Navi Mumbai

Panvel city and a municipal council lies in Raigad district in India in state of Maharashtra. Panvel is also known as gateway of Konkan region. It adjoins Navi Mumbai, and is just after the Thane district border. Panvel is located on the Mumbai Pune Expressway about 22 kilometres from Mumbai.

Geography

Panvel is located at 18°59′N 73°06′E/18.98°N 73.1°E/18.98; 73.1^[1]. It has an average elevation of 28 metres (91 feet). It is situated on the banks of the Gadhi river (Later becomes Panvel Creek).

Demographics

As of 2007^[update] India census,^[2] Panvel had a population of 2,04,336. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Panvel has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 74%. In Panvel, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Panvel is the largest and most populated city in Raigad district. The city also happens to be the headquarters of Panvel taluka with more than 1000 villages under it. The development authority of Panvel is the Panvel Municipal Council (PMC)and that of New Panvel is CIDCO. The villages of Panvel come under the purview of Raigad Zilla Parishad.

History

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The historic settlement of Panvel is 3000-years old, developed around trade routes (both land and sea), during the time of Muslims/ Portuguese/British dominance of the Konkan region. During this time, building activity in these townships was generated by the affluence due to trade. This can be seen in the large Wadas and the buildings that came up during the relative affluence of the Peshwahi and post-Peshwahi period. It is also said that old name of this city was Pavanpalli.

New Panvel

The recent developments of Panvel are in New Panvel. New Panvel is developed and administered by CIDCO. Though residents of New Panvel elect a representative in the Panvel Muncipal Corporation, the Muncipal Corporation does not control or manage any administrative or development activity in New Panvel.

New Panvel is a town planned and developed by CIDCO of Maharsahtra in Raigad district. The development of New Panvel was initiated in 1970’s to meet the housing requirements of employees working in the nearby industrial MIDC areas such as Taloja, Rasayani, Patalganga & Pen.

New Panvel is strategically located on the eastern side of the Mumbai-Bangalore National Highway (NH-4) and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. It is well connected by roads and railway by the presence of Panvel railway station and bus terminus. National Highway 17 ,which is the 7th longest highway in India, starts here.

New Panvel is planned on an area of 515 hectares, and the town is divided in two parts – New Panvel East and New Panvel West (Commonly know as Khanda Colony). They have 19 and 23 sectors respectively.

New Panvel is just 5 kms away from the proposed Navi Mumbai International airport at Kharghar. A Reliance SEZ is also coming up in the vicinity. It has a number of schools, colleges and hospitals to meet the needs of its residents. Pillai College is a well-known educational institution in the area. St.Joseph’s High School, well known educational institution in Navi Mumbai regional football tournament is also situated in the area.

Industry

Panvel is surrounded by some major MIDC managed regions e.g. Patalganga, Taloja, Nagothane, Roha, Khopoli. Some of the Indian Industry majors like Reliance, Hindustan Organics Chemicals Ltd., ONGC, IPCL are based around Panvel providing mass employment. The JNPT port is also located near Panvel. New SEZs declared by Government are coming around Panvel. like barapada Inside the city some smaller entities like Dhootpapeshwar Trust, (which is one of the oldest organisation in India) whose trustees are manufacturers of ayurvedic medicines, can be found.

Tourist places around Panvel

Between Penbarapada and Panvel lies the Karnala fort. At the bottom of the fort is the bird sanctuary. Karnala is 65 km away from Mumbai, 120 km away from Pune and 13 km away from Panvel. The sanctuary is around 25 m above mean sea level, while the fort itself is 370 m above mean sea level. Maharashtra Government declared this 4.5 km². region as the bird sanctuary in 1968-69. Rich with natural habitats for various kinds of birds, in the sanctuary one can find around 150 species of birds. One can watch for Red-vented Bulbul, Horn Bill, Myna, Owl, Ashy Rain War Blur, Paradise Fly Catcher, RobinMcPie.

Two of the eight Ashtavinayak temples of the God Ganesha are close to Panvel, Ballaleshwar Pali and Varadavinayaka at Mahad (महड), near Khopoli, on the Mumbai-Pune Highway (NH4). It is different from Mahad (महाड).

