Karwar is a coastal City and the administrative headquarters of

Uttara Kannada Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to ...

district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali river along the

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

Coast in the present-day state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Etymology

Karwar, also known locally as "Kādwād", derived its name from the nearby village of "Kade-Wādā". In the local

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

, ''Kade'' means "Last" and ''Wādā'' means "Ward". Hence, ''Kade-Wādā'' ("the last neighbourhood") referred to the southernmost Konkani-speaking village. During the

Crown rule in India The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, the name "Karwar" was spelt as "Carwar". The ancient name was "Baithkhol"—from an

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

term ''Bait-e-kol''— meaning the "bay of safety". This is in the Indian history for maritime trade wherein

black peppercorn Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

, and

muslin cloth Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It is commonly believed that it gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq. Muslin was produced in different regions of ...

were exported from this Kādwād port and after the war with Veer Henja Naik (1803), the port activities were shifted to Baithkhol. Thereafter, the port of Kādwād was isolated and Kurmagad Fort was activated by the Portuguese.

History

Karwar township was built by the British in the year 1857 after the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

. Karwar is popularly known as the "Kashmir of Karnataka". Prior to 1857, Karwar did not exist as a town.

Honnavara Honnavar is a town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. History Honnavar is a port town in Coastal Karnataka known for its beautiful landscapes and rich history. The port hosted foreign traders from the Arab world, as well as later ...

was the district headquarters of

Canara Kanara or Canara, also known as Karāvali, is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern Konkan coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The subregion comprises thr ...

district consisting up to

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

to Kodibag Karwar, up till Kali river; and Karwar village (''Kādwād'') existed as hamlets like Habbuwada, Kajubag, Kodibag, Kone, Baad, Kathinkon, Sunkeri, Shirwad, and Binaga. After that, the river bank towards the north was under the rule of Sadhashiv Nayak and

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

. After the mutiny of 1857, the British made division of Canara District into two parts as

South Canara South Canara (South Kannada) was a district of the Madras Presidency of British Raj, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the administration at Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the mos ...

with headquarters at

attached to

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

and

North Canara Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to ...

with headquarters at the newly built town Karwar, which was attached to Bombay Presidency. It was a planned city like Panaji, Mumbai, Dharwad, and Bengaluru. After the rule of the Indian Government from 1947, Karwar is more or less neglected politically and kept without major developments.

Ancient history

The region of Karwar was historically part of the ancient city of Govapuri, as documented in the

Sahyadrikhanda ''Sahyādri-khaṇḍa'' is a Sanskrit-language text, notable for containing the founding myths of several Brahmin communities of south-western India. The text claims to be a part of the ''Skanda Purana''. It is actually a collection of disparate te ...

of the

Skanda Purana The ''Skanda Purana'' ( IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukhyapurāṇa'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parv ...

: गोकर्णादुत्तरे भागे सप्तयोजनविस्तृ॥ तत्र गोवापुरी नाम नगरी पापनाशिनी॥ (Translation: "To the north of Gokarna, extending over seven yojanas, lies the city of Govapuri, the destroyer of sins.") This revered reference underscores Karwar's deep historical and mythological ties to the Konkan region, intertwining it with Goa’s cultural and spiritual heritage. In later centuries, Portuguese traders knew Karwar as ''Cintacora'', ''Chitrakul'', ''Chittakula'' or ''Sindpur''. In 1510, the Portuguese captured and burnt a fort at Karwar. They called it ''Fort Pir'', ''Forte de Piro'' or ''Pito'' due to the presence of a Muslim Dargah (tomb of a Sufi saint, Shahkaramuddin). In 1638, the English Trading Courteen Association established a factory at Kadwad village, 6 km east of Karwar and traded with merchants from Arabia and Africa. The common commodities were

muslin Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It is commonly believed that it gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq. Muslin was produced in different regions o ...

