Alibag,also known asAlibaug(Pronunciation:[əlibaːɡ]), is a coastal city and amunicipal councilinRaigad districtofMaharashtra,India.It is the headquarters of the Raigad district and is south of the city ofMumbai.Alibag is part of theMumbai Metropolitan Regionand is situated at a distance of about 96 km from Mumbai and 143 km fromPune.
Alibag | |
|---|---|
Coastal City Mumbai Metropolitan Region | |
 Alibag sea beach | |
  Alibag Location of Alibag | |
| Coordinates:18°38′N72°53′E/ 18.64°N 72.88°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| District | Raigad |
| Taluka | Alibag |
| Government | |
| • President Alibag Municipal Council | Prashant Naik |
| • Vice President Alibag Municipal Council | Mansi Mhatre |
| • Chief Officer Alibag Municipal Council | Mahesh Chaudhary |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 20,743 |
| Demonyms | Alibagkar, Alibaugkar |
| Languages | |
| • Native | Konkani |
| • Official | Marathi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30(IST) |
| Postal Index Number | 402 201 |
| Telephone code | 02141 |
| Climate | Tropical savanna climate |
Alibag is a holy place forPadmakshi Renuka,who is also known as the goddess ofKonkan.
History
editAlibag was founded in the 17th century by theAdmiralof theMaratha NavyKanhoji Angre.
Alibag and its surrounding villages are the historic hinterlands ofBene IsraelJews. According toIndian JewishhistorianEsther David,Jews arrived in the region over 2000 years ago, escapingpersecution from the Roman Empire,when their ship wrecked here. As they got into the business ofoil-pressingandplantations,continued practisingSabbathand took holidays on Saturday, they came to be known as 'Shanvar-telis'('Saturday – Oilpeople')[1]There is asynagoguenamed 'Magen Aboth Synagogue' in the "Israel Alley" (Marathi ' इस्राएल आळी ' meaning Israel lane) area of the town.[2][3]
Etymology
editA Bene Israelite named Eli (Elisha/Elizah) used to live there at that time and owned many plantations of mangoes and coconuts in his gardens. The natives started calling the place "Eli cha Bagh" (which means "Eli's garden" ) and in the subsequent generations the pronunciation changed to simply "Alibag", and the name stuck.[2]
Geography
editAlibag is located about 120km south ofMumbai,at18°38′29″N72°52′20″E/ 18.64139°N 72.87222°E.The average elevation is 0 metres (0 feet). The District Government offices are located along the seacoast road.
Demographics
editAs of 2001[update]Indiacensus,[4]Alibag had a population of 19,491. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Alibag has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 54% of the males and 46% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. 75% of the population speaks the Marathi language.
As of the 2011 census, Alibag town had a population of 20,743, of which 10,646 are males while 10,097 are females, and 17,431 were educated, with a literacy rate of 84%.[5]
The population of children ages 0–6 is 1833, which is 8.84% of the total population of Alibag.
Climate
edit| Climate data for Alibag (1991–2020, extremes 1933–2012) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.0 (96.8) |
38.5 (101.3) |
40.1 (104.2) |
40.0 (104.0) |
39.6 (103.3) |
37.2 (99.0) |
36.5 (97.7) |
33.6 (92.5) |
34.9 (94.8) |
38.1 (100.6) |
37.9 (100.2) |
36.1 (97.0) |
40.1 (104.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.1 (84.4) |
29.5 (85.1) |
31.0 (87.8) |
32.3 (90.1) |
33.6 (92.5) |
32.1 (89.8) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.6 (87.1) |
32.9 (91.2) |
33.4 (92.1) |
31.2 (88.2) |
31.3 (88.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.6 (63.7) |
18.6 (65.5) |
21.2 (70.2) |
24.1 (75.4) |
26.7 (80.1) |
26.1 (79.0) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.2 (77.4) |
24.6 (76.3) |
23.9 (75.0) |
21.6 (70.9) |
18.9 (66.0) |
22.9 (73.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 9.4 (48.9) |
11.2 (52.2) |
14.1 (57.4) |
17.6 (63.7) |
21.7 (71.1) |
20.5 (68.9) |
19.5 (67.1) |
20.4 (68.7) |
21.0 (69.8) |
16.2 (61.2) |
14.5 (58.1) |
12.7 (54.9) |
9.4 (48.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.6 (0.02) |
0.1 (0.00) |
0.1 (0.00) |
0.2 (0.01) |
11.9 (0.47) |
573.3 (22.57) |
801.0 (31.54) |
530.1 (20.87) |
388.3 (15.29) |
86.5 (3.41) |
9.6 (0.38) |
7.2 (0.28) |
2,408.8 (94.83) |
| Average rainy days | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 15.2 | 22.3 | 20.3 | 13.7 | 4.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 77.3 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%)(at 17:30IST) | 62 | 63 | 65 | 70 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 83 | 79 | 70 | 65 | 63 | 71 |
| Source:India Meteorological Department[7][8] | |||||||||||||
Cyclones
editIn November 2009,Cyclone Phyanmade landfall in the city. Massive damage to property was reported in the districts ofRatnagiri,Raigad,Sindhudurg,Thaneand Palghar. Eleven years later, in early June 2020, severecyclonic storm Nisargamade landfall in Alibag at peak intensity. The cyclone blew off tin andasbestossheets from roofs and uprooted trees in Alibag. Several trees fell on houses.[9]
Places of interest
editHistorical
edit
- Kolaba Fort,an old fortified maritime base which was the naval headquarters of the Maratha rulerShivaji,and was used to launch raids on British ships.[10]
- 'Kanhoji Angre Samadhi', the memorial to Maratha AdmiralKanhoji Angre[11]
- Hirakot fort, built by Kanhoji Angre in 1720[12]
Religious
edit- Kalambika Mandir, temple built by Kanhoji Angre[13]
- Balaji Mandir, temple to Lord Shri Balaji or ShriVenkateshwar(an avatar of lord Shri Vishnu), built in 1788.[13]
- 'Magen Aboth synagogue' in the 'Israel Alley' area of the town[3]
Scientific
editAlibag houses amagnetic observatorythat was set up in 1904.[14]It serves as one of the significant observatories forming part of a global network now run byIndian Institute of Geomagnetism.The observatory has two buildings; the first building hasmagnetometersthat record changes occurring in thegeomagnetic fields.The second building consists of precision recording instruments, which give data aboutgeomagnetic stormscaused by solar storms which are shared with other countries.[14]
Transport
editRoad
editAlibag is reached viaPen(30 km), which is on theMumbai(108 km) –Goaroad(NH-66). Alibag is situated near National Highway – 166A.[15]It is approximately 108 km from Mumbai. Alibag also hasMSRTCbus connectivity mostly from Mumbai andKonkan division.
