Gangakhed

Gangakhed is a city on banks of Godavari River and a municipal council in Parbhani district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is also known as Dakshin Kashi.[2] This Is A Second Largest City In Parbhani District.

Gangakhed Dakshin Kashi
City
Gangakhed Railway Station
Gangakhed Location in Maharashtra, India
Coordinates: 18.95°N 76.75°E
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Parbhani
Government
• Type	Municipal council
Elevation	390 m (1,280 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	149,891[1]
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[3] Gangakhed had a population of 99,412. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Gangakhed has an average literacy rate of 60%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 68%, and female literacy is 52%. In Gangakhed, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age which may have changed significantly through the last decade. GANGAKHED is the largest Taluka in Parbhani district.

Education

There are many schools in Gangakhed for the primary and secondary education. Along with these, there is ACS college governed by "Sant janbai education society"which was established in 1972. It has all educational facilities for three year degree courses in Arts, Commerce and Science. There are many small colleges for D.Ed., B.Ed., BCS, BCA. All the colleges in Gangakhed are affiliated with Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Nanded. Saraswati Vidyalaya, Venkatesh Vidyalaya, Sant Janabai Vidyalaya are the famous schools in Gangakhed. Dr. Zakir Hussain Primary and High School is famous for Urdu medium education.

Industry and business

There is a sugar factory By Ratnakar Gutte with a combined cycle power plant in Gangakhed which caters to the sugarcane farmers in the local region. Several small-scale businesses and business agencies thrive mostly around agricultural sector. There is also edible oil industry which runs by public and private sector; the region is famous for edible oil production and also famous for cotton production and related industries because Gangakhed is located on Deccan Trap and the bank of river Godavari so the regur soil is there and is very useful for cotton production.

Business in the city is ever blooming key sectors are cloth, agriculture consumables. Consumers not only locals but also from far off cities come here to purchase clothes and sarees especially at shops like Sagar sarees, Yash collection, Chandak dresses, Shree collection and Chintamani dresses.

Hospitals

A government hospital and several private hospitals especially Dr Anand(MD Medicine) and Amol Chandak's - Chandak Hospital, Biyani orthopedics Hospital, #kabra Hospital, Anusaya lab or #chintamani hospital are operational in the town. Patients can get good quality healthcare locally.

Hindu temples

Gangakhed is the birthplace of Shree Sant Janabai. As it is situated on the bank of Godavari river it has largest number of various temples on the bank of the holy river. The Balaji temple which is the only temple like Tirupati Balaji, having both Balaji and Govinda under one roof. From many years Navratra festival is celebrated with the big event "Rath Yatra". Also, the Chintamani Mandir, of lord Ganesha, which is situated near the Balaji Temple on the bank of river, giving a nice view of Godawari river. People celebrate Cahturthi and other poojas at this temple. Some more temples to mention are - Bomblya mahadev, Narsimha mandir both placed on the river bank, Datta Mandir is also one of the important temple in Gangakhed. Shiv temple named as "Mannath Mandir" is a revered temple in the southern part of the city, this is popular amongst devotees and has many visitors in Shravan month of Hindu calendar.

Transportation

Railway

Gangakhed is a station on the Parbhani to Parli route. Gangakhed is a second class Railway Station, its Station Code is GNH. Gangakhed was a large taluka long ago and it was a very prosperous taluka between Sonpeth and Palam.

Many years have passed since the arrival of trains in Gangakhed, in the past there used to be four or five coach trains, steam locomotives.

There are so many trains halts here like Parli Vaijnath Purna Passenger Purna Parli Vaijnath Passenger, Hazur Sahib Nanded Express, Kolhapur Nagpur Express

Road

Gangakhed has a MSRTC Bus Stop and a MSRTC maintenance depo. This MSRTC Bus Stop connected to all major cities of Maharashtra and Villages in the Gangakhed Taluka like Masla Gangakhed Gangakhed has direct roads to Parbhani, Parli, Nanded, Ahmedpur, Latur.

Water

Although Gangakhed is situated on the bank of Godavari, a major river in the country, it does not have any means of transportation via water due to lack of enough water level and preference toward road and rail transports.

See also

• Ranisawargaon
• Gaowdgaon

References

1. "Parbhani District Demography, Census 2011". Census 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
2. https://www.esakal.com/marathwada/peoples-movement-saint-janabai-after-saibaba-261352%7Cwebsite= Sakal News}}
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.