Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Ichalkaranji - Introduction

A Town Ichalkaranji is located in Kolhapur district in Western Maharashtra, India, on the bank Panchaganga River. The town is situated on the eastern region of Sahyadri Mountains.

The name ‘Ichalkaranji’ is a compilation of three different words i.e. Ichy, Uchi and Karanji - these were the three small villages which existed during the 18th century.

Ichalkaranji is known as the Manchester of Maharashtra. Ichalkaranji is a Princely state situated on the banks of Panchganga River (Marathi: पंचगंगानदी).

For the last two centuries it was ruled by the Ghorpade dynasty. Shrimant Narayanrao Babasaheb Ghorpade wasthe chief of state. He was liable for developing the Ichalkaranji village into an Imperative Industrial town. He is amongst the one who contributed liberal donations to educational Institutions throughout the country. He was the main founder of inspiration for the progress of both the decentralized textile industry as well as the co-operative movement.

Other than textiles, the economy is now booming with diversified industries like auto components manufacturers, educational institutes, foundry, food industry, green houses, sugar factory, etc.

Ichalkaranji has been awarded the ‘Best Town’ under Gadgebaba Cleanliness Mission.

Ichalkaranji is well connected by road and railway to the near-by cities of Kolhapur (23 km), Sangli (30 km), Belgaum (110 km), and Pune (240 km). The Pune-Bangalore national highway is at a distance of 20 km. The nearest airport is of Kolhapur at 22 km.

Ichalkaranji is also well-known for cultural activities. The classical vocal singing was pioneered in Ichalkaranji by Pandit BalkrishnaBua and the tradition continues till today. There are academies like Pandit BalkrishnaBua Sangeet Sadhana Mandal, Ghorpade Natyagruha, Samarth Kala Mahavidyalay which is spreading the Indian art forms in the young generation.

Textiles are the backbone of the economy in Ichalkaranji. Ichalkaranji city is supposed a place amongst the cities having highest per capita income in the country. It is the fastest growing industrial area in western Maharashtra. 


Earlier, Ichalkaranji was famous for cotton cloths, dhotis and saris. With the changing market situation, it produces not only cotton but also suiting, shirting, denim cloth, canvas, cambric, etc. as it has made a remarkable development in terms of technology. 

Ichalkaranji boasts of approximately 2-2.5 lakhs of Power looms and 50k Semi-auto looms. There are 7 yarn Spinning mills in and around Ichalkaranji. It also has 4 textile parks coming-up in its environs. Ichalkaranji surely has obtained a place in the textile map of the World. Because of all these ventures, Ichalkaranji is proudly known as the ‘Manchester City’ of Maharashtra.

For more info, plz visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichalkaranji 

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