PLACES

PANVEL

Panvel (T. Panvel; 18°58' N, 73° 12' E; p. 14,861; RS. Mumbra, 16 m), the chief town in the Panvel taluka, lies on a creek about sixteen miles east of Bombay, and by road twenty miles south-east of Thana. Though Panvel is no longer a port of any name, small boats can reach Panvel during high-tide. Four large roads run from Panvel. One north, twenty miles to Thana; another southeast, about the same distance to Khopoli at the foot of the Bor pass [The old Bombay and Poona road was begun in 1820, completed in 1835 at a cost of Rs. 1,35,567. Mr. W. B. Mulock, C. S.]; the third west, fourteen miles to Uran; and the fourth six miles north-west to Ulva. Panvel lies on the Bombay-Bangalore National Highway and also on the Bombay-Konkah-Goa State Highway. There are two bridges on the Panvel creek, one on the Poona road is newly built and improved; and the other to the south-west on the Ulva road built in 1850.

The bulk of the people are husbandmen, shop-keepers, rice-cleaners, carpenters, labourers, and fishermen. Before the railway was opened, Panvel was a centre of trade between Poona and Bombay. Rice and other produce still comes down the Bor pass by road, and the town contains a number of merchants, brokers, and porters. The local production of salt has. of late been much reduced. The chief local industry is the making of cart wheels, of which every cart that comes from the Deccan carries away a pair. The nave is of Acacia catechu or khair wood and the rest of teak.

In 1570, Panvel is mentioned as an European trading port paying revenue to Gujarat [ Bird's Mirat-i-Ahmadi,129.]. In 1779 English party under Colonel Eagerton supporting the cause of Raghoba embarked at Bombay and' disembarked at Panvel on 25th of November. Later the party ascended the ghats and met the Marathas at Karle where it was severely defeated, Captain Stewart being among the killed. Again about two years later in April 1781 General Goddard had sent under Lieutenant-Colonel Brown, an escort of three battalions at Panvel for bringing on a convoy of grains and stores but the Maratha army under Parasurambhau attacked it with great force and dispersed it thus frustrating the plans of General Goddard to march across the Ghats, which he had to climb down and to retreat towards Panvel. It probably rose to importance along with Bombay, as the direct route from Bombay to the Deccan lies through Panvel. In 1804 Lord Valentia described it as a populous village, prettily situated on the banks of the river, in a plain surrounded by high hill. In 1810 Sir James Mackintosh found Panvel as a wooded village, well situated on a small hay, distinguished by the handsome dome of a mosque. For some time after its cession, in 1818, a small English force was kept in Panvel, and part of the town is still known as the camp [Mr. Cumine, C. S.]. In 1820, it is described as an extensive place, well situated for business and carrying on a considerable commerce, although standing in the midst of a salt morass. Besides being the grand ferry to Bombay it had the convenience of an inn, although not of the first quality [ Hamilton's Gazetteer, II. 370. Lieutenant Colonel Fitze Clarence (I819) writes (Journal, 321), that Panvel is the village at which officers genera'!;' land from Bombay on their route to the Deccan. The so-called inn, he adds, is a little hovel.]. According to Bishop Heber, Panvel in 1825 was a small country town with a temple, a handsome Musalman tomb,' and a pretty, quiet view of hills and woods. There was a comfortable bungalow built and kept by Government for the use of the travellers, and two taverns, one kept by a Portuguese, the other by a Parsr [Heber's Narrative, II. I 99.]. In 1862, it is mentioned as a populous town, for whose improvement provision had been made [ Thornton's Gazetteer, 752.].

To the north of the town is a handsome reservoir known as the Vadala talav, hut its water is bad and scanty. This, as well as the Parvati and Krsnali reservoirs, were built by one Balajipant Bapat. The town lies low and is shut in by hills. Panvel has a Rice-Research Station, Mamlatdar's office, a stone building at the centre of the town and a huge State Transport depot. The Dhutpapesvar Industries Ltd., is to the west of the S. T. stand. On the bank of a small pond to the north-west of the town stands the tomb of a Musalman missionary called Karimshah. It is about 200 years old and has no pretensions to architectural merit [ In 1804 Lord Valentia described the tomb as a neat building with a dome and two small pinnacles peeping from a mango grove. Attached to the tomb were twenty-five Kuran readers. According to the priests, Karim was a native of Lucknow, who had lived in Panvel for six years. Travels, II. 169.]. Here a yearly fair is held on Magh Suddh 11th (December), and is attended by a large number of Musalmans and Hindus from Thana, Kalyan, and Bombay. The chief articles sold are sweetmeats, cloth, fruits, and children's toys. Besides Karimshah's tomb, the only antiquities are some fragments of fortification in the creek. These are probably the ruins of a small fort, which was built in 1682 by Sivaji's son Sambhaji. to protect the neighbourhood from the raids of Aurangzeb's Sidis, who used to land and burn or carry off rice [ Hamilton's Description of Hindustan, II. I 5 I. ].

