Valsad district is one of the 33

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

in the Western Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. It is bound by Navsari district to the north,

Nashik district Nashik district, also known as Nasik district, is a district in Maharashtra, India. The city of Nashik is the administrative headquarters of the district. Nashik is well known for the production of wine. Nashik is also known as Mini Maharashtra, ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

state to the east, and

Dadra and Nagar Haveli Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a district of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in western India. It is composed of two separate geographical entities: Nagar Haveli, wedged in between Maharashtra and Gujarat states t ...

district of the

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a union territory in India. The territory was constituted through the merger of the former territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Plans for the proposed merger were announced by t ...

(DNHDD) union territory and the

Palghar district Palghar District (Marathi pronunciation: aːlɡʱəɾ is a district in the state of Maharashtra in Konkan Division. On 1 Aug 2014, the State government of Maharashtra announced the formation of the 36th district of Maharashtra Palghar, it wa ...

of Maharashtra to the south. The

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

lies west of the district. The coastal

Daman Daman may refer to: place Places *Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, a union territory in India **Daman and Diu, former union territory of India, now part of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu **Daman district, India ***Daman, India ...

enclave of DNHDD is bounded by Valsad district on the north, east, and south. The district's administrative capital is

Valsad Valsad (Pronunciation: �alsɑɖ (Gujarati: વલસાડ), historically known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the district headquarters of Valsad district. The city of Vals ...

. The district's largest city is

Vapi Vapi (IAST: vāpī,), is a city and municipality in Valsad district in the state of Gujarat, India.It is situated near the banks of the Daman Ganga River, around 28 km south of the district headquarters in the city of Valsad, and it is s ...

. The district covers 3008 square kilometres and is divided into six

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, Pardi,

Umargam Umargam (IAST: ''Umargām''), also known as Umbergaon (IAST: ''Umbargāv'') is a census town and Municipality in the Indian state of Gujarat. The town is known for its beaches, its tourist attractions, and its film industry. In 2017, the town b ...

Kaparada Kaparada is a taluka in Valsad district, Gujarat, India, near the border to Maharashtra. It is located in the Western Ghats. It is a predominantly Adivasi tribal district. The major tribes are Kokna and Warli. Kaparada is called Cherrapunji of ...

and Dharampur. The population was 1,705,678 in 2011, up from 1,410,553 in 2001. Valsad is well known for its production of

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

es,

sapodilla ''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, naseberry, nispero or chicle, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the ...

, and

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

, and its chemical and industrial stretch based on Vapi and Atul.

History

On 1 June 1966, Valsad district was formed after Surat district was bifurcated into Valsad and Surat district. Then,

, Dharampur, Pardi,

, Navsari,

Vansda Vansda, also known as Bansda, is a city and a municipality in the Navsari district in the Indian State of Gujarat, covering an area of 557 km2. Vansda is connected with Waghai, Chikhli, Saputara, Nasik, Vapi, Dharampur, Shamlaji by Stat ...

, Chikhli and Gandevi were talukas of Valsad district. On 2 October 1997, Navsari district was formed after Valsad district was bifurcated into Valsad and Navsari district. The taluka of Kaparada was separated from Dharampur on 15 October 1997. After newly formed Kaparada taluka -

, Dharampur,

, Pardi,

were talukas of Valsad district. On 9 September 2013, Vapi taluka was separated from Pardi taluka. After newly formed Vapi taluka -

, Dharampur,

, Pardi,

are talukas of Valsad district.

Geography

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Valsad district has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 1,705,678. The district has a population density of 570. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 20.92%. Valsad has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

of 922

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 2.24% and 52.93% of the population respectively. Sacred place for

Parsis Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

Iranshah Atash Behram The Iranshah Atash Behram, also known as the Udwada Atash Behram is a sacred fire housed in a temple in Udvada, Gujarat on the west coast of India. It is the first of the eight fire temples (holy place of worship) of the Zoroastrian religion ...

is also located in Udvada. Udwada Atash Behram is a sacred fire housed in a temple in Udvada, Gujarat on the west coast of India.

Language

At the time of the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Informatio ...

