Khamgaon

Khamgaon is a city in Buldhana District, Maharashtra, India. It is one of the 13 talukas in Buldhana district. Most of the district government offices are in the city. There have been demands to create a separate Khamgaon district from the Buldana district – the proposed district would comprise Khamgaon, Shegaon, Sangrampur (Sonala), Jalgaon (Jamod), Malkapur, Nandura and Motala tehsils.

Khamgaon is often called "Silver City" because it has a biggest silver Market in Vidarbha. One can get purest form of silver products. Along with silver the gold market is also booming there are number of Goldsmith's in the city . It had previously been known as "Cotton City" when it was a major trade center for cotton during the British Raj.It is an important educational hub in the district.There are many primary, secondary, higher secondary schools in the town.City is well equipped with the facilities for higher education including arts, science, commerce,law, medical, polytechnic and engineering. The Dnyanganga Wildlife Sanctuary is situated 20 km from Khamgaon town of Maharashtra. Many animals such as Leopards, sloth bears, barking deer, blue bulls, spotted deer, hyenas, jungle cats and jackals along with tigers give more attraction. About 150 species of birds are there. The ideal time to visit the sanctuary is from January to June. Wild animals are best sighted from February to May. There are many local guides present near sanctuary to provide information about the sanctuary. ^[1]

History

Khamgaon Used to be a Major Cotton hub during the British era, and has many old buildings from British era. There are many historical and religious places around the city Sant Gajanan Maharaj Shegaon, a holy place for Hindus, is located about 17 km (11 mi) northeast of Khamgaon in Shegaon. Gondhanapur Fort, Gondhanpur, Garadgaon Buddha Vihara, Garadgaon, Kinhi Mahadev Temple, Kinhi Mahadev, Moreshwar Mahadev Temple, Lakhanwada, Ghat Darwaja, Dhadam, Ballal Devi and Mahadev Temple, Amdapur, Supo maharaj temple, Palshi supo, Jalgaon jamod, mahasiddha maharaj Temple, Dhanora ( Mahasiddha) Jalgaon jamod, Hanuman Mandir, Waghli, januna Talav, Dnyanganga wildlife sanctuary, 30 km away on the way to Buldhana one can visit it anytime of the Month.

The older name of Khamgaon was 'Khamkhed'.

Dharma Baskar Sant Pachalegaonkar Maharaj Math is situated in Khamgaon. Nirgun Paduka of Dattatreya is believed to have been given to Pachalegaonkar Maharaj and is worshipped there by devotees.

Festivals

Khamgaon hosts the biggest festival called Mothi Devi festival which is 11 day festival of Jagdamba Mata falls after Navrata.Jagadamba Devi Festival designate to Hindu Goddess Jagadamba. The festival is called 'mothi Devi Shanti utsav. Along with this Diwali, Holi, Dashera, Ganesh Chturthi, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti are the Major Festival of the City.

Transport

Khamgaon is well connected by National Highway 6 (NH 6) and Central Railway's Mumbai–Kolkata railway line. The city is served by the Khamgaon railway station, which was built during the British Raj. A Khamgaon–Jalna Railway line was approved by the Railway Minister in 2016.^[2]

Khamgoan railways station which runs a local train between Khamgoan to Jalamb there is a special direct train from Khamgoan to Pandharpur during Aashadhi Ekadashi wari the nearest railway stations are Malkapur, Jalamb Junction, Shegaon and Akola Junction, from which connections can be made to the broader rail network.

Demographics

As of the 2011 India census,^[3] Khamgaon had a population of 94,191. Males constituted 51.4% of the population and females 48.6%. Khamgaon had an average literacy rate of 92%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy was 81%, and female literacy was 71%. 15% of the population was under 6 years of age. The main language spoken in Khamgaon is Marathi with hint of varhadi dialect.

References