Thane is situated in the Indian state of Maharashtra at the head of the Thane Creek. This city became popular after the first railway line in the Indian soil. The first train in India ran from Victoria Terminus in Mumbai to Thane on 16^th April 1853. Sahyadri hills lies to its east and the Arabian Sea to its west.

Thane is the headquarters of the district of Thane and this district has a coastal line of about 113 km. On its eastern side lies Pune and Ahmednagar, Nashik is situated to its east and north east, Gujarat and Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the north and Arabian Sea to the north west. Mumbai lies to its south.

Thane is also called as the city of lakes as it has around 30 lakes. The city Shristhanaka served as the capital of Shilahar kings and the name Thane is derived from this name. The city is divided into two by the Thane creek.

History of Thane

This place was referred to as Chersonesus by the Greek geographer Ptolemy in 135 to 150 AD. The Venetian traveler Marco Polo set his foot on this city in 1290 AD and other travelers Ibn Batuta, Abul Feda and Friar Jordanus visited this city between 1321 AD and 1324 AD. Portuguese ruled over this place for more than 200 years from 1530. At that time the place was called as Cacade de Tana. It was ruled over by Maratha kings till 1784. When British captured Thane in 1784 they named it as Tanna.

The population of Thane was just 10,000 when the Thane Municipal Council was formed in 1863. The place was ruled over by Mauryas, Shilahars, Delhi Sultanates, Mughals, Peshwas, Portuguese, Marathas and British. Notable personalities here are King Samprati, King Vikramaditya, King Shripal, Ashoka, Shivaji, Nana Saheb, Chimaji Appa, Peshwa Bajirao I, Marco Polo, Friar Jordanus, Muhammad Tughlaq, Shri Narayanand Maharaj, etc.

Geography and Climate

The city of Thane spreads over 147 square kilometers and the area of the district is 9558 square kilometers. The place is located on the Salsette Island and is located at an elevation of seven meters above sea level. The city is divided by Thane Creek and there are two road bridges and one rail bridge connecting them. The climate on the western coastal plains is humid and warm and that on the eastern slopes of Sahyadri is less humid. There are four distinct seasons in the year, winter season from December to February, summer season from March to June, southwest monsoon season from June to September and post monsoon season from October to November.

The average temperature in summer is 32.9 degree Celsius and that in winter is 16.8 degree Celsius. The average rainfall per year is 2293.4 mm. The southwest monsoon brings 94% of the total rainfall and about 40% of the rainfall is received in July.

The district of Thane comprises of 15 talukas namely Thane, Kalyan, Murbad, Shahapur, Bhiwandi, Vasai, Uthasnagar, Ambarnath, Dahanu, Palghar, Talasari, Jawhar, Mokhada, Wada and Vikramgad and 7 municipal corporations namely Mira-Bhayandar, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivali, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi and Vasai-Virar.

There are many lakes in Thane namely Masunda Talao, Upvan Lake, Kachrali Lake, Makhmali Lake, Ambe Ghonsali Lake, Siddheshwar Lake, Jail Lake, Wagle Lake, Upvan Lake, Yashasvi Nagar Lake, Kausa Lake, Kharegaon Lake, Raila Devi Lake, Rewale Lake, Bramhala Kolbad Lake and Joshi Lake.

There are four Lok Sabha constituencies namely Thane, Kalyan, Bhiwandi and Palghar and 24 assembly seats. The four major national highways, NH 3, NH 4, NH 8 and NH 222 pass through this region.

People and Culture

Roman Catholic people live in large number in Thane and they are both natives and Portuguese people. The total population of the city is 2,486,941 people according to the 2011 census. The density of people is 16,918 per square kilometers. The total population of the Thane district is 11,054,131 with a density of 1,203.2 people per square kilometer. 72.58% of the people live in urban area. The literacy rate of the people is 80.67% and the sex ratio is 858 female per 1000 male.

The main languages spoken here are Marathi, Sindhi, Gujarati and Hindi. The festivals celebrated here are Ganesh Chaturthi, Gokulashtami festival, Diwali, Gudhi Padwa, Durga Puja, Mahashivrathri and Shivaji Jayanthi. The newspapers and magazines published here are Mumbai Mirror, Times of India, Indian Time, Hindustan Times, Mid Day, The Asian Age, Apna Samachar, Dainik Sanatan Prabhat, Maharashtra Times, Deshdoot, Loksatta, Lokmat, Saamna, Hamara Mahanagar, Navbharat Times, Dainik Bhaskar, etc.