, 70.83% of the population in the district spoke

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

, 11.62%

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, 5.75% Varli, 4.22% Kukna, 2.36% Marathi and 1.08%

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

as their first language.

Divisions

Valsad district has six talukas: #

# Pardi #

# Dharampur #

Valsad district has three major cities: #

# Pardi

Politics

Transport

Valsad lies on

NH 48 National Highway 48 (NH 48) is a National Highway of India that starts at Delhi and terminates at Chennai traversing through seven states of India. It has a total length of 2807 km (1744 miles). NH 48 passes through the states of Delh ...

. Valsad is connected to many cities in

by the

Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation, abbreviated GSRTC, is a Government State Transport Undertaking of Gujarat for passengers facilitating with road public transport in moffusil / city services. GSRTC operates within the state of Gujarat, I ...

bus service. Valsad is one of the 16 divisions of GSRTC referred to as Daman Ganga. Following bus depots come under the Valsad division: Valsad, Vapi, Navsari, Bilimora, Dharampur, and Ahwa. Valsad railway station is managed by the

Mumbai WR railway division Mumbai WR railway division is one of the six railway divisions under Western Railway zone of Indian Railways. This railway division was formed on 5 November 1951 and its headquarter is located at Mumbai Central in the state of Maharashtra of Ind ...

of the Western Railway. It lies on the New Delhi–Mumbai mainline. The present railway station building was established in 1925. Adjacent to the railway station is the Valsad Electric Loco Shed which houses over 100 electric locomotives. Other railway stations in the district are , , , , , and . The nearest airport is

Surat Airport Surat Airport is a customs airport serving Surat and Southern Gujarat. It is located in Magdalla, situated 12 km (6.4 mi) from the city centre. It has a total area of 770 acres (312 ha), and is the second busiest airport in Gujarat after Ahm ...

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is ...

Economy

Agriculture

Valsad is a horticulture hub in Gujarat. Major horticulture crops that are produced in the district are

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, t ...

cucurbits The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are: *''Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds *'' Lagena ...

, chikoo,

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...

and

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

. Valsad is famous for Alphonso (Valsadi Haafus). Valsad is also known as mango capital of Gujarat. Valsadi chikoo is in high demand nationwide as well as around the world.

Industry

Valsad is an industrial base for sectors such as chemicals, textiles, and paper & pulp industries. Since the 1980s, textile and chemicals have been the major sectors of investments and employment in the district. Valsad is emerging as a horticulture hub of the state, witnessing significant production in food grains and crops. Valsad has 7 Industrial Estates located in Dungra, Pardi, Dharampur, Bhilad, Valsad, Umargam, Sarigam, Vapi (the chemical hub of Gujarat) and 1 Industrial park in Kalgam. With over 300 medium and large scale industries, Vapi is a major industrial center in Valsad. One of Asia's largest Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) is present in Vapi, owned by Vapi Waste & Effluent Management Company and promoted by Vapi Industrial Association. Over 10,716 units of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), involved in different sectors, such as chemicals, textiles, engineering, and paper industry, are present in the district. Several private conglomerates are present in Valsad, such as Alok Industries Ltd., Wyeth,

Welspun India Ltd Welspun India Limited is a textile company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is Asia's largest and the 2nd largest terry towel producer in the world It exports more than 94% of its home textiles products to more than 50 countries. It exp ...

. Hubergroup India Private Limited (formerly Micro Inks Ltd.), Meril Group of companies (Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Meril Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Meril Endo Surgery Pvt. Ltd. and Meril Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd.), Aarti Industries, Atul Limited, Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd. (GHCL), Raymond, Sun Pharmaceuticals, United Phosphorus, Pidilite, Polyols & Polymers and Vadilal, Unique Polymers.

Education

The Government Polytechnic, established in 1965, is one of the prominent institutions in Valsad. The Government Engineering College was established in 2004. The GMERS Medical college with an 800-bed hospital was also set up in Valsad in 2014. Many colleges offer various courses in science, commerce and arts in Valsad district. S.K.M. Law College is also established.