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

, cassier and coarse blue cotton cloth. In 1649, the Courteen Association merged with the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, and Karwar became a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

. The East India Company built fighting ships in the Karwar harbour. For example, the ''Britannia'' (1715) which had 18 guns was built to defend

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

from attacks by Maratha

Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...

admiral

Kanhoji Angre Kanhoji Angre (Help:IPA/Marathi, anʱod͡ʒiː aːŋɡɾe, also known as Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angré (August 1669 – 4 July 1729) was a Maratha Navy admiral. Kanhoji became known for attacking and capturing European Union, European Ea ...

. Before the Portuguese colonization, the area was part of several Indian kingdoms, including those that encompassed present-day Goa. Karwar shares notable cultural similarities with Goa, particularly in its language and cuisine. In the 1700s, Karwar was a part of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. Having marched from Bednore in the south, visiting on his way the sacred temple at Gokarna, Shivaji seized Ankola and the next day came to Karwar (then known as Kadwad). Both the East India Company and Sher Shah, the Sardar of Bijapur, were very much alarmed at this sudden development. They collected a huge amount and offered it to Shivaji, praying that they may be spared. Satisfied at the recognition of his authority, Shivaji crossed the Kali River and conquered Sadashivgad on 21 February 1665. In 1784, at the time of the

Treaty of Mangalore The Treaty of Mangalore was signed between Tipu Sultan and the British East India Company on 11 March 1784. It was signed in Mangaluru and brought an end to the Second Anglo-Mysore War. Background Hyder Ali became dalwai Dalavayi of Mysore b ...

between

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

and the East India Company, After the defeat of the Marathas in the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an in ...

, Karwar was captured by the British. Kot Siveshvar, another fortress, was built near Karwar (in Siveshvar village) by the Sultan of Bijapur to counterattacks from the north. Karwar is also believed to be the coast where Ottomans arrived at the request of Tipu Sultan as aide in battle against the British empire. The said Ottoman aid could not participate in any battles due to martyrdom of Tipu Sultan but instead set up a stronghold with the locals and later the Portuguese and Marathas to protect the town. At the ruins of Fort Siveshvar are a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

graveyard and a tunnel at the eastern gate. The

Bengali poet Bengali poetry is a rich tradition of poetry in the Bengali language and has many different forms. Originating in Bengal, the history of Bengali poetry underwent three successive stages of development: poetry of the early age (like '' Charyapad ...

and

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

, who visited Karwar in 1882, dedicated a chapter of his memoirs to this town. At 22 years old, Tagore stayed with his second brother,

Satyendranath Tagore Satyendranath Tagore (1 June 1842 – 9 January 1923) was an Indian civil servant, poet, composer, writer, social reformer and linguist from Calcutta, Bengal. He was the first Indian who became an Indian Civil Service officer in 1863. He was a ...

, who was a district judge in Karwar. From 1862 until the re-organization of the Indian states after Independence, present-day Uttara Kannada district was a part of the Bombay Presidency. During this period, major public works carried out included the improvement of roads, the building of a wharf, wharf road and a sea wall at the Karwar port as well as the construction of a multi-floor storage building, staff housing, a post office, ''

kutcheri A katcheri is an assembly of musicians and audience in the context of Carnatic music. It is presented in the concert format. The music fraternity of connoisseurs and common people assemble at the katcheri venues to listen to classical music conc ...

'' (kutcherries or

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

's offices) and a Christian burial ground."Report of proceedings at the conference held at Poona, 1865."
Department of Public Works, Bombay Presidency, 1866 p. 251 (Original held at Oxford University). Accessed at Google Books, 5 April 2014. At the same time, the local Konkani-speaking people had close connections with Mumbai and Goa. Many Marathi middle schools were established in Karwar and

Joida Joida is a town located in the Uttara Kannada district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The town is the headquarters of the eponymous taluk. Earlier it was known as Supa taluka but as Supa village got submerged due to dam built across river Ka ...

taluks, despite the fact that the local populace mostly were

native speakers. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Karwar was an Indian Naval training site.Hiranandani G. M
"Transition to Eminence: The Indian Navy 1976–1990."
Lancer Publishers, 2005. , 9788170622666.

