Shirdi

Shirdi pronunciation  also known as Sainagar is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Rahata taluka of Ahmednagar District. 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.

Not to be confused with Shiradi
Shirdi

Sainagar
City
Nickname(s): 
Shirdi Nagari;
Sainagar Shirdi
Shirdi
Coordinates: 19.77°N 74.48°E / 19.77; 74.48
Country India
StateMaharashtra
DistrictAhmednagar
TalukaRahata
Named forSeeradi
Government
 • TypeMunicipal Council
 • BodyShirdi Nagar Panchayat
Area
 • Total13 km2 (5 sq mi)
Elevation
504 m (1,654 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total36,004
 • Density2,800/km2 (7,200/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialMarathi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
423109
Telephone code02423
Vehicle registrationMH-17
Websitemaharashtra.gov.in

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

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.[3]

Transport

Train

The Sainagar Shirdi Railway station became operational in March 2009. As of 2011, there are trains from Chennai,[4][5] Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Hyderabad Mysore[6] and other cities/states that have Shirdi railway station as their terminal stop. However very few weekly and biweekly trains are available from Shirdi station.

People use Kopargaon Railway station (18 Kms apart)to reach Shirdi. Trains which do not go to shirdi, have halts at Kopargaon from last 2 decades. Trains to all over India can be taken from Kopargaon Station. Manmad is also accessible from shirdi by 60 Kms road travel.

Air

Shirdi Airport was inaugurated by the President of India, Ramnath Kovind, on 1 October 2017. There are major destinations from Shirdi airport, viz. the airports of Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai. The airport is located at Kakdi, 14 km south-west of Shirdi.[7] The construction, according to the original plans, was completed in February 2016, and the first trial flight landed on 2 March 2016.[8] There are plans to lengthen the runway from 2,200 metres to 3,200 metres. The target completion date is 2017 or 2018.[9]

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. The 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. "India's top 10 richest temples". www.indiatvnews.com. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  3. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  4. "New trains will start operations from July". The Hindu. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  5. "Coimbatore-Tuticorin Express service from today". The Hindu. Tuticorin. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  6. "Mysore-Shirdi weekly train from Aug 1". The Times of India. Hubli. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  7. "Shirdi airport work in full swing: Official". Times of India. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  8. Yogesh Naik (3 March 2016). "First trial flight touches down at Shirdi airport". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  9. 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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