BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE

TRADE ROUTES

By the middle of the last century there were very few routes of trade. Traffic was mainly by carts and pack bullocks. The Poona-Belgaum road which then ran through Satara and Tasgaon, and the road from Satara to Kolhapur which then ran by Masur, Karad, and Kasegaon to the Varna were partly passable to carts. [Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency, Vol. XIX, Satara District, 1885.] During the eighties of the last century, the Poona-Belgaum mail road was the chief line of traffic. The Peth-Sangli road served as an artery to the main road and was crossed by almost all the important roads of the district. The Karad-Tasgaon and Satara-Tasgaon roads served the needs of cart traffic. The former allowed heavy cart traffic [ Ibid.].

Present Routes of trade.

The Poona-Bangalore railway line which passes through the heart of the district is one of the most important routes of trade. It has made transit facilities available from this district to Poona, Belgaum, Harihar, Hubli, Dharwar, Bangalore, Kolhapur and Goa. After the conversion of this metre gauge line into a broad gauge one, which is in progress, its importance as an artery of trade will be heightened. It will facilitate direct transit trade with Bombay and distant markets in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The Poona-Bangalore national highway which passes through the district is a very important route which serves goods traffic from Sangli via Sangli-Peth road. This route, which can be approached from Sangli by the Sangli-Peth as well as by the Sangli-Kolhapur roads, facilitates goods transport to Karad, Poona and Bombay on the one hand and Belgaum, Hubli and Bangalore on the other. Besides, the district is fairly served by the (1) Sangli-Miraj road, (2) Sangli-Tasgaon-Vita-Mayani road, (3) Miraj-Pandharpur road, and (4) Karad-Tasgaon road.

Thus, the road routes in the district have facilitated trade links with Bombay, Poona, Satara, Bangalore, Sholapur, Kolhapur, Beleaum and Bijapur districts.

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