Important places

Tithal Beach Tithal Beach is located in Valsad on the coast of Arabian Sea in the state of Gujarat.The sand of the beach is Black sand. Tithal beach is one of the popular tourist attractions of Valsad district and Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state alon ...

is located near

Tithal Tithal is an out growth in Valsad district of Gujarat. Tithal is located around 4.1 kilometer away from its district headquarter Valsad Valsad (Pronunciation: �alsɑɖ (Gujarati: વલસાડ), historically known as Bulsar, is a city ...

town of Valsad district. The sand of the beach is black sand. Tithal Beach Festival and International Kite Festival are also organized on the shore of the beach. Shree Shirdi Saibaba Sansthapan is located on the shore of the beach in

town of Valsad district. The temple was established in 1982. Swaminarayan Temple

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is located on the shore of the beach in

town of Valsad district. This is a temple of Lord Swami Narayan. Shanti Dham Aradhana Kendra in Tithal is a meditation center. Tadkeshwar Mahadev Temple is a temple of Lord Shiva located in Abrama. This temple is more than 800 years old. Morarji Desai Museum is built to dedicate the former 5th Prime Minister of India,

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...

in Valsad. The museum was developed by Valsad municipality at a cost of Rs. 4 crores. The museum was inaugurated by former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel. Callian Baug is an urban park in Valsad. In 1929, Mr. Motilal Callianji presented a donation for the park to Valsad Municipality in memory of his father. In 1931, Callian Baug was opened by J.H.Garrett. Wilson Hills Roads

Wilson Hills Wilson Hills () is a group of scattered hills, nunataks and ridges that extend NW-SE for about between Matusevich Glacier and Pryor Glacier in Antarctica. They were discovered by Lieutenant Harry Pennell, Royal Navy, on the Terra Nova Expeditio ...

is located in Dharampur tehsil. Wilson Hills was named in memory of Lord Wilson, the Governor of Bombay from 1923 to 1928, by Vijay Devji, the last King of Dharampur. A monument to their memory remains on the peak. Lady Wilson Museum is located in Dharampur town of Valsad district. It was established in 1928. It is one of the popular tourist attraction of Valsad district. District Science Centre is located in Dharampur. It was established in 1984. Jain Temple, Bhilad - panoramio

Simandhar Swami Jain Derasar, also known as Nandigram Derasar is at Nandigram village near Bhilad in Valsad district. A function was organised on Vaisakh Sudh 6th on its foundation day, 10 May 1989. This temple is dedicated to Shri Simandhar Swami who is considered living tirthankar on another world in the Jain mythological universe. Fort of Parnera

Parnera Hill is located in Parnera town of Valsad district. It is well known for Shree Maha Kali Mata Temple, Shree Chandika Mata Temple, Shree Swayambhu Mahadev Temple, Chand Pir Baba Dargah, Stepwells, Old Fort of

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...

. Maa Vishvambhari Tirthyatra Dham is located near Rabda. It has a temple of Maa Vishvambhari, Pathshala, Himalayas, Govardhan mountain, Hut of Nand Baba, Gaushala and Shri Ram Kutir. Bagwada is home to Arjungad Fort and several temples, including a Jain temple. Shri Bhav Bhaveshwar Mahadev Temple is located in Barumal. Barumal is located 37 km from Valsad and 7 km from Dharampur. This is a temple of Lord Shiva. Nargol Beach is located in

Nargol Nargol (also: Nargole) is a village located in the Indian state of Gujarat. Geography Nargol is sited in Gujarat's southern region near the Maharashtra border. It lies about north from Mumbai and around from Ahmedabad on the Arabian Sea coa ...

. It has lush palm trees and greenery all around on the beach. Umargam Beach is located in

Udvada Atash Behram The Iranshah Atash Behram, also known as the Udwada Atash Behram is a sacred fire housed in a temple in Udvada, Gujarat on the west coast of India. It is the first of the eight fire temples (holy place of worship) of the Zoroastrian religion in ...

is the oldest

fire temple A fire temple, Agiary, Atashkadeh ( fa, آتشکده), Atashgah () or Dar-e Mehr () is the place of worship for the followers of Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Iran (Persia). In the Zoroastrian religion, fire (see '' atar''), together w ...

of Zoroastrianism in India. It is located in Udvada.