There are two stadiums in Thane district namely D. Y. Patil Stadium at Nerul in Navi Mumbai where cricket is played and Dadoji Konddev Sports Stadium at Thane city where cricket, badminton and tennis are played.

Economical and Educational Details About Thane

About 47.37% of the total population of the Thane district constitute the work force and among them 51.75% of the people are involved in agriculture and related activities while 6.19% are engaged in manufacturing sector, service sector and cottage industries. 22.89% of the total work forces are females.

Rice, vari, nachani, urad, moong and kulith are the main crops grown here. Both kharif crops and rabi crops are grown here. In the Palghar and Talasari talukas chickoo orchards are seen and are sent to various parts of India. Other fruits grown are mangoes, papayas, grapefruit, coconut and guavas. Many varieties of bananas namely rajeli, tambeli, mutheli and velchi are grown here.

There are 1548 large scale industries and 18480 small scale industries located in the Thane district. The important industries are drugs, textiles, plastics, rubber, steel, engineering, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers and iron and steel. The important industries located here are Pfizer, Lubrizol India Ltd, NOCIL, Herdillia Chemicals Ltd, BASF India Ltd, Polyolefins Industries Ltd, Star Chemicals, Indofil Chemicals Ltd, Phoenix Chemical Words, Raptakos, Cadbury Fry India Ltd, Brett and Co., etc. These industries are centered around the Belapur Road industrial area and Trans-Thane creek and in Wagle Industrial Estate. The various products manufactured in these industries are handlooms, cocoa, bakery items, sugar confectionery, ice, slaughtering, canning, bobbins, industrial fixtures, veneer, barrels, bamboo, cane basket, etc. The Tarapur Atomic Power Station generating electricity from nuclear energy is situated in the district.

Some of the schools in Thane are DAV Public School, Smt Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Shreerang Vidhyalaya, Saraswati Education, Vasant Vihar High School, Holy Trinity English High School, Arya Cambridge International School, Billabong High International School, Janirs International Residential School, Ram Ratna Vidhya Mandir, Bharat English High School, Dr Bedekar Vidhya Mandir, Maharashtra Vidyalaya, New Kalwa High School, etc.

Some of the colleges located in Thane are Hyderabad National Collegiate Boards Navi Gursahani Law College, VP Mandals Thane Municipal Councils Law College, Dnyanasadhana College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Government Polytechnic, K. B. College of Arts and Commerce, S. C. College for Women, M. H. Junior College, New English Junior College, NKT Thanawala’s, ORD School of Management, PCT’s Veermata Hiraben P. Shah College of Pharmacy, Saraswati Education Society High School and Jr. College, Sheth T. J. Education Society’s Sheth N.K. T. College of Commerce, Vidya Prasarak Mandal’s S. B. N. Bandodkar College of Science, etc.

Some of the engineering colleges in the Thane district are Annasaheb Chudaman Patil College of Engineering, College of Engineering, Belapur, College of Engineering and Technology, Datta Meghe College of Engineering, Fr Conceico Rodrigues Institute of Technology, KC College of Engineering, Lokmanya Tilak College of Engineering, PArshwanath College of Engineering, Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, Saraswati College of Engineering, Shivajirao S Jondhale College of Engineering, Sies Graduate School of Technology, Smt Indira Gandhi College of Engineering, Terna Engineering College, etc.

Internal Infrastructure of Thane

Some of the forts in Thane are Kalyan Fort, Hirakot Fort, Bhairavgad Fort, Kohoj Fort, Asawa Fort, Belapur Fort, Kelva Fort, Hadsar Fort, Padar Fort, Gorakhgad Fort, Mahuli Fort, etc.

Some of the religious places here are Shri Thane Teerth, Shri Vithoba Temple, Laxmi Narayan Temple, St. John’s Baptist Church, Ambarnath Temple, Deobandh Temple, Aagashi Jain Temple, Kopineshwar Temple, Thakurdwar Temple, Mahaganesh Temple, Jumma Masjid, St. James Church, Satoleshwar Mahadev Temple, Balaji Temple, Sheetladevi Temple, etc.

Some of the hills in this place are Naneghat hills, Yeoor Hills, Badlapur Hills, Hanuman Point, Bilya Hills and Malangagad Hills. The beaches here are Dahanu-bordi beach, Satpati beach, Kelva beach and Shirgaon beach. The wildlife sanctuaries near this place are Amala Wildlife Sanctuary and Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary, Har Har Gange Water Falls and Thane Creek.