Post-Independence

After India gained independence in 1947, the movement for linguistic states led to the reorganization of states based on language. In 1956, the Mysore State was formed, incorporating various regions, including parts of the Bombay Presidency. Despite Karwar being a Konkani-speaking region, it was included in the newly formed Mysore State as part of this reorganization. Since

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

was under Portuguese control at the time, forming a Konkani-speaking state was not feasible. The decision to incorporate Karwar into Mysore State was influenced by broader political and administrative considerations aimed at creating a cohesive Kannada-speaking state. Karwar during the 1950–60s played important role in the Konkani language agitation, helping cement Konkani as an independent language during Konkani conferences held in Karwar. The city played an important role in Konkan culture and Konkani culture hosting many Konkani conferences to promote the language. There have been demographic shifts since the state reorganizations act, and Karwar is no longer the stronghold for Konkani culture and has been overtaken by Panaji (or Panjim), Goa (after Goa achieved statehood) and by Mangalore .The city is also neglected by the state government and devoid of development. Spots of attractions are usually underfunded, relatively little money is allowed for development and people have to constantly rely on the neighboring state of Goa to carry out their needs.

Geography

Karwar is a seaport on the west coast of peninsular India. To the east are the Western Ghats. Karwar is situated on the banks of the Kali river which flows west to the Arabian sea from its headwaters at Bidi village in the Western Ghats. The Kali river has a length of about and is the main source of irrigation in the region. Baitkhol port at Karwar is a natural harbour with land side hills and ocean side islands protecting it from cyclonic weather. The four fathom mark lies close to the shore. The tidal range is .

Biodiversity

Several small

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

covered islands lie off the Kali river estuary including

Anjediva Island Anjediva Island (also Anjadip Island) (; ) is an Indian island in the Arabian Sea. It sits off the coast of Karwar, Karnataka. It is politically part of Goa state, geographically the nearest mainland is the Kanara subregion of Karnataka. The is ...

and Devagadaguda Islands. The sub-tidal regions of the islands have a high biodiversity, although the waters off Karwar have recorded higher than normal faecal

coliform Coliform bacteria are defined as either motile or non-motile Gram-negative non- spore forming bacilli that possess β-galactosidase to produce acids and gases under their optimal growth temperature of 35–37 °C. They can be aerobes or f ...

counts.Sahoo D. and Pandey P. C
"Advances in Marine and Antarctic Science."
APH publishing 2002 , 9788176483476.

Climate

Karwar lies on a coastal strip known as the ''Monsoon Coast''. Karwar has hot and humid summers () from March to May where the temperature may peak to . The

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

is warm throughout the year. Winters from December to February are mild () and seldom plummet to . The windy

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

period from June to September has an average rainfall of over .

Demographics

The total population in Karwar town with outgrowth is 77,139 as of 2011 by Indian Government. As of 2011, Karwar had an average literacy rate of 93%, higher than the national average of 74%. Males constitutes 49.7% of population and 50.3% are females. In Karwar, 10% of the population were children under six years of age.

Border issues

Karwar taluka is majorly

by first language speakers. It was part of the Bombay Presidency during the British colonial rule, before the reorganization of states. The native Konkani speakers had close connections with Bombay which extended to matrimonial relations too. Many

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

-medium schools were also established in Karwar and

talukas. Marathi films were often released in Karwar. The visit of Marathi drama troupes from Bombay and Poona(Pune) was an annual feature. However, Konkani-speaking people were disenchanted when Marathis began to claim Konkani as a dialect of Marathi. They disputed it and asserted that Konkani had independent status as a language. It was the native Konkani-speaking people led by late P. S. Kamat who argued before Mahajan Commission that Karwar was an integral part of Karnataka. There have been recent assertions by both Maharashtra and Goa that Karwar should belong to their states.

