PLACES OF INTEREST

ERANDOL

Erandol (20°55' N, 75°20' E; p. 15,042), eight miles from Erandol Road railway station (Surat-Bhusaval line), is the headquarters of Erandol taluka. It rises with high battlemented walls from the bank of the Anjani river. Besides with Dhulia, about forty miles to the west, Erandol is connected by well made roads with Dharangaon eight miles to the north-west, and with the Mhasavad railway station eight miles to the south-east. On the Dharangaon road is a solid masonry level crossing over the Anjani river.

Population.

Of the total population of 15,042 according to the census figures of 1951, the agricultural classes number 7,472 and the non-agricultural classes 7,570. Of the latter, 2,369 persons derive their principal means of livelihood from production other than cultivation; 1,376 persons from commerce; 274 persons from transport; and 3,551 persons from other services and miscellaneous sources.

Municipality.

Erandol is a municipal town. It has an area of 399 acres. The municipality was established on the 1st September 1866 and is now governed by the Bombay District Municipal Act (III) of 1901. The municipal council is composed of 20 members, all elected. There are two seats for women, one to rotate in wards I and II, the other to rotate in wards III, IV and V. Two seats are reserved, one for the Scheduled Castes in ward No. I and the other for Scheduled Tribes in ward No. V. The municipality has, besides the managing committee, the dispensary and school committees.

In the year 1956-57, the total income of the municipality, excluding extraordinary and debt heads, amounted to Rs. 95,319, municipal rates and taxes accounting for Rs. 57,717, revenue derived from municipal property and powers apart from taxation, Rs. 15,145; grants and contributions (for general and special purposes), Rs. 22,042 and miscellaneous, Rs. 415. The expenditure during the same year, excluding extraordinary and debt heads, totalled Rs. 87,221 comprising general administration and collection charges, Rs. 17,945; public safety (lighting), Rs. 9,064; public health and convenience, Rs. 52,971, public instruction, Rs. 1,581, grants and contributions, Rs. 85, and miscellaneous, Rs. 5,575.

In more than half the number of houses there are wells. There are also public wells provided by the municipality. The residents also take water from the river Anjani, but this river dries up in summer when the municipality digs pits in the river bed.

There is no proper drainage system. There arc open U type gutters. Some are underground gutters built of stone and lime-mortar. The sullage water runs through the gutters and is emptied into the river Anjani at a place which is far from the town. Since 1954 the town has been supplied with electric lighting.

Primary schools in Erandol are managed by the District School Board. Education is compulsory till the 4th standard. The municipality pays its statutory contribution to the District School Board. There is a high school named Ramnath Trilokchand Kabare High School, which is conducted by the Erandol Education Society. There is a public library called 'Nagar Vachanalaya' to which a grant of Rs. 150 is paid by the municipality.

There is no regular fire service, but the municipality has a fire engine, and occurrences of fire are dealt with by the municipality with the help of its own staff and of the public. For fire service the municipality has purchased one 1½ H. P. machine.

The total mileage of roads in the town is about 6½ only two miles of which are metalled. There is a vegetable and fruit market and also a meat market. There is a dispensary run by the municipality which receives a grant-in-aid from Government. The veterinary dispensary in the town, run by the District Local Board, gets an annual grant from the municipality.

There are no cremation and burial places managed by the municipality. It is customary for the Hindus to burn their dead bodies near the river bed. The Muhammedans and others bury the dead near the river bed or in field provided for that purpose.

Objects.

Though doubtless an old settlement, the only reference that has been traced to Erandol is that, under the name Andal, it is, in 1630, mentioned as one of the places of the Payin Ghat of Chalsgaon that were ravaged by Shivaji.[ Bad Shah Nama in Elliot's History, VII. 16.] The manufacture of coarse paper, for which Erandol was once famous, is kept up to a small extent. There is also a considerable local trade in cotton, indigo, and grain, the chief market being Jalgaon, a railway station eight miles to the north-east.

The most remarkable building is, in the centre of the town, Pandava's Vada, a ruined stone mansion. It forms a large quadrangle, surrounded by a wall, a great part of which has a succession of windows with stone lattice-work of various patterns. The temple at one end, now used as a Musalman place of prayer, was once the centre of a raised corridor, which, as shown by the ruined pillars, formerly stretched right across the end of the quadrangle. On either side of the central shrine are arched recesses surrounded by beautiful and varied scroll work, with the crescent and star on the top of each. Above one arch are the remains of a beautiful Persian inscription. The central shrine has a massive roof of great blocks and beams of stone still bearing traces of red and yellow colouring, the whole supported on large stone pillars ornamented with flowers. The wall of the quadrangle, already falling in ruins, is coarse careless stone and mud work. The whole building is a curious mixture of styles. The only date, 1620, probably marks the year when the original Hindu buildings were changed and added to by the Muhammedans.

The only other ohject of special interest is at the crossing of the two chief streets, a group of graceful arches, one for each street.

Erandol has many temples, the oldest being the Keshavrav temple and Datta's temple. Saba Khuran's dargah is also very old.

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