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PLACES
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POLADPUR
Poladpur (Poladpur Peta; 17°55' N, 73°25' E; P. 1,989; RS. mumbra, 110 m.) a small town in the Poladpur peta lies on the Dasganv-Mahabalesvar Road, about ten miles south of Mahad. The Bombay-Konkan-Goa State Highway passes through Poladpur and stretches south throughout the length of Ratnagiri to enter Goa. Sivaji very often used to visit Poladpur. The objects of historical importance are the Math of Ramdas Svami, the Samadhi of Kavindra Parmanand, the author of Sivabharat and the tomb of Poladjung (Faulad-Khan). In May 1818 Poladpur was the scene of a fight between Lieutenant Crossby with seventy-five sepoys and 140 horses and a body of Marathas, Pathans and Arabs 470 strong. When Lieutenant Crossby attacked the sepoys, they fled in about a quarter of an hour leaving about twenty killed and wounded, and sixteen prisoners. At Poladpur is the tomb of the Reverend Donald Mitchell, the first missionary of the Scottish Missionary Society in India. The tomb which is maintained by the Public Works Department is in good condition and bears an inscription. Poladpur among other things contains the Math of Sant Ramdas which was frequently visited by Raja Sivaji. A mention of this village frequently appears in the ' Granth' named Das Visramdhan. There is also the Samadhi of poet Parmanand, now in a decayed condition, and his Math with a well attached to it. On the bank of the river Savitri there is the tomb of a European and many more Samadhis of unidentified persons. A Muslim sardar by name Polad Jung has also his dargah here. The ' Wadas ' or palaces of the Citres, a branch of the Citnis family who was in the employ of Sivaji, though lying in a decayed condition, still speak of the past glories and prosperity of Poladpur. A dispensary is run by a Mission. The travellers' bungalow at Poladpur is occupied by the Office of Mahalkari since 1948. A Public Works Department store was constructed in 1959. Till 1948 Poladpur formed part of Mahad taluka. Now it is the headquarters of a taluka named after it. There is a village pancayat, a high school and a leprosy home at Poladpur.
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