Alibag, also known as Alibaug (Pronunciation: [əlibaːɡ]), is a coastal city and a municipal council in Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is the headquarters of the Raigad district and is south of the city of Mumbai. Alibag is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is situated at a distance of about 96 km from Mumbai and 143 km from Pune.
Alibag | |
|---|---|
Coastal City Mumbai Metropolitan Region | |
 Alibag sea beach | |
  Alibag Location of Alibag | |
| Coordinates: 18°38′N 72°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 for Goddess Shree Padmakshi Renuka, who is also known as the goddess of Konkan.
History
editAlibag and its surrounding villages are the historic hinterlands of Bene Israel Jews. According to Indian Jewish historian Esther David, Jews arrived in the region over 2000 years ago, escaping persecution from the Roman Empire, when their ship wrecked here. As they got into the business of oil-pressing and plantations, continued practising Sabbath and took holidays on Saturday, they came to be known as 'Shanvar-telis'('Saturday - Oilpeople')[1] There is a synagogue named 'Magen Aboth synagogue' in the "Israel Alley" (Marathi इस्राएल आळी meaning Israel lane) area of the town.[2][3]
Revdanda, Chaul, Nagaon, Akshi, Varsoli, Thal, Navgaon, Kihim, and Aawas villages were known as "Ashtagare".
After retirement, Kanhoji Angre the Grand Admiral of the Maratha Navy settled and spent his last days in Alibag.
Etymology
editA wealthy Bene Israelite named Eli (Elisha/Elizah) used to live there at that time and owned many plantations of mangoes and coconuts in his gardens. Hence the natives used to call the place "Eli cha Bagh"(which means "Eli's garden") and in the subsequent generations pronunciation changed to simply "Alibag", and the name stuck.[2]
Geography
editAlibag is located about 120km south of Mumbai, at 18°38′29″N 72°52′20″E / 18.64139°N 72.87222°E. The average elevation is 0metres (0feet). The District Government offices are located along the seacoast road.
Demographics
editAs of 2001[update] India census,[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 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) | 62 | 63 | 65 | 70 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 83 | 79 | 70 | 65 | 63 | 71 |
| Source: India Meteorological Department[7][8] | |||||||||||||
Cyclones
editIn November 2009, Cyclone Phyan made landfall in the city. Massive damage to property was reported in the districts of Ratnagiri, Raigad, Sindhudurg, Thane and Palghar. Eleven years later, in early June 2020, severe cyclonic storm Nisarga made landfall in Alibag at peak intensity. The cyclone blew off tin and asbestos sheets 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 ruler Shivaji, and was used to launch raids on British ships.[10]
- 'Kanhoji Angre Samadhi', the memorial to Maratha Admiral Kanhoji 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 Shri Venkateshwar (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 a magnetic observatory that was set up in 1904.[14] It serves as one of the significant observatories forming part of a global network now run by Indian Institute of Geomagnetism. The observatory has two buildings; the first building has magnetometers that record changes occurring in the geomagnetic fields. The second building consists of precision recording instruments, which give data about geomagnetic storms caused by solar storms which are shared with other countries.[14]
Transport
editRoad
editAlibag is reached via Pen (30 km), which is on the Mumbai (108 km) – Goa road(NH-66). Alibag is situated near National Highway - 166A.[15] It is approximately 108 km from Mumbai. Alibag also has MSRTC bus connectivity mostly from Mumbai and Konkan division.
Boat services
editThe nearest jetty is Mandwa, from where catamaran/ferry services are available to the Gateway of India, Mumbai.
A Ro-Ro service is available from Ferry Wharf to 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 and Sachin Tendulkar's father
- Adesh Bandekar - Marathi actor, politician
- Arun Shridhar Vaidya - 13th Chief 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]
References
edit- ^ Devidayal, Namita (15 May 2016). "Alibaug's secret: A legendary drink with a Jewish connect". Times of India. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ a b Kaimal, Dr.Mohankumar C. (2014). ICT For Rural Development. Laxmi Book Publications. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-312-71081-8. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ a b Pinglay-Plumber, Prachi (27 October 2022). "Abraham's Footsteps". Outlook India. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
- ^ "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 from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M136. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "Cyclone Nisarga skips Mumbai, makes landfall at Alibag". The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ "Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency". Government Central Press. 2 May 2024.
- ^ "Chhatribagh of Angria in Alibaug". Maharashtra Times. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Hirakot Fort". Maharashtra Tourism.
- ^ a b "Alibag: List of Heritage Properties" (PDF). Mumbai Metropolitan Region – Heritage Conservation Society.
- ^ a b Gawali, 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". www.gmchalibag.in. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
External links
edit
Alibag travel guide from Wikivoyage
