bahamanis, Adil
48
shahi, Shivaji (Maratha rule), Shahu Ram Raja and Shahu – II Pratapsinh.
Princely state of Satara came under British rule on 10th
February 1818”.2
“The district of Satara came into existence in 1848 on the death of
Chhatrapati Shahu Raje alias Appasaheb Raje of satara”.3 Mr. Frere was the
first commissioner. It was firstly named as Satara Province and not as
collectorate or district.
As to its name the Satara district Gazetteer has been observed as follows
“District Satara so called from the seven walls towards the gates which the
Satara fort was supposed to possess”.4 some other sources claim that the word
Satara is derived from the “Saptarishi” god whose temple is built on the fort
which was called “Sapt- tara” and Satara is derived from ‘Sapt – tara’. Thus
there is a great deal of controversy about the name of Satara. It is now well
accepted thing that the Chhatrapati Rajaram (1789-1800) made it the capital of
his kingdom by the turn of the 18th
century A.D. and since then it became the
capital of Maratha Empire. When the British Government annexed this
territory, they made Satara City as their headquarters.
In 1848, the Satara Province comprised of eleven sub-divisions namely
Bijapur (now a part of Karnataka state), Jaoli, Karad , Khanapur, Khatav,
Koregav, Pandharpur, Satara, Targaon, Walwa, and Wai. In 1856 twelve new
mahals were formed and these were pimpaude in koregon, Khandala in Wai,
Bamnoli in Jaoli, Kole in Karad, Shirala and Peth in Walwa, Helwak in
Targaon, Mayni in Khanapur, Natepute and Pusegaon in Khatav and Sangola
and Bhalvani in Pandharpur. The sub-divisional boundaries were again over-
hauled in the year 1862 and then the Satara Province included the sub-divisions
of Bijapur, Jaoli, Karad, Khanapur, Khatav, Koregaon, Malshiras, Man,
Pandharpur, Patan, Satara, Targaon, Walwa, Wai and Khandala Peta in Wai
and Shirala Peta in Walwa. In the same year Bijapur Sub-division was
transferred to belgaum district (now in Karnataka state). Tasgaon taluka was
transferred to Satara Province from Belgaun in 1863 and Pandharpur was
transferred to solapur in 1864. Tasagaon Sub-division got abolished in 1867.
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Malshiras was transferred to solapur in 1875 and Malcompeth peta (later
named as Mahabaleshwar) was formed in 1884. Khandala Peta was abolished
in 1927 and was reconstituted in 1947” 5
“Consequent upon the merger of former Indian states, the district
received parts of Phaltan, Jamkhindi, Akkalkot, Bhor, Aundh, Sangli and one
village from Pune district. A New taluka Phaltan was created in 1949. In the
same year the district was bifurgated in the two, North Satara and South Satara.
The south Satara with its head-quarters at Sangli included four talukas namely
Khanapur, Tasgon, Walwa, and Shirala Peta. The remaining portion of the
Satara district was called as North Satara district. In 1958 one village from
khanapur taluka of South Satara district was transferred to Karad taluka of
North Satara district. With the reorganization of states in 1956. both the
districts were included in Bombay state. Since 1960, they form parts of
Maharashtra state and in the same year i.e. 1960, the name of North Satara
district was changed to Satara district and that of south Satara to Sangli
district.”6
At the time of 1961 census, Satara district comprised of nine talukas and
two mahals which among themselves included 1960 inhabited villages and ten
towns. During 1961-71 the mahals were up-graded as talukas thus raising their
number to eleven. At the time of 1971 census, the district had eleven tahsils
comprising 1167 villages and 14 towns. Since then, the number of tahsils in the
district has remained unchanged till the reference date of March 1st 2001.
However, there have been certain changes as to the number of villages within
the tahsils during the previous decade. With the upgrading of hamlets (wadis)
in the district, the number of villages has gone up to 1739. Consequent upon
the declassification of five towns and with the creator of one town qualified the
specific criteria to be declared as town, the number of towns in the district has
gone down from 14 in 1971 to 10 in 1991. At present according to 2001 census
the district has 15 towns and 1739 villages in 11 Tahasils.
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3.3 Location of the Satara district :-
The satara district is situated partly in the Bhima river basin and partly
in the Krishna river basin. The tahsils Khandala, Phaltan and Man are situated
in the Bhima river Basin, while the rest of the Tahsils are situated in the upper
Krishna basin. The Satara district is situated on the west and deccan plateau
and is surrounded by Pune district on the North, by the Solapur district on the
East, by Sangli district on the South and by the district of Sindhudurg,
Ratnagiri and Raigad on the West. 1st
Locations of Dairy Unions
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“The Satara district lies between 1705
’’and 18
0 11” north latitude and 73
0
33”and 74
0 54
” east longitude”
7. (See. Fig.1) According to 2001census the
District Satara covers an area of 10484 sq. kilometers and has a population of
28,09,000 out of the total geographical area of 10484 sq. kilometer, 10123.5 sq.
kilometers is rural and 360.5 sq kilometers is urban area. It occupies 3.41
percent part of the Maharashtra state and 2.89 per cent of the total Population
of the state.