Religion

Karwar has primarily been

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

. Christianity was introduced to Karwar by the Portuguese while ruling

in the 16th and 17th centuries and contemporary

Karwari Catholics Karwari Catholics (Konkani: ''Karwarchem Katholika'') are Indian Christians following the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, primarily from the Karwar township and also the North Kanara district, situated in the Kanara subregion of Karna ...

are descendants of those early Christians.

seafaring traders migrated to Karwar from the Deccan (Bahamani) kingdoms. Karwar was called ''Baithkol'' meaning the "house of safety" or ''Bait-e-kol'' meaning "place of safety" in Arabic. Muslim villages in Karwar include: Shiveshvar, Chittakula, Sawar Pai, and Hotegali. Islamic tradition holds that two brothers, descendants of

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, the son-in-law of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, settled in Shiveshvar and made the village a place of Islamic learning. In Shiveshvar, there are three shrines dedicated to Muslim saints: Gaiby Pir, Nizam Pir, and Shamshuddin pir-in Kot.

Some famous Historic Mutt & Temples

Shri Samsthan Shri Kshetra Baad Math (Gurumath, Karwar)Shree Mahadeva TempleShri Shejjeshwara Temple

Industry

Primary industry

Karwar is an agricultural region. The common crops are rice, groundnuts, green vegetables, onions, watermelons, and flowers. Other primary industries include

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...

, horticulture,

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are ...

, prawns farming, gathering and lumbering and the growing of

homeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance tha ...

medicinal plants. The coastal location of Karwar lends to fishing and fisheries which are concentrated in Harikanth, Konkan Kharvis, Gabiths and Ambigas. The common types of fish are mackerel, sardines, crabs, clams, seerfish and prawns. Fishing is done from land with nets or from boats such as ''pandy'' (motor launch) and ''dhoni'' (dug out canoes). There is also mechanised trawling. The

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuary ...

of the Kali estuary is suitable for prawn farming.

Secondary industry

Members of the Daivadnya Brahmin caste are engaged in jewellery design, manufacturing and

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

ing. Leather works are common. Since 1638, when William Counten opened a mill, Karwar town has been a producer of fine

. In the 1660s the factory was prosperous, exporting the finest muslins in Western India; the weaving country was inland to the east, at Hubli and other centres, where as many as 50,000 weavers were employed. Besides the great export of muslin, Karwar provided pepper, cardamoms, cassia, and coarse blue cotton cloth (dungan). I In Binaga township, a chemical company Aditya Birla Chemicals (earlier owned by Ballarpur Industries Ltd / Solaris Chemtech), manufactures

caustic soda Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly corrosive base and alkali t ...

lye Lye is the common name of various alkaline solutions, including soda lye (a solution of sodium hydroxide) and potash lye (a solution of potassium hydroxide). Lyes are used as cleaning products, as ingredients in soapmaking, and in various other c ...

and flakes,

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...

phosphoric acid Phosphoric acid (orthophosphoric acid, monophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid) is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, ...

, kestra pipes and

bromine Bromine is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a similarly coloured vapour. Its properties are intermediate between th ...

Tertiary industry

Kaiga Kaiga is a village in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka in India. As of the 2011 Census of India, the village had a population of 238. Kaiga is nearly by road from Karwar. The Kaiga Generating Station, owned and operated by Nuclear Powe ...

, away, the

Nuclear Power Corporation of India The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is an Indian public sector undertaking based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is wholly owned by the Government of India and is responsible for the generation of electricity from nuclear power. N ...

operates an 880 MW

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

. The Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. operates a dam and 150 MW power house between Kadra and Mallapur townships, approximately from Karwar town.