Boat services
editThe nearestjettyisMandwa,from wherecatamaran/ferryservices are available to theGateway of India,Mumbai.
ARo-Ro serviceis available fromFerry Wharfto Mandwa from where Alibag can be reached by road.
Notable people
editNotable people born in Alibag include:
- Kanhoji Angre– Indian admiral,Maratha Navy's Chief (18th-century India)
- Datta Narayan Patil– Indian Politician & Social Worker
- Devdatta Nage– Indian actor
- Nana Patekar– Celebrated film actor and writer
- Sanjay Raut– Indian journalist & politician
- Ramesh Tendulkar– Noted Marathi poet andSachin Tendulkar's father
- Adesh Bandekar– Marathi actor, politician
- Arun Shridhar Vaidya– 13thChief of the Army Staff (India)
- Mugdha Vaishampayan– Indian singer
- Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari– Indian spiritual Guru
- Mukri– Indian actor
Education
editAlibag has a Government Medical College for medical students in the district. The medical college started in the year 2022.[16]
Geographical indication
editAlibag White onionwas awarded theGeographical Indication(GI) status tag from theGeographical Indications Registry,under theUnion Government of India,on 16 November 2022.[17]
Alibag Pandhara Kanda Shetkari Utpadak Gat from Alibag, proposed the GI registration of Alibag White onion. After filing the application in January 2020, the Onion was granted the GI tag in 2022 by the Geographical Indication Registry inChennai,making the name "Alibag White onion" exclusive to the Onion grown in the region. It thus became the second onion variety from Maharashtra afterLasalgaon onionandthe 17th type of goods from Maharashtra to earn the GI tag.[18][19]
The GI tag protects the onion from illegal selling and marketing, and gives it legal protection and a unique identity.
References
edit- ^Devidayal, Namita (15 May 2016)."Alibaug's secret: A legendary drink with a Jewish connect".Times of India.Retrieved29 October2022.
- ^abKaimal, Dr.Mohankumar C. (2014).ICT For Rural Development.Laxmi Book Publications. p. 17.ISBN978-1-312-71081-8.Retrieved25 April2019.
- ^abPinglay-Plumber, Prachi (27 October 2022)."Abraham's Footsteps".Outlook India.Retrieved27 October2022.
- ^"Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)".Census Commission of India. Archived fromthe originalon 16 June 2004.Retrieved1 November2008.
- ^"Population finder 2011".Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
- ^"Alibag Population 2011".Census 2011.
- ^ "Station: Alibagh Climatological Table 1981–2010"(PDF).Climatological Normals 1981–2010.India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 25–26. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 5 February 2020.Retrieved30 March2020.
- ^ "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)"(PDF).India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M136. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 5 February 2020.Retrieved30 March2020.
- ^"Cyclone Nisarga skips Mumbai, makes landfall at Alibag".The Economic Times.Retrieved6 November2020.
- ^"Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency".Government Central Press. 2 May 2024.
- ^"Chhatribagh of Angria in Alibaug".Maharashtra Times.3 July 2021.Retrieved27 October2022.
- ^"Hirakot Fort".Maharashtra Tourism.
- ^ab"Alibag: List of Heritage Properties"(PDF).Mumbai Metropolitan Region – Heritage Conservation Society.
- ^abGawali, P. B.; Doiphode, M. G.; Nimje, R. N. (1 September 2015)."Colaba-Alibag magnetic observatory and Nanabhoy Moos: the influence of one over the other".History of Geo- and Space Sciences.6(2): 107–131.Bibcode:2015HGSS....6..107G.doi:10.5194/hgss-6-107-2015.
- ^"Other Maps of Raigad District | District Raigad, Government of Maharashtra | India".
- ^"Government Medical College & Hospital, Alibag".gmchalibag.in.Retrieved27 November2022.
- ^"Alibag White onion".Intellectual Property India.Retrieved24 November2024.
- ^Kandavel, Sangeetha (14 December 2022)."Nine products from across country get GI tag, Kerala tops table".The Hindu.Retrieved7 December2024.
- ^"Assam's Gamosa, Telangana's Tandur Redgram, Ladakh's apricot get GI tag".Business-Standard.Retrieved7 December2024.
External links
edit
Alibagtravel guide from Wikivoyage
