Shirdi

Not to be confused with Shiradi
Shirdi
City
Nickname(s): Shirdi Nagari;
Sainagar Shirdi
Shirdi
Coordinates: 19°46′N 74°29′E / 19.77°N 74.48°E / 19.77; 74.48Coordinates: 19°46′N 74°29′E / 19.77°N 74.48°E / 19.77; 74.48
Country India India
State Maharashtra
District Ahmednagar
Taluka Rahata
Named for Seeradi
Government
 • Type Municipal Council
 • Body Shirdi Nagar Panchayat
Area
 • Total 13 km2 (5 sq mi)
Elevation 504 m (1,654 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 36,004
 • Density 2,800/km2 (7,200/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Marathi
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN 423109
Telephone code 02423
Vehicle registration MH-17
Website maharashtra.gov.in

Shirdi  pronunciation  is a City in the jurisdiction of the municipal council popularly known as Shirdi Nagar Panchayat, located in Rahata Taluka in Ahmednagar District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is accessible via the Ahmednagar – Malegaon State Highway No.10, approximately 83 km from Ahmednagar and 15 km from Kopargaon. It is located 185 km east of the Western Seashore line (the Ahmednagar – Manmad road), a very busy route.

Shirdi is famously known as the home of the late 19th century saint Sri Sai Baba.[1] The Sri Saibaba Sansthan Trust also located in Shirdi is one of the richest temple organisations.[2]

Etymology

As per Indologist Vishwanath Khaire, the name Shirdi is derived from Tamil Seeradi = Seer + Adi. (In Devanagari script : सीर् + अडि = सीरडि). — The name in Tamil language means The Foot of Prosperity.[3]

Demographics

As of the 2011 India census, the population of Shirdi stood at 36,004. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Shirdi has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 62%. In Shirdi, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.[4]

Transportation

Rail

Shirdi now has a new railway station called "Sainagar Shirdi", which became operational in March 2009.

As of 2011, there are trains from Chennai,[5][6] Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Mysore[7] and other cities/states that have Shirdi railway station as their terminal stop.

Air

Shirdi Airport has been inaugurated by India's President Mr. Ramnath Kovind on 1St October 2017. There are two destinations from Shirdi airport, one is Hyderabad airport and the other is Mumbai airport. The airport is located at Kakdi (Kopargaon taluka), 14 km south-west of Shirdi.[8] but the construction according to the original plans was completed in February 2016, and the first trial flight landed on 2 March 2016.[9] There are plans to lengthen the runway from 2,200 metres to 3,200 metres. The target completion date is 2017 or 2018.[10]

The nearest major airports are at Aurangabad and Pune, 115 km and 186 km respectively from Shirdi.

By car

  • Shirdi is accessible via the Ahmednagar-Manmad State Highway No.10, approximately 83 km from Ahmednagar and 15 km from Kopargaon.
  • It is approximately 240 km from Mumbai on the Eastern Express Highway.
  • Distance between Pune and Shirdi is about 204 km, and travel time via car is about 3 hours 40 minutes.

  • References

    1. ↑ "Shirdi". Amazing Maharashtra.
    2. ↑ http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/india-top-10-richest-temples-27684.html?page=4
    3. ↑ http://www.newindology.in/Docs/Place%20names%20in%20Maharashtra.pdf
    4. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
    5. ↑ "New trains will start operations from July". The Hindu. 2011-06-30. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
    6. ↑ "Coimbatore-Tuticorin Express service from today". Tuticorin: The Hindu. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
    7. ↑ "Mysore-Shirdi weekly train from Aug 1". Hubli: The Times of India. 2011-07-29. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
    8. ↑ "Shirdi airport work in full swing: Official". Times of India. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
    9. ↑ Yogesh Naik (3 March 2016). "First trial flight touches down at Shirdi airport". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
    10. ↑ Kunal Anand (10 February 2016). "Maharashtra govt made the runway for Shirdi Airport in 2013, rest of it will be made in 2017!". India Times. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
    • Shirdi travel guide from Wikivoyage
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