INS Kadamba

The

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

operates a naval base at a bay near Binaga township. It is the navy's third largest base. The base was founded as part of Project Seabird. Casurina beach near Binaga (now called Kamat Bay) and Arga beach were incorporated into naval property. The public has access to the base during Navy Week in December and in visiting educational groups. The naval base includes a civilian support community at Amadalli, a ship lift and a hospital.

INS Kadamba INS ''Kadamba'' or Naval Base Karwar is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka. The base, which was commissioned on 31 May 2005, is being developed under the codename, Project Seabird. The Phase I of the project was completed i ...

is the homeport of India's largest aircraft carrier

INS Vikramaditya INS ''Vikramaditya'' ()Literally ''Vikramaditya'' translates as being "Sun (Aditya) of valour" (Vikram). The component ''āditya'' (sun) literally means "he who belongs to Aditi". It was the title of the most famous Indian king in Indian histo ...

INS Vajrakosh

INS Vajrakosh, commissioned on 9 September 2015, is the latest establishment of the Indian Navy at Karwar which will serve as special storage facility for specialised armaments and missiles. INS Vajrakosh will have all the required infrastructure and will be staffed by specialists to provide specialised servicing facilities for these sophisticated missiles and ammunition.

Aditya Birla Chemicals

Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) (ABCIL) is a unit of the Aditya Birla Group. ABCIL has also acquired chlor-alkali and phosphoric acid division of Ballarpur Industries Ltd / Solaris Chemtech Industries Limited, based in Karwar, Karnataka.

Transport

Karwar International Airport

The proposed Karwar Airport will be built by the

at Alageri village near

Ankola Ankola is a town municipal council and taluka in the Uttara Kannada district of the Indian state of Karnataka. The town is approximately from district headquarters Karwar. Ankola is a small town surrounded by temples, schools, paddy fields ...

, in

. The

Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India), Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civi ...

(AAI) will operate a

civil enclave A joint-use airport is an aerodrome that is used for both military aviation and civil aviation. They typically contain facilities of both a civil airport and a military air base. By country India Visakhapatnam Airport operates as a civil enclav ...

at the naval air base which is part of the Navy's Rs 100 billion Phase 2 of

Project Seabird INS ''Kadamba'' or Naval Base Karwar is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka. The base, which was commissioned on 31 May 2005, is being developed under the codename, Project Seabird. The Phase I of the project was completed in ...

. After the construction Karwar will be the second city in Karnataka to have all 3 major modes of transport (Air, Sea, Land)

Konkan railway

The

Konkan Railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Konkan Railway line from Roha to Thokur is operated and maintained by Konkan Railway co ...

connects Karwar to most major towns and cities. Karwar has two railway stations:

Karwar Karwar is a coastal City and the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali River (Karnataka), Kali river along the Konkan Coast in the present-day state of Ka ...

and

Asnoti Asnoti is a village in Karwar Taluka, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India. It is close to the historic fort of Sadashivgad located on Kali river. Konkani is spoken as a local language. Due to the presence of the railway station it cat ...

. The nearest Goan station is Loliem, 18 km away. lies 68 km to the north. and 253 km to the south.

Port

The Karwar Port is acclaimed as one of the best natural all-weather ports on the West Coast, located in Uttar Kannada district at the Southern side of the Kali River. caters to the trading needs of northern Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The port is located in Baithkol, just beside the National Highway (NH66) that connects Mumbai and Kochi, one of the country’s busiest corridors. Also, it is only 8 km away from the Konkan Railway network. Karwar Beach

Hills and coastal islands make the port a natural harbour, sheltered from the Arabian sea. It is operated by the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

, services the hinterland of northern Karnataka, Goa and southern Maharashtra. The length of the port is . The quay has two berths, with a draft capacity of . Karwar port also berths coastal vessels and there is a jetty for fishing vessels."Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 India & Bay of Bengal Enroute."
National Geospatial-intelligence Agency, ProStar Publications, 2005 p. 53 , 9781577856627. The Government of Karnataka has planned to develop Karwar port on a

Public Private Partnership In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichke ...

