Uran is a coastal town in

Raigad District Raigad district (), previously Colaba fort, Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The headquarters of the district is Alibag. Other major cities in the district are Panvel, Karjat, Navi Mumbai, Khopoli, Sh ...

's Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It lies to the east of

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 ...

across the Dharamtar Creek. Uran is primarily a fishing and agriculture village, which has developed into the special economic zone of Uran. The primary languages spoken are Agri and Koli which is a dialect of Marathi-Konkani.

History

The city name is derived from the

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 ...

goddess Uranavati. It was called Uruvan during the rule of

Madhavrao I Madhavrao I (formerly known as Madhavrao Ballal Bhat) was the second son of Peshwa Balaji Bajirao and grandson of Peshwa Bajirao I, who served as the 9th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his tenure, the Maratha Empire recovered from losse ...

, the fourth

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

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 ...

. Later, the area was named Uran by the Portuguese and Ooran by the British. Many Indian dynasties have ruled the area. In early history, these included the

Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...

, Sātavāhana Empire, Western Kshatrapas, Vākāṭaka Empire, Chalukyas, and Yadavas. The area around

, including Uran, was under Portuguese and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

rule in the 16th to 19th centuries. Uran was subject to the Maratha princely states in the

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. Uran was once the base of the famous Maratha ''Sarkhel'' (Admiral) Kanhoji Angre, who battled European naval interests in the 18th century.

Geography

Uran is located at . Uran is at an average elevation of . On the tip of a peninsula, Uran district is surrounded by sea on three sides. The town of Uran itself is centrally located on the peninsula, flanked by Karanja village to the south and Mora village and port to the north. Uran is home to extensive salt pans, part of a long-standing network of salt manufacturing around Mumbai. The land has been under redevelopment pressure. The Uran wetlands were once home to many species of birds and reptiles, some critically endangered. The wetlands were developed in 2009 and 2010, leaving only the Panje-Dongri wetlands. Uran consists of multiple smaller villages and can be divided into South, North and West parts. Villages in Southern Uran:

Economy

The main occupation in Uran is fishing; 80% of the fish production of Mumbai comes from

fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...

based out of the Uran in Navi Mumbai, especially the villages of Karanja and Mora. The second major occupation is farming. Uran contributes to the production of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

in the Raigad district. Raigad is the second largest district in terms of rice production in India.

Shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

, and port support are major economic factors in Uran district. Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) is the largest

container terminal A container port, container terminal, or intermodal terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land v ...

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 ...

. Other container terminals in the Uran district include

APM Terminals APM Terminals is a Port operator, port operating company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. A unit of Denmark, Danish Freight transport, shipping company Maersk's Transport and Logistics division. It manages container terminals and provides ...

(formerly GTI) and

DP World DP World is a multinational logistics company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It specialises in cargo logistics, port terminal operations, maritime services and free trade zones. Formed in 2005 by the merger of Dubai Ports Authority and ...

(formerly the P&O). Salt pan owners revolted against the government decision to build a seaport, but the port has proved to be the main source of income to residents and nearby villages, as major projects and warehouses have opened nearby. 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 ...

maintains a naval base near Mora. Due to Security reasons sea travel restrictions is imposed by the Indian Navy . The Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has a plant nearby. GTPS-

Maharashtra State Electricity Board Maharashtra State Electricity Board (or MSEB) (Marathi language, Marathi:महाराष्ट्र राज्य विद्युत मंडळ) is a Government of Maharashtra, state government electricity regulation board operating wi ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

's first power plant run by

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

. Other industrial and manufacturing employers Grindwell Norton Limited, NAD, and the Skols Brewery (closed in 2005).

Transportation

Uran railway station serves Uran.

Demographics

Uran is growing. In the 2001 India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Uran had a population of 23,254; this had increased by the 2011 census to 30,439. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. In Uran, 10–11% of the population is 6 years of age or younger. Uran's average literacy rate is also rising, from 79% in 2001 to 82% in 2011. Female literacy lags behind male literacy: male literacy was 83% in 2001 and 85% in 2011, and female literacy was 75% in 2001 and 79% in 2011. India's national literacy average is 59.5%.

