Khopoli
Encyclopedia
Khopoli is an industrial town in the Khalapur
taluka of Raigad
district, in the India
n state of Maharashtra
, at the base of the Sahyadri mountains
. Patalganga River
which is the tailrace channel of Tata Hydroelectric Power station flows through Khopoli.
It is a municipal council
and is a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region
. Khopoli Municipal council covers an area of 30 km2. The president of Khopoli Municipal Council is Noorjahan Yasin Shiekh.
Khopoli is connected to the Mumbai suburban railway by a single line from Karjat
. The distance between CST
to Khopoli is 114.24 km along the Central Railway Suburban Line which is a broad gauge
line carrying electric locomotives
.
It is also located on NH 4
, about 80 km south of Mumbai
.
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A colonial source describes Khopoli as follows:
There was an annachatra or a free feeding house, in the vicinity of the Mahadev
temple, but by 1882 all that remained of it were huge grinding stones.
The GIPR
line was extended to Khopoli in 1856.
Khopoli is the site of the first privately owned hydroelectric
power station
in India built by Tatas.
, Khopoli had a population of 58,657. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Khopoli has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 68%. Thirteen per cent of the population is under 6 years of age.
as Vireshwar built by Nana Phadnavis. The reservoir is built of solid and strong black rock and is oval shaped. The circumference of the reservoir is about 1207 m and it covers an area of about 75000 sq m. The reservoir holds excellent water throughout the year. The reservoir has surrounding walls also built in stone and are of a width of about 1.5 m to 1.8 m. The reservoir has stone steps leading to the water. The temple is of a height of about 22.9 m m from the base to the top and the foundation measures 12.2 m x 6.1 m. Inside is the image of God Shiva. The Sabha mandap measures about 6.1 m x 3.1 m. At the entrance of the temple is a samadhi. A fair is held in honour of the temple deity on Mahasivaratri day - Maagha
Vadya 13.
The Gagangiri Maharaj Ashram is located in Khopoli, it is here that Gagangiri Maharaj
died on 4 February 2008.
The Akhil Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangham, includes the Ayyappa Temple, in its list of Ayappa temples in India and abroad.
Rangayan Pratishthan, works in the field of dramatics, with the purpose of giving a forum to artists to perform professionally. It organises theater workshops in Khopoli.
Khalapur
Khalapur is a census town in Panvel subdivision of Raigad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a suburb of Karjat. It is an industrial area with many chemical, plastic and steel units....
taluka of Raigad
Raigarh
Raigarh is a city and a Municipal Corporation in Raigarh district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarter of Raigarh district.-History:...
district, in the 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...
n 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...
, at the base of the Sahyadri mountains
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
. Patalganga River
Patalganga River
Patalganga river is a river that rises in the steep western scarps of the Matheran uplands where it branches off from the main ridge near Khopoli and maintains a general westward flow till it joins the Dharamtar Creek with a wide estuary...
which is the tailrace channel of Tata Hydroelectric Power station flows through Khopoli.
It is a municipal council
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and is a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region
Mumbai Metropolitan Region
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region /Mumbai Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area consisting of the metropolis of Mumbai and its satellite towns. Developing over a period of about 20 years, it consists of seven municipal corporations and fifteen smaller municipal councils...
. Khopoli Municipal council covers an area of 30 km2. The president of Khopoli Municipal Council is Noorjahan Yasin Shiekh.
Khopoli is connected to the Mumbai suburban railway by a single line from Karjat
Karjat
Karjat is a city, a Municipal Council, a Tahsil and a sub-district in Raigad district, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Geography:...
. The distance between CST
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus , is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. Situated in the Bori Bunder area of Mumbai, it was built as a new railway station on the location of the Bori Bunder Station in 1887...
to Khopoli is 114.24 km along the Central Railway Suburban Line which is a broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
line carrying electric locomotives
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
.
It is also located on NH 4
National Highway 4 (India)
National Highway 4 is a major National Highway in Western and Southern India. NH 4 links four of the 10 most populous Indian cities - Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai. NH 4 is in length and passes through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.NH 4 constitutes...
, about 80 km south of 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...
.