Sanjan Stambh Sanjan Stambh is a memorial column at Sanjan in Gujarat, which commemorates the arrival of Zoroastrians there eleven centuries ago as a group of shipwrecked migrants who had fled Muslim persecution after the downfall of the Persian Empire an ...

is a memorial of the Zoroastrianism in Sanjan.

Notable people

* Bhavesh Baria - first-class cricketer playing for

Gujarat cricket team The Gujarat cricket team is one of three first-class cricket teams representing the state of Gujarat (the other two being the Baroda cricket team and Saurashtra cricket team). Led by Parthiv Patel, Gujarat won their maiden Ranji Trophy title ...

. *

Bhulabhai Desai Bhulabhai Desai (13 October 1877 – 6 May 1946) was an Indian independence activist and acclaimed lawyer. He is well-remembered for his defence of the three Indian National Army soldiers accused of treason during World War II, and for attemp ...

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

and acclaimed lawyer. * Bindu Desai - Hindi film actress. * Dadabhoy Havewala - first-class cricketer, who played for

Bombay cricket team The Mumbai cricket team is a cricket team representing the city of Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket. The team's primary home ground is the Wankhede Stadium in South Mumbai. Secondary home venues include the MCA ground in Bandra Kurla Comple ...

and Parsees cricket team. * Hemin Desai - Indian-born cricketer, who has represented Oman at the

List A cricket List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numb ...

. *

Kanubhai Desai Kanubhai Mohanlal Desai is an Indian politician associated with Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly representing Pardi constituency. He is the current Minister of Finance, Minister of Energy, Government of Gu ...

- Finance minister of Gujarat *

Makarand Dave Makarand Dave, also referred as Sai Makarand Dave, was a Gujarati poet and author from Gujarat, India. Biography Dave was born in Gondal (now in Rajkot district, Gujarat) on 13 November 1922 to Vajeshankar Dave. After completing his school ed ...

- Gujarati poet. * Manilal Desai - Gujarati poet. *

- former

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

. * Nagindas Parekh - literary critic, editor and translator. * Nanubhai Vakil - a Hindi and Gujarati film director. * Narayan Desai - Gujarati author. *

Nirupa Roy Nirupa Roy (born Kokila Kishorechandra Bulsara; 4 January 1931 – 13 October 2004) was an Indian actress who had appeared in Hindi films. Noted for her portrayals of tragedy and sorrow, Roy was known for her acting ability, and was uncharitab ...

- Hindi film actress. * Pooja Jhaveri - Telugu, Tamil and Kannada film actress. * Pramodkumar Patel - literary critic. * Pratap Save - a social activist. *

Ravindra Parekh Ravindra Parekh ( gu, રવીન્દ્ર પારેખ) is a Gujarati short story writer, novelist, playwright, poet, critic and translator from Gujarat, India. Life Ravindra Parekh was born on 21 November 1946 in Kalwada village (now in ...

- a writer, novelist, poet, critic and translator. * Rex Sellers - a former Indian-Australian cricketer. *

Sangeita Chauhan Sangeita Chauhaan is an Indian actress. She was born in Vapi, Gujarat, India. She has appeared in the Kannada films ''Sharp Shooter'' and ''Luv U Alia''. She is known as Meghna Chauhaan the lead in the Hindi Colors TV show, ''Ek Shringaar-Swabhi ...

- South Indian film & Hindi television actress. *

Sheela Sharma Sheela Sharma ( Sheela David) is an Indian film and television actress in Hindi and Gujarati cinema, best known for the films '' Nadiya Ke Paar'' (1982), '' Hum Saath Saath Hain'' and ''Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai''. Born in Valsad district, Gujar ...

- Hindi and Gujarati film actress. * Ushnas - Gujarati poet.

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial website
of the Valsad district council
Valsad Collectorate
of the district. {{Authority control Districts of Gujarat 1966 establishments in Gujarat

History

Geography

Demographics

Language

Divisions

Politics

Transport

Economy

Agriculture

Industry

Education

Important places

Notable people

See also

References

External links