The Gazetteers Department

The Bombay-Nagpur-Howrah railway line is the principal trade route in the district. This artery of trade has always been instrumental in expanding trade transactions with distant markets in Maharashtra as well as those in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat. It runs through the centre of the district with a length of about 40 miles and has the following stations, viz., Pulgaon, Kaotha, Dahegaon, Wardha, Sewagram, Paunar, Tuljapur and Sindi. The line was opened for traffic in 1867.

Wardha town occupies a unique importance because of its being a junction of the Bombay-Nagpur-Howrah and the Delhi-Madras trunk railway routes. The latter, viz., grand trunk route provides commercial traffic to North India as well as South India. This line touches the railway stations of Bhugaon, Sonegaon and Hinganghat in the district. This line was opened for traffic in 1877.

As regards the routes at the beginning of this century and before, the Wardha District Gazetteer, published in 1906, gives the following information. The route from " Pulgaon to Arvi and Ashti in the north is now the most important road in the district carrying the produce of much of the Arvi tahsil to the railway. It is metalled from Pulgaon to Ashti, a distance of 36 miles. North of the railway two old trunk roads connecting Nagpur with Berar and Bombay passed through the District. The southern of these goes through Selu, Elikeli, and Waiphal, leaving the District at the Apti ferry on the Wardha. It is now only maintained as a village road. The northern road running from Nagpur to Amraoti passes through Karanja and Thanegaon in the north of the Arvi tahsil and leaves the District at Bisnur. This road also is now only a village track. " [Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Wardha District, Vol. A, 1906, pp. 161 to 163.]

" The District cannot be considered to be well provided with roads in view of its great commercial importance, but as a new railway is shortly to be constructed through the Arvi tahsil, it would be useless to consider the improvement of the existing trade routes of this part of the District without reference to its influence. It is clear that feeder roads are required in the Arvi tahsil which is totally unprovided with them, but with the opening of a new railway the course of trade will probably be much altered. The great artery of the Arvi tahsil at present is the Pulgaon-Arvi road. Dhamangaon station across the Berar border is only 16 miles from Arvi as against the distance of 22 miles to Pulgaon and some small amount of trade exists between Arvi and Dhamangaon......... In the south of the Arvi tahsil the principal tracks are those from Kharangna to Anji and on to Wardha and from Hingni through Selu and Paunar to Wardha. From the Wardha tahsil south of the railway, cotton is taken either to Pulgaon or Wardha from the tracts surrounding Deoli, while some grain goes from Deoli to Degaon station.......... In the south of District the main trade routes are from Hinganghat through Jam to Samudrapur and Girar, and from Hinganghat through Wanera to Pohna........... These two roads are among the most important trade routes in the District. " [Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Wardha District, Vol. A, 1906, pp. 161 to 163.]

Road Routes at present.—Besides the two trunk railway routes, there are very good roads serving the transport needs of the mercantile community. The Bombay-Nagpur-Calcutta national highway serves the commercial traffic, especially from the Arvi tahsil, to important markets, such as, Amravati, Akola, Jalgaon, Bombay on the one hand and Nagpur, Calcutta and market centres in Madhya Pradesh, on the other. In the nature of things, this is the most important trade route in the context of the transit trade through the district. The southern region of the district gets the benefit of the Nagpur-Hyderabad national highway which facilitates goods traffic with Nagpur as well as with many principal markets in Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnad. This is an important artery of cotton trade from the most affluent cotton market at Hinganghat. The Nagpur-Wardha-Yeotmal state highway is another important line of traffic which is highly beneficial to the trade traffic from Wardha town to Yeotmal, Nagpur and markets in Madhya Pradesh. The Wardha-Arvi-Ashti road serves as an outlet to the traffic from Wardha and Arvi to centres of trade on the Bombay-Nagpur-Calcutta road. The Pulgaon-Arvi-Talegaon road serves as a feeder road to the Bombay-Nagpur-Calcutta road, and is highly beneficial to the transport of agricultural produce in the area. The Wardha-Hinganghat road serves the needs of local trade.

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