The population of the town according to the 1951 Census was 14.861 of which the agricultural classes numbered 1.169 and the non-agricultural 13.692. Of the latter, persons deriving their livelihood from production other than cultivation numbered 3,845; 3.036 from commerce; 1,022 from transport and 5,789 from other services and miscellaneous sources.

Municipality.

Panvel, with an area of 4.7 square miles, is a municipal town. The municipality was etablished in 1855. It is now governed under the Bombay District Municipal Act, 1901. The municipal council is composed of 21 members. Two seats are reserved for women and one seat for Harijans. The municipal affairs are looked after by various committees, viz., (1) Managing Committee, (2) Dispensary Committee, (3) Sanitation Committee, (4) Assessment Committee, (5) School Committee, (6) Water Supply Improvement Sub-committee and (7) Town Development Sub-committee. The administrative organisation of the municipality comprises the following departments:-

(i) General Administration,

(ii) Revenue,

(iii) Octroi and Toll,

(iv) Public Works,

(v) Water works, and

(vi) Sanitation.

Income and Expenditure.

The income of the municipality for the year 1959-60 excluding extraordinary and debt heads was Rs. 4,18,994.93 comprising municipal rates and taxes Rs. 3,55,261.61; realization under special acts Rs. 902.36; revenue derived from municipal property and powers apart from taxation Rs. 15,154.67; grants and contributions Rs. 36,808.79 and miscellaneous Rs. 10,867.50. The expenditure for the same year amounted to Rs. 4,58,743.03; general administration being Rs. 1,63,317.16; public safety Rs. 16,124.72; public health and convenience Rs. 1,96,106.91; public instruction Rs. 46,795; contributions Rs. 911 and miscellaneous Rs. 35,488.24.

Water-Supply.

Panvel depends for its water-supply on the river Gadhi. There are also about 97 public and private wells which supplement the river water. The Panvel Water-Supply Improvement Scheme was undertaken in two stages. The first stage consisted in building a six feet high dam on the Gadhi and bringing the water thus collected through hume-pipes to Panvel. At Panvel a large storage tank 30 feet in height and with a capacity of 1,50,000 gallons has been built to store the water and from here the water is taken through small pipes for distribution in the residential areas. The first stage was completed in 1946 at a cost of Rs. 6,29,758 and supplied per head about 15 gallons of water. The second stage envisaged in the scheme is being implemented and is expected to supply per head 30 gallons of water on its completion. The second stage consists in building another dam on the same river but on its upper side and taking the water to the Panvel town.

The waste water in the town is carried away through kutcha gutters. An underground drainage scheme for the town is now under way. Compost is made from the night-soil.

For the maintenance of public health and sanitation the municipality undertakes from time to time the destruction of rats and stray dogs, spraying of D. D. T. and measures against different epidemics like plague, cholera, small-pox polio and diphtheria.

Drainage.

The municipal dispensary is housed in its own building. The municipality pays an annual grant of Rs. 7,200 and Rs. 200 to the Dhutapapesvar Ayurvedic Rugnalaya, Panvel and Mata Bal Sahgopan Mandal, Panvel, respectively. There is also a Mission Hospital at Panvel. The municipality grants licences for carrying on certain trades within its areas.

The Kustarog (leprosy) Nivaran Samiti, Panvel, was formed in 1952. It carries on preventive propaganda against leprosy and also gives medical treatment for the cure of the patients. The patients are first sent to the Acworth Leprosy Home, Vadala for examination and are then treated in Panvel with Sulphonc. The municipality pays an annual grant of. Rs. 1,000 to the Samiti.

The municipality maintains a fish and a mutton market. There is also a cattlepound. It undertakes the care of various reservoirs in the town and carries on fish culture in Devale, Krisnale and Lendale tanks. It also maintains vital statistics.

The total road length within the municipal area is eight miles of which 6.10 miles are pukka roads, 1.20 miles kutcha and 0.70 miles concrete.

For public amenities, the municipality has built an open air theatre and laid out a public park named Asok Udyana.

In the sphere of education and literacy, the municipality undertook free primary education since 1919. In 1927, primary education was entrusted to the Kolaba District School Board. At present, besides a Zilla Parishad's primary school, a Marathi Girls School, an Urdu School, the Nutan Gujarati Sala, Government Basic Training College, Konkan Education Society's Vithoba Khandappa Vidyalaya and Kesavji Veerji Kanya Vidyalaya are the various educational institutions in the town. The Poor Boy's Fund, Panvel, gives to the needy students books for use, free of charge. The municipality pays an annual grant of Rs. 500 to the Sarvajanik Vacanalaya and Granthalaya, and Rs. 50 to the Bahisal Siksan Kendra, Panvel.

The municipality maintains a cremation ground for Hindus. Other communities manage their own burial places.

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