The shopping malls in Thane are Chander Shopping Mall, Eternity Mall, R Mall, Wonder Mall, Lake City Mall, Korum Mall, Big Mall, High Street Mall, etc. The lodges to stay in this place are Hotel Royal Inn, Satkar Residency, Hotel Sharanam, Hotel Tip Top Plaza, Vihang’s Inn, United – 21, etc.

Some of the restaurants in Thane are Amruta, Hotel Ashish, Hotel Vishal, Nirmal Anand, Ravish, Shanti Sagar, Fishland, Food Inn, Hotel Harihar, Hotel Parimala, Ooen House, Navarang, China Town, Chinese Point, Jain Chinese Food, Grand China, Beijing House, Barbeque Nation, Cantonese, Exotica, Maria Restaurant, Prema Sagar, Tree Top Restaurant, Vardhana Restaurant, Aruna Palace, Y Not Restaurant, Chanakya Bar and Restaurant, Fusion Dhaba, Turning Point, Wine and Dine Restaurant, etc.

Some of the hospitals in Thane are Jupiter Lifeline Hospital, Bethany Hospital, Shree Sai Hospital, Deodhar Hospital, Hiranandani Hospital, Jupiter Hospital, Param Hospital, Medicare Hospital and ICU, Sampada Hospital, Abad’s Prasad, Sai Seva Hospital, C. S. M. Rughnalaya, Bhanushali Hospital, Mamta Hospital, Dr Mahavarkar Hospital, Dr Mhaskar Hospital, Dr Nalavade Hospital, etc.

Almost all the major banks of the nation namely HDFC Bank, Dena Bank, Federal Bank, HSBC Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, ING Vysya Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Hyderabad, Karur Vysya Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, State Bank of India, Punjab and Sindh Bank, IDBI Bank, Central Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Indian Bank, ICICI Bank, etc. have their branches in Thane contributing to the economic growth of the region.

Details About Thane Transport

The first passenger train in India ran between Thane and Victoria Terminus in Mumbai on 16^th April 1853. Thane is connected well with other suburban regions and there are four railway stations in the city namely Thane station, Kalwa station, Mumbra station and Diva staion. The suburban local trains run upwards to CST and downwards to Karjat and Kasara. The Trans-Harbor line runs through Airoli, Ghansoli, Koparkhairane, Turbhe and Sanpada. A light rail network covering 42 km is proposed.

The public bus service is run by Thane Municipal Transport, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Transport, MSRTC and Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Transport. Auto rickshaws and taxis provide local transport. The private cab providers like Coolcabs, Meru, Mega Cabs and Easycabs offer A/c cab facilities. There are an increased number of private vehicles every year creating traffic problems. Many bridges and flyovers are under construction to ease the traffic blockages.

Places of Interest in Thane

Kalyan Fort: This is an ancient fort standing on the ruins.

Hirakot Fort: This is also called as Diamond Fort and was used as town jail earlier now serving as the offices of the Police Inspector and Prant Officer.

Bhairavgad Fort: This is situated at an elevation of 2800 feet in the Malshej region and has Bhairav cave and other rock cut caves and carved pillars.

Jumma Masjid: This is a famous mosque located in Mohagir Guftar and has a Dargal of Nuribaba in it.

Amala Wildlife Sanctuary: This is situated in the Khodala area in Thane spreading over 15 acres. Jackals, hyena, antelopes, monkeys and bison and many varieties of birds are seen here.

Tansa Wildlife Sancturary: This spreads about 320 square kilometers and houses panther, mouse deer, wild boar, antelope, chital, sambhar deer, hare, leopard, etc.

Har Har Gange Water Falls: This is the India’s largest artificial waterfall located at Suraj Water Park with a height of 82 feet and width of 88 feet. 350 people can bath at the same time in the pool.

Thane Creek: this is one of the bird conservation sites in India and serves as a home of over 205 species of birds including some rare species like golden plover, hoopoe, avocet, dunlin, white stork, Asian open bill stork, flamingo, ruddy turnstone and whistling teals.

All these details about Thane will help people visiting Thane.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On January 04, 2012lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/all-details-about-thane-article-403.htm

Keywords :
ALL DETAILS ABOUT THANE , about thane , Thane information