Education

Uran lacks of higher institutions, but some schools are considered reputed such as Dronagiri High School, St. Mary's JNP School, and Lady Khatun Marium School. These school facilitate a higher standard of education in Uran, but still are far away from the ones found in urban areas. Following are the schools in Uran *Bosco English School *St. Mary's High School & Jr. College *Uran Education Society *Veer Wajekar Arts, Science, and Commerce College *St.Mary's JNP School *SMT Bhagubai Changu Thakur Vidyalaya *SS Patil International School *Nagraj Sheth CBSE International School *Green Hill Public School *Native Institution High School *Iqra English School *Rotary English Medium High School *Citizens High School *Anmol English Medium School *Tukaram Hari Vajekar High School *R.Keralawala Foundation School *Shri. Chhatrapati Shivaji High School & Jr. College *Lady Khatun Marium School

Culture

Places of worship

Uran has many Hindu temples, some of which host annual festivals. Some of the well-known temples are: * Shanteshwari Aai Temple, Navin Sheva Uran: Shanteshwari Aai Temple is Very famous in Uran Taluka.It is in Navin Sheva village. * Ratneshwari Aai Temple, Jaskhar Uran: Ratneshwari Aai Temple is very famous in Jaskhar Village of Uran Taluka. Its palkhi is famous in Raigad District. * Bahiridev Temple, Sarde Uran:' Shree Bahiridev(Ughad) is Gramdaiwat of all Sarde Village. It is Jagrut Devasthan and it is based on Creek of Sarde which is one of branch of Patalganga Creek. * Shree Raghoba Mandir, Uran Kotnaka Raghoba Mandir Is a holy temple located near Kotnaka, Uran. Shree Raghoba palkhi sohla is very famous in Kotnaka village as well as in Uran also. * The Jaskhar Fair that everyone awaits for, comes in the month of April and is so chaotic at times. People from various nearby villages come to worship the god and enjoy their day. * Radhakrishna Temple, Sarde, Uran: Which is based at Radhakrisha ali(Sarde Village hill) A Grand Festival is celebrated on the occasion of Shree Krishna Jayanti. There are huge celebrations in Palakhi occasion. *Uran-Koliwada is a Hindu Temple Shree Bapujidev Mindir & Jari – Mari Mindir. * Ratneshwari Temple, Jaskhar, Ratneshwari temple is one of the most Famous & Jagrut Devasthan in Uran city. It is very famous in Maharastra, because the temple is very attractive and it is made fully of marble. Its palkhi is very famous in Raigad District. * Dronagiri temple Karanja it is located in on a hill of Drona Giri and sea-facing. *Girobadev Temple, Khopta located in East of Karanja & Khopta creek *Mankeshwar Temple Uran: One of the temples in Uran, located right next to Mankeshwar beach, Kegoan. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, there is an annual festival celebrated here in the month of November. * Vinayak Temple Kegoan, Uran: located in Kegoan. Dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Very old temple constructed by Peshwas (recently refurbished). A small Hanuman Temple is directly opposite to the Ganesha Temple. A well and a pond adds to the scenery. History of this temple dates back to 1365 according to sources. * Dargah of Hazrath Mukim Shah baba, Uran: Located in Uran it is one of the most famous dargah of Uran. It is also a tourist attraction in Uran. Devotees from nearby areas visit this dargah on a large scale. * Uran Jama Masjid: Located in Masjid Mohalla area of Uran. It is the biggest mosque in uran. * Dargah of Hazrat Moinuddin Qadri: Located on Uran–Karanja road. * Masjid-e-Muhammadia: Located near Rajpal Naka *Datta Mandir: Located in Nave Popud(also known as Datta wadi) Devotees from the outskirts of Mumbai visit here during datta festival in Uran.

Other attractions

Another major tourist attraction in Uran are the three beaches: Pirwadi Beach, Nagav Beach, and Mankeshwar Beach which is frequented by tourists from nearby areas like Panvel in Navi Mumbai, other parts of Navi Mumbai, and

. A distant view of

South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahalaxmi (Western side), Byculla ...

is visible from here. A local rural beach Kegav Beach is present, which can also be visited by tourists, and tourists do visit this beach too, but mostly it remains isolated. So, in totality, Navi Mumbai's Uran node has four beaches. Ransai Dam is a destination in Uran. It is located near Dighode Village. An old military fort named Dronagiri is located just beside the ONGC plant on the top of the Dronagiri mountain. This was a

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

fort for a short period before passing into possession of the Portuguese, according to the locals. Entry has been banned for security reasons. Khopate Village: Khopate Village is popular for Dashami Festival which is celebrated on behalf of Saint Gopalkaka Maharaj. Dronagiri Mandir: A view from the top of the mountain where the temple of Dronagiri Devi is situated. Bird watching at the Panje-Funde wetlands.

References

Veer tukaram hari wajekar
{{Raigad district Cities and towns in Raigad district