Geography and History
Khopoli is located at 18°45' N, 73°20'. It is situated at about 61 m above mean sea level. It falls under three Pin codes Khopoli 410203, Khopoli Power House 410204 and Jagdish Nagar 410216. STD code for Khopoli is (0)2192.There was an annachatra or a free feeding house, in the vicinity of the Mahadev
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
temple, but by 1882 all that remained of it were huge grinding stones.
The GIPR
Great Indian Peninsular Railway
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway was a predecessor of the Indian Central Railway, whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Bombay . The Great Indian Peninsula Railway was incorporated on August 1, 1849 by an act of the British Parliament. It had a share capital of 50,000 pounds...
line was extended to Khopoli in 1856.
Khopoli is the site of the first privately owned hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
in India built by Tatas.
Demographics
In the 2001 India censusCensus
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...
, Khopoli had a population of 58,657. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Khopoli has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 68%. Thirteen per cent of the population is under 6 years of age.
Industries in Khopoli Municipal limits
The factories in Khopoli Municipal Limits are:- Alta Laboratories Limited, a leading bulk chemical manufacturer and a pioneer and still India's largest producer of Salicylic Acid and its various derivatives.
- Bombay Oxygen Limited
- Government Milk Scheme, Khopoli.
- Innovassynth Technologies Limited (Formerly Indian Organic Chemicals)
- Isibars Limited, Special Steels Division
- Mahindra Ugine Steel Company LimitedMahindra Ugine SteelMahindra Ugine Steel is a manufacturer of specialty steel, stampings, and rings headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group, one of India's largest industrial houses....
- Mohan Rockey Spring Water Breweries Limited
- Tata Hydro Electric Power Supply Company Limited
- Wartsila India Limited, Wartsila Corp, its parent company, is a Finland-based equipment and turnkey solutions provider, it plans to convert this unit into a global manufacturing and sourcing unit by 2012.
- Wheelabrator Alloy Castings Limited
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited
- Zenith Steel Pipes Limited
Educational institutions in Khopoli
Various institutions run schools, colleges and a polytechnic.Khalapur Taluka Shikshan Prasarak Mandal
Khalapur Taluka Shikshan Prasarak Mandal runs the following institutions in Khopoli- Sahyadri Vidyalaya
- Janata Vidyalaya (Marathi Medium School)
- Khopoli Polytechnic, Khopoli - an unaided polytechnic which operates in two shifts. Diploma courses are offered in Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics & Tele Comm., Electrical Power System, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering. The total intake is 510 students. It is a study centre for Yeshwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University programmes in science and technology.
- K.M.C College (Affiliated to Mumbai University)
Culture and religion
Khopoli has a "fine oval shaped reservoir" and a temple of God MahadevShiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
as Vireshwar built by Nana Phadnavis. The reservoir is built of solid and strong black rock and is oval shaped. The circumference of the reservoir is about 1207 m and it covers an area of about 75000 sq m. The reservoir holds excellent water throughout the year. The reservoir has surrounding walls also built in stone and are of a width of about 1.5 m to 1.8 m. The reservoir has stone steps leading to the water. The temple is of a height of about 22.9 m m from the base to the top and the foundation measures 12.2 m x 6.1 m. Inside is the image of God Shiva. The Sabha mandap measures about 6.1 m x 3.1 m. At the entrance of the temple is a samadhi. A fair is held in honour of the temple deity on Mahasivaratri day - Maagha
Maagha
Maagha is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Maagh is the eleventh month of the year, beginning in January and ending in February....
Vadya 13.
The Gagangiri Maharaj Ashram is located in Khopoli, it is here that Gagangiri Maharaj
Gagangiri Maharaj
-Life:Shri Gagangiri Maharaj was born as Shripad Patankar at Manadure Village in Patan district of South Maharashtra. At the age of seven, he was sent to a Matha of Nath sampradaya which was located a relatively unknown place called Battees-Shirala. At a very early age he took Sannyasa.After taking...
died on 4 February 2008.
The Akhil Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangham, includes the Ayyappa Temple, in its list of Ayappa temples in India and abroad.
Rangayan Pratishthan, works in the field of dramatics, with the purpose of giving a forum to artists to perform professionally. It organises theater workshops in Khopoli.