(PPP) basis to provide six additional berths, a container terminal, and a rail link to Karwar railway station. The port is able to handle all types of commodities, including "B" and "C" class petroleum products. There port has liquid storage tanks for bitumen, furnace oil, molasses, and HSD. A ban of iron ore mining and export in Karnataka state reduced congestion at the port. The port has arrangements for berthing coastal vessels, and a jetty for fishing boats. In 2012, the

carried out maintenance dredging in the port, the approach channel and the nearby anchorage. The port may be closed from 16 May to 15 September (the monsoon season). Part of the 2008 Hindi film ''

Golmaal Returns ''Golmaal Returns'' () is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty. The film is a remake of the 1989 Marathi film '' Pheka Pheki'', which itself was inspired by the 1973 Hindi film '' Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar'', it serves a ...

'' was filmed at Karwar port.

Tourism

Rabindranath Tagore beach

:"The sea beach of Karwar is certainly a fit place in which to realize that the beauty of Nature is not a mirage of the imagination, but reflects the joy of the Infinite and thus draws us to lose ourselves in it. Where the universe is expressing itself in the magic of its laws it may not be strange if we miss its infinitude; but where the heart gets into immediate touch with immensity in the beauty of the meanest of things, is any room left for argument?" –

Karwar in Tagore's memoirs
online-literature.com

Places of interest

Seaside

* Kali River Garden, Kodibag * Rock Garden, Karwar * Binaga Beach * Devbagh Beach * Kali Bridge * Karwar Beach * Sub- Regional Science Centre * Kurumgad Island * Majali Beach * Oyster Rock Lighthouse, a round white masonry construction with red trim protects ships from the rocks of Devgad Island, the largest off the Kali Estuary. * Tilmatti beach, A black sand beach

Hinterland

* Anshi National Park * Kadra & Kodsalli dam * Chaitanya Park * Chendia and Nagarmadi falls (a small waterfall which passes under a large rock) * Devkar Falls * Guddahalli Peak * Habbu Mountain * Hyder Ghat Pass * Mudgeri Dam * Shirve Ghat * Makkeri

Historic sites

* Kot Shiveshvar * Shri Narasimha temple, Siddar *

Sadashivgad Sadashivgad or Sadashivagada is a village located in Karwar, Uttara Kannada district, in the state of Karnataka in India. Significant and picturesque, it is now a popular tourist destination located by the Kali river bridge, which has been buil ...

Fort * Shahkaramuddin dargah, Sadashivgad (tomb of a Sufi saint) * Maritime museum

Educational tourism

* Karwar promotes educational tourism through the Sub-Regional Science Centre in Kodibag, which features interactive science exhibits and a virtual reality lab developed by fotonVR. The centre offers immersive experiences aimed at making science learning engaging for students and visitors.

Culture

Cuisine

Karwar is known for its seafood cuisine. Karwar cuisine has been historically influenced by Konkan and Goan cuisine with there being a lot of similarities and shared dishes. Fish curry, with cashews, coconut and rice is a staple dish. Karwar curries use ginger and turmeric but not always garlic.Tennebaum T. D
"A Sense for Spice : Recipes and Stories from a Konkan Kitchen."
Westland , 9789382618492. Crabmasala

Local festivals

* Kurumgad jatra * São João where garlands of freshly picked fruits leaves and flowers are worn and people jump into wells, ponds, rivers, and lakes. * Anjedweep island festival * Karavali Utsav, an annual three of four-day festival at Rabindranath Tagore beach. It is organised by the Uttara Kannada District Administration as a cultural and social event. Many shops and stalls are installed at Tagore beach. People from all parts of the district and from all over the state and neighboring Goa state attend. Many cultural events are held in the evenings where regional, national and international artists including

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

stars, Kannada film stars, Goan artists and local artists perform. *Karwar utsav in summer season where local artistes and celebrities come and perform.

