Ichalkaranji is a town and a municipal council in Kolhapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Geography

Ichalkaranji is located at . It has an average elevation of 538 metres (1768 feet).

It is situtated on Panchganaga river bank.

Demographics

 India census, Ichalkaranji had a population of 307,572. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Ichalkaranji has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 66%. In Ichalkaranji, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The religions represented in Ichalkaranji are Hindus and Muslims.

The language widely spoken is Marathi.

Economy

Ichalkaranji - Better known as Manchester of Maharashtra. As it suggests, Ichalkaranji is the hub for textile industry. Most of the resident's lives rotate around the warm wheel of powerlooms, their hearts beats on the "khat-khat" of powerloom. Ichalkaranji is the fastest growing industrial area in western Maharashtra. Earlier, Ichalkaranji was famous for cotton dhoties & sarees, but now, Ichalkaranji produces not only cotton but also sutting, shirting, denim cloth as it has made a remarkable development in terms of technology. Ichalkaranji is equipped with approximately 1-1.25 lacs of Powerlooms and 20,000 of semi-auto looms. There are 3 yarn spinning mills as well & a sugar factory in Ichalkaranji. Recently Ichalkaranji has also entered manufacturing and weaving industry. In 2006 the city was sanctioned under the Textile Cluster scheme and today boasts of having available all the amenities and facilities required for the textile industry. It also has 4 textile parks coming in its vicinity. Ichalkaranji surely has obtained a place in the textile map of the World. Ichalkaranji is also known as manchester of Maharashtra

People and Culture

Ichalkaranji can be widely divided into two economic strata - Labour class and Business class. People either own textile related business unit or they work in one.

Ichalkaranji is also the hub for cultural activities. The classical vocal singing was pioneered in Ichalkaranji by Pandit Balkrishna Bua and the tradition continues till today. There are academies like Padanyas Kala Mandir, Pandit Balkrishna Bua Sangeet Sadhana Mandal which are spreading the Indian art forms in the young generation. They also host many cultural programmes throughout the year which help in spreading cultural awareness amongst people.

The textile industrialisation has also led the region in becoming one of the polluted area in India. Careless utilisation of water and untreated water dumping into river are major issues of the region in regards to environment.The people having textile processing houses , Sizing units are culprit in this act and they are posing problems to the natural environment by emanating wastewater, dumping toxic solid waste and releasing chemical fumes , carbon dioxides, particulate matter into the environment. This lethargic attitude towards nature has made life miserable. Sound pollution due to looms is also alarming. You will find loom shed in every nook and corners in the residential areas. The rate of TB (Tubercolasis) is higher than the national level. Efficiency of people and health of the life have been affected seriously.Its now time everybody should stand up to save the environment and save the dyeing Panchaganga River.

Infrastructure

Ichalkaranji Municipal Council has made remarkable development in building the infrastructure. Ichalkaranji can host Ranji Cricket Matches at its Rajaram Stadium. Ghorpade Auditorium is one of biggest auditoriums in Maharashtra. The newly built cluster roads are simply flawless.

Education

Ichalkaranji provides excellent primary and higher secondary education facilities. Along with arts, science and commerce colleges, Ichalkaranji also has an engineering college named Dattajirao Kadam Technical Education Society's Textile and Engineering Institute Ichalkaranji (DKTE)(www.dktes.com). This educational institute is very well reputed for its unique courses like Textile Technology, Man-made Textile Technology, Textile Plant Engineering, Textile Chemistry, Fashion Technology. It also offer some courses like Bachelor of engineering in Mechanical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering and Information Technology.

References