The Satara town is located on the National Highway No. 4 with nearest
railway connection at Satara railway station of the south central railway at a
distance of three kilometers.
3.4 Main Physical Features :-
3.4.1. Hill Ranges :-
There are two main systems of hills in the Satara district. The Sahyadri
range and its off shoots, and the Mahadeo range and its off-shoots. The main
range of Sahyadri with a length of about 96 kilometers from north to South
forms the Western boundary of this district. The Mahadeo range starts about 16
kilometers north of Mahableshwar and stretches east and southeast across the
whole breadth of the district. From this range three spurs strench to the south of
the district hills in the district are very low, barren and rugged-except near
Mahabaleshwar and Koyna valley. The top of Mahabaleshwar the highest point
in the district is about 1436 meters above the mean sea level. Mahabaleshwar is
one of the most attractive hill stations in the state hill ranges .
3.4.2 Rivers:-
The Krishna is the principle river of the Satara district. The other
important rivers are the Koyna, The Nira, the Man, the Kudali, the Venna, the
Urmodi, the Vasna, the Yerala and the Tarali.
A) The Krishna:-
“The river Krishna rises in the eastern brow of Mahableshwar plateau
with it source at about 1371 metres above mean sea level. The drainage system
of the Krishna river includes, besides the drainage system, the drainage of
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seven feeders, namely, the Kudali, the Venna, the Urmodi, the Tarali, and the
Koyna on the right bank and the Vasana and the Yerala on the left”.8
From the
source the Krishna flows for nearly 160 kilometers through the Satara district
and enters thereafler into the adjoining Sangli district. The Krishna river is one
of the important rivers of Southern India.
B) The Koyana:-
The Koyana is the largest feeder of the Krishna River in the district. It
rises in the Mahabaleshwar Plateau, runs towards south up to Helwak in Patan
tehsil, where it changes its course and flows towards east and falls into the
Krishna at Karad. Today the Koyana has become the most important river in
the state of Maharashtra on account of the Hydro-Electric Project. And Koyana
dam with capacity of 105 TMC where Koyana is regarded as the life line of
Maharashtra.
C) The Nira :-
The Nira river flows on the northern boundary of the district and is the
main river which flows in the southeast as tributaries of Bhima which itself
meets the Krishna. These rivers go dry during summer.
3.4.3 Soils :-
The soils of the Satara district fall under the deccan trap and it is
observed to be of varied textures. In the west, the soil in Mahabaleshwar, Wai,
Jaoli and Patan tahsils is formed from the red laterite of the ghats. It is thin and
poor on the hill slopes, but gets richer, where natural or artificial terracing has
accumulated soil with vegetable matter drained by rain waters. Rich black soil
is found in the low lands of the valleys of Krishna, Venna, Kudali, Koyana
rivers in wai, Jaoli and Patan tahsils.
The central portion of the district consists of medium to black alluvial
soil. “Krishna valley soils are said to be one of the richest in the Deccan and
the portion which lies in Satara and Karad tahsils is reported as the richest in
the Krishna valley”.9 For the most part it is the finest, black alluvial soil highly
retentive of moisture and very fertile.
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The soil in Khandala and Phaltan tahsils is poor and stony in the vicinity
of the hills, but there are good black soils along the Nira and its tributary
streams. In the eastern part of Khandala tahsil the soil is poor, shallow and
whitish but it is capable of growing wheat if adequate water is available.
Towards the east of the Krishna valley the soil is poor with the
exception of wide streteches of good black soil along the numerous streams and
rivers in Koregaon tahsil.
In Khatav tahasil, Soils are of intermediate depth and more widely
spreading than Man tahsil but not as rich as in Koregaon tahasil. In Man
tahasil, the soils are extremely poor and shallow. Good soil is found only in
narrow strips along the streams.
3.5 Climate : -
The climate of this district is on the whole agreeable. The district neither
experiences abrupt changes of temperature nor extremes of heat and cold. The
year may be divided broadly into four seasons. The rainy season starts from
middle of June and ends by September .It is followed by sultry weather from
October till the middle of November, winter from November to January, dry
hot time from February to March and hot weather from April to middle of June.
Within the district, the seasons show local variations. In the Western Part
climate is cool and healthy as compared to that in the eastern part. The plains of
wai have temperate climate-throughout the year. In the central part there is
considerable heat during hot months. In general, warmth increases as one
proceeds from western to eastern part.