Media

Media outlets include: * Karwar News Konkani, Karwar Plus Konkani, This channels provides regular updates and news in local language Konkani. * Karwar Mirror, An online news portal providing reliable and responsive non-political news about Karwar. * Karwar eNews, online local newspaper. * ''Karavali Munjavu'', Kannada language daily newspaper.http://www.munjavu.com Munjavu daily newspaper website * Zilla Varta Kendra media centre. * District Library, near the district court and next to Mitra Samaj. * All India Radio (Akashwani Kendra), Gurumath Road, Kajubag.

Education

Karwar has Government and private engineering college and Government medical college. The city has private and Government schools and institutions for PU, diploma and ITI courses. Government Polytechnic is also located in the area.

Notable residents

Rama Raghoba Rane Major Rama Raghoba Rane, PVC (26 June 1918 – 11 July 1994) was an Indian military officer. He was the first living recipient of India's highest military decoration, the Param Vir Chakra, which he was awarded along with Karam Singh. Born ...

, (1918–1994). The only

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest Awards and Decorations of the Indian Armed Forces, military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates roughly as the "Wheel of Supre ...

Award winner from Karnataka. *

Jayshree Gadkar Jayshree Gadkar (21 February 1942 – 29 August 2008) was a noted Marathi and Hindi movie actress and a Superstar of Marathi cinema from the 1950s up to the 1980s. Personal life Jayshree was born into a Gaud Sarswat Brahmin family at Kanasgiri ...

, a

movie actress of the 1960s, born to a

speaking family in Kanasgiri, near

. *

singer

Anuradha Paudwal Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer and politician who works predominantly in Hindi cinema and Odia cinema. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent Bhajan singers and also as one of the m ...

, born in Karwar as Alka Nadakarni in a

speaking family and brought up in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. *

Gajanan Kirtikar Gajanan Kirtikar is Leader of Shivsena and a Member of Parliament (MP) from Mumbai North West (Lok Sabha constituency) in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He has been a Member of Legislative Assembly from Malad assembly constituency in Mumbai from ...

, Member of parliament from

Mumbai North West (Lok Sabha constituency) Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency is a constituency represented in the Lok Sabha of the Parliament of India, having approximately 1.6 million voters. Assembly segments Presently, Mumbai North West constituency comprises six Vidhan Sabha ...

Krishna Kalle Krishna Kalle (; 18 December 1940 – 15 March 2015) was an Indian playback singer in Marathi, Hindi, and Kannada films. Childhood Kalle's family was from Karwar, Uttara Kannada. She was born and grew up in Kanpur, where her father was employe ...

, Playback singer in Marathi, Hindi, and Kannada films. The above are few notable residents for Karwar

Villages of Karwar

Karwar comprises the following blocks or villages: * Ambrai * Amadalli * Angadi * Arga *

* Baad * Baitkol * Balni * Bhaire * Bhagatwada * bargadda * Bhandishitta * Binaga * Birtulbag * Bore * Chendia * Chittakulla * Devalmakki * Devabag * Dhol * Gopashitta * Goyar * Gotegali * Halebag * Halekote * Halga * Hankon * Hapkarni * Harwada * Hosali * Hotegali * Kadra * Kadwad *

* Kajubag * Kalaswada * Kanasgiri * Karkal * Kathinkon * Kerwadi * Kharga * Kinner * Kodibag * Kolage * Kurnipet * Lower Makeri * Majali * Maingini * Mallapur * Mudgeri * Nandangadda * Nargeri *

* Sakalbalni * Sanmudageri * Shejebag * Shejwad * Shirwad * Siddar * Sunkeri * Thoralebag * Todur * Ulga * Umlijug

References

External links

Karwar City Municipal Council

Zilla panchayat Karwar
{{Hydrology of Karnataka, state=expanded Cities and towns in Uttara Kannada district Port cities in India