PLACES

ARVI

Arvi is a municipal town and headquarters of the tahsil of the same name lying about 34 miles north-west of Wardha junction and 22 miles from Pulgaon junction on the Central Railway with both of which it is connected by tar roads. It is the terminating point of the Pulgaon-Arvi metre gauge link. Besides the railway there is a bus service to and from Arvi, Pulgaon and Wardha. Arvi has also post and telegraph facilities. It is thus favourably placed for transport and communications and it is these facilities that have largely contributed to the commercial growth of the town.

The name is said to have been derived from the fact that the earliest settlers were Phulmalis who were engaged in growing advi or Arum plant (Colocasia). Since the turn of this century its population has almost doubled and now (1961) stands at 21,478, the figures for 1901 and 1951 being 10,676 and 18,233 respectively. Arvi is said to have been founded about 412 years ago by one Telang Rav Wali and it is still sometimes called Arvi Telang Rav to distinguish it from another village of the same name in the tahsil. Both Hindus and Muhammedans claim Telang Rav as having belonged to their religion and both worship at his tomb which has since been converted into a shrine by contributions from the cotton merchants and the towns people. Under the Maratha Government Arvi was the headquarters of a paragana and a Kamavisdar resided here. The town extends east and west for about two miles and north and south for about a mile and a half along the road. A small stream separates the old and the new towns, the old town being called the Kasba and the new Civil-Line or the Peth. The new town is said to date from some 110 years ago and the settlement grew into township due to the impetus given to trade by some Marvadi banias.

Municipality

Arvi was constituted a municipality in May 1867 and has today an area of 4.0 square miles under its jurisdiction. Twenty elected members constitute the municipal council presided over by a president who is elected by the councillors from among themselves.

In 1965-66 the total income of the municipality derived from various sources like taxes, municipal property and powers apart from taxation, government grants and miscellaneous sources but excluding an amount of Rs. 89,041 as income from extraordinary and debt heads amounted to Rs. 7,19,313. As against this, expenditure incurred due to general administration and collection charges, public health and convenience, public instructions and the like stood at Rs. 9,52,649 during the same year. Expenditure due to extra-ordinary and debt heads amounted to Rs. 1,17,498.

Medical aid, Drainage and Water Supply : Institutions catering to the medical needs of the town populace include a civil hospital and a dispensary, a T. B. Clinic and two Ayurvedic dispensaries. These are fully financed and conducted by the municipality. There is also a family planning centre and though the town is not subject to epidemics regularly, an isolation ward with three beds is maintained. A full-fledged veterinary dispensary and an artificial insemination centre work towards the improvement and betterment of the live-stock breed. The drainage system of the town consists of pucca stone-lined and cement concrete drains. The sewage is let into a nala which cuts across the town. However, a plan for underground drainage has been submitted to Government for approval. Tap water-supply is made available from Sarangpur tank about two miles distant from the town. It was constructed in 1917 at a cost of Rs. 6,00,000. The supply, however, falls short of the total requirements and acute water-scarcity is felt during the summer months. Plans to augment it are awaiting government sanction.

Education : Primary education is compulsory. It is conducted by the municipal council which runs nine primary schools, one high school and one higher secondary school. Besides, there are a private high school and an Arts and Commerce college. The high school receives an annual grant of Rs. 500 from the municipal council. The town has also a library receiving an annual grant of Rs. 250 from the municipality.

Within the municipal limits there are three cremation places situated to the east, north and north-west of the town. In the northern corner of the town a burial place or kabarastan is maintained and used by the Muslim community. The town has no regular fire-fighting machinery but hydrants have been installed on the water mains to meet emergencies.

Commercial Importance.

Arvi's good means of transport and communications has made it a commercial centre of considerable importance. It is a flourishing town- ship for cotton trade and handloom cloth inhabited by rich cotton merchants and contains five ginning and pressing factories. Woollen blankets and carpets of cloth woven on handlooms command a good market in the district. Besides handloom co-operatives, there is a leather workers' co-operative also. Arvi and its surrounding villages are famous for the Gaolao breed of cattle and at the Thursday weekly market number of cattle of this breed are brought for sale. Purchasers even from outside the district mainly attend this market for the purchase of cattle. People from the surrounding villages buy their weekly quota of provisions as also brass and copper wares at this market. As Arvi tahsil as a whole produces more milk than could be locally consumed a Milk and Ghee Producers Union has recently been set up to collect the milk from the outlying areas and send it to Nagpur Milk Scheme. For this purpose a chilling plant has been provided at Pimpalkhuta which is also known throughout the Vidarbha region for its excellent quality of butter. At Hetikundi, another village in Arvi tahsil, a large cattle breeding farm is doing excellent work towards the improvement of the Gaolao breed. A good many orange orchards are cultivated in the vicinity of the town. A daily vegetable market has been provided by the municipality at a cost of Rs. 60,000. It was built in 1911. Aloda, a few kilometres east of the town, is known for its brick industry.

Objects.

There are very few places of worship or places of any architectural merit and elegance. Arvi has two temples dedicated to Mahadeva, one to Rama, a Jain Mandir and a Math of Mayabai, a local saint of some repute. The older of the two Mahadeva temples has a spacious sabha- mandap built in 1923 by one Kadam at his own cost. At this temple Mahashivratri festival is celebrated, but Dasara, on which day a huge effigy of Ravana, the legendary king of Lanka and the abductor of Sita, is burnt, attracts the largest crowd. The Rama temple was built in the beginning of the twentieth century, where mainly cultural programmes like staging of dramas and such other activities are held. Situated in the Ganapati ward of the town, the Jain temple belongs to the Digambara sect. Though small, it is well maintained and contains some fine glass-work. Mayabai math is built in the style of a vada and houses a shrine dedicated to Krishna. There is also a small shrine of Lakshmi Narayan. In front of the Krishna shrine are the Samadhis of Mayabai, her husband, and her son who is believed to have died while yet a child. On Margashirsha Vadya 13, celebrations are held in honour of Mayabai which were once blessed by the late Tukdoji Maharaj by his presence. Of the two parks maintained by the municipality the Robertson Park is well laid out as also maintained. It is by the side of the municipal office and was presented to the public by the sons of Ganpat Shankaraji Malguzar (Kadam) in memory of their father in 1917.

Arvi has a police station, a rest house, mamlatdar's and panchayat samiti offices and a court of the judicial magistrate conducting both civil and criminal cases.

TOP