The rainfall is not uniform throughout the district. It is very heavy in the
western region and it goes on receding towards eastern part. The extreme
western part gets over 5000 mm. of rainfall, while the eastern part receives
rainfall between 1200 mm to 2000 mm. In the central zone the rainfall varies
between 600 mm to 1200 mm. The normal annual rainfall is maximum (6209
mm) in Mahabaleshwar and minimum (473. mm) in Phaltan. The district
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receives nearly 85 per cent of the total rainfall in mansoon season (i.e. from
June to September.)
The Eastern part of the district is prone to scarcity conditions. The fact
finding committee appointed by the state Government has opined that, “ the
tahsils of Khandala, Koregaon, Man and southern part of Khatav and Phaltan
are the prone areas in the district. The areas in Khandala and Man tahsils are
likely to be affected by scarcity conditions once in six years. While areas in
southern part of Phaltan and Khatav tahsils are likely to be affected once in ten
years”.10
3.6 Natural Zones and Their Speacial Features:-
The Satara district can be broadly divided into three zones so as to
compare and contrast its special features. This will help to understand the
regional imbalances in terms of economic, social, cultural and educational
development of the district. These apects of the district have been influenced
by the hill complexes of Sahyadri and the Mahadeo hills originated in
Mahabaleshwar Peta. Sahyadri stretches from the north to south along the
western boundary of the district. The Mahadeo hills spread at the initial stage
towards the east, and then turned to south and the south east boundry of the
district. This has resulted into the formation of these three natural zones viz.,
the western zone, the central zone and eastern zone.
(i) The western zone:-
This zone comprises of Patan, Jaoli, Mahableshwer tahsils and part of
Satara and Wai tahsils. The western zone boardering the Sahyadri ranges
receives rainfall between 1200 mm to 5000 mm. The soil in this zone is thin
and poor on the hill slopes. The agricultural pursuits of this zone are similar to
those of Konkan tract. Rice, Jowar, Vari, Nachani, Wheat and Pulses are the
main crops of this zone. The villages and hamlets are to be found on the sumit
and valleys of the hills. Transport and communication facilities in this zone are
poor as compared to other parts of the district. The area in this zone is covered
by thick forest.
55
(ii) Central zone:-
This zone covers the areas of tahsils of Koregaon and Karad and eastern
parts of Satara and Wai tahsils. It is Known as ‘Krishna Khore’. Though not
quite plain it is free from forests and hills. The area is generally flat. The soil
and rain-fall are very congenial to better agricultural productions. The rainfall
varies between 600 mm to 1200 mm. per year. Transport facilities are very
good. The railway line was started in 1886 and other roads are good for means
of communication. The main crops of this zone are Jowar, Wheat, Groundnut
and Sugarcane etc.
(iii) The Eastern Zone:-
The eastern zone comprises of Phaltan, Khatav and Man tahsils and
eastern part of Khandala tahsil. The soil is poor and shallow. The rainfall is not
certain and the annual average rainfall received by this zone is less than 600
mm. This is prone to scarcity conditions as whatever rainfall it receives is not
assured. The main crop of this zone is Bajara. But wheat, Sugarcane and Jowar
are grown on irrigated land. The principle industry other than agriculture is
sheep rearing, wool spinning, Kambali weaving etc.
3.7 Minerals :-
There are no minerals except building stone, limestone, and little iron
deposits in 20 villages of Jaoil tahsil and 30 villages in Patan Tahsil. Building
stone, sand of good quality and limestone are available all over the district.
Good clay for bricks and tiles is found on the river banks.
3.8 Forests :-
In the year 2008-09there was 1277 Sq k.m geographical area of the
district under forests. It is scattered over the entire district. These forests belong
to three groups. (i) the evergreen Sahyadri forests, (ii) the plantation on the
slopes of the off-shoots of sahyadri hills that run east and (iii) bush sprinkled
hills to the east of Krishna.
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The evergreen forests of the Sahyadri range form a belt along the west
of the district 10 to 22 kilometers broad. These forests extend without a break
through the whole length of the district. They contain many trees valuable both
as timber and firewood. The chief of these are Jambool, Anjan, Umbar, Kenjal,
Hirada, Phanas, Shikekai, Apta, Temburni leaves. Teak is found in the second
group of forest lands. These forests are much broken by patches of cultivated
land. The forests of the third group are only sprinkled with bush and are very
much scattered.
3.9 Agriculture:-
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in the district. Out of the
total main working population 69.96 percent population in the district is
engaged in agriculture. The district has nearly 7,99,266 hectares (75.53
percent) area under cultivation out of the total geographical area (10,58,243.00
hectares) of the district. Within the district the proportion of cultivable land to
the total land is highest i.e. 11.44 percent in Khatav tahsil and the lowest i.e.
0.96 percent in Mahabaleshwar tahsil. Other tahsils where proportion of
cultivable area exceeds the district average are Satara – 6.29 percent, Koregaon