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PLACES
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NATEPUTE
Situated on the Pune-Sholapur road about five miles to the west of Malshiras in 17°50' north latitude and 74°45' east longitude, Nate-pute has been mentioned in the old Sholapur District Gazetteer, 1884, as a market town with in 1872 a population of 2,376 and in 1881 of 2,261. It also mentions that a weekly market is held on Wednesdays at which during the year about Rs. 1,95,000 worth of goods are estimated to change hands and about 100 looms prepare blankets valued at Rs. 5,000 a year.
The population of this large village, as per the, Census of 1971, is 7,342. It has a post and telegraph office. The educational facilities arc provided by the primary schools conducted by the Zilla Parishad and a high school known as Natepute High School. Natepute has a primary health centre and a family planning centre. Wells form the main source of water-supply. A weekly market which is also a cattle market is held on every Wednesday. It has a Government rest-house too.
The village was founded and raised to a place of prominence during the period of Bahamanis. The village has two temples of Girjashankar or Gaurishankar and Parvateshwar. Both are old temples. The temples of Girjashankar, though constructed in Hemadpanti style, could not be considered to be more than 400 years old. Many families in the Marath-wada region have helped in the construction of the temple, the temple goddess being the family deity (Kuladaivat) of many of these families. A fair largely attended by pilgrims on their way to Shambhuling festival at Shingnapur in Man taluka of Satara district is held at the Gaurishankar temple on the eighth of the bright half of Chaitra (March-April). More than 10,000 people are estimated to be attending the fair every year. Of the two built-in ponds on the east and west of the town, the west called the Kasam pond being very large formerly used to supply the village with water by a channel. However, at present it is out of repairs.
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