Karjat, Karnala, World known Elephanta Caves, Haji Malang, Prabal Gad, Toy Train famed Matheran, Murud-Janjira, Mahad (महाड) (Raigadh fort), Ballaleshwar Pali and Mahad (महड) - Ganesha: Two of the Ashtavinayak ganapati. Alibag: Sea beach, Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary, Ghadeshwar Dam, Nera Village , Swapna Nagari (well known Bollywood shooting place)

Education in Panvel

• Yakub Baig High School
• Wasudev Balwant Phadke High School
• New Horizon Public School, Khanda Colony
• St. Joseph’s High School(State board)
• St. Joseph’s High School(CBSE board)
• Little Angels Eco-School
• K.A.Banthia High School
• Dayanand Arya Vidhyalaya Public School
• Changu Kana Thakur High School
• St. George High School
• St. Mary’s High School
• V K High School
• Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Panvel
• K V High School
• Barns High School
• Mansarovar Vidyalaya
• Daya Anand Anglo Vedic School
• Mahatma School of academics and sports
• Vidyalaya,ONGC CBSE are among the well-known schools in the area.
• Mahatma Gandhi Mission’s College for Engineering
• Mahatma Gandhi Mission’s Medical College
• Mahatma Phule ASC College
• JBSP’s Changu Kana Thakur A.C.S College
• Pillai’s Institute of Management Studies & Research
• Pillai College of Architecture
• Pillai’s College of Arts, Commerce & Science
• Bharti Vidyapeeth’s College of Engineering
• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is known for providing quality education
• Carmel Convent High School.
• Bethany Convent High School.
• Ram Krishnaa Academy (Harigram)

Politics in Panvel

Vivekanand Patil (MLA), Ramsheth Thakur (Ex-Mp), Prashant Thakur (Nagaradhakshya), Ajay Kandpile, Sandeep Patil, Paresh Thakur, Nitin Patil, Jagdish Gayakwad, Dalvi Family, Mahendra Gharat.

Congress Party & Farmer’s Labour’s Party (Shetkari Kamgar Paksha) are the two major political parties existing in Panvel.

Transport

Proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport

The new Navi Mumbai International Airport,which is to come up around the Panvel-Kopra area, would be built through public-private partnership (PPP) — with private sector partner getting 74% equity while Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Maharashtra government (through City and Industrial Development Corporation or CIDCO) holding 13% each.The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has already given techno-feasibility clearance to the Navi Mumbai airport and central cabinet has cleared it. The project is at Global tendering stage.[1]

[edit] Panvel Railway Station

Panvel Railway station comes under Mumbai Division of Central Railway. The station is technically divided into two parts viz, Suburban and Main Line. The Main line station is located at Chainage 68/5 from Mumbai CST, while the suburban station is at 48/9. . There are a total of 7 platforms (4 suburban and 3 Main Line) while two more are being constructed.

Panvel happens to be the terminating station of Mumbai Railway’s Harbour Line. Also, Konkan Railway connecting Mumbai to South India passes through Panvel Terminus.

The station handles more than 30 pairs of freight trains each day. About 5 pairs of daily commuter (passenger) trains, and about 5 pairs of daily express trains stop here. In addition to this 5 pairs, about 11 pairs of non-daily trains including the Trivandrum Rajdhani also stop at this station. Panvel is a very major station and is considered equivalent to Mumbai for trains which skip Mumbai. The trains run on Diesel Traction and electricity (the tracks are not electrified to the south of Panvel), and Panvel is a refueling point for their locomotives.

In addition to refueling, Panvel has a huge number of parcel bookings, and most trains stop for periods varying from 5 minutes to 20 minutes for technical purposes. Panvel also handles crew change for Freight trains. There are 4 Ticket counters and 3 Reservation counters. Car/Two-Wheeler parking facility is available on both sides of the station.The main State Road Transport bus station of Panvel is about 500 metres away from the station. Buses run by Local Municipal Transport (NMMT) come right outside the station. Rickshaws are available in plenty (but they however do not charge as per meter tariff. Fixed charges apply).

STD booths are available on all seven platforms .Railway canteens look after the needs of passengers. A book stall is located on Platform 5 . Toilet and Rest rooms facilities are available for passengers of the Main line.It is the biggest railway station in the district.

State Transport Buses (S.T.)

There are two main ST stands in Panvel- Panvel St stand on the highway & railway station stand in front of the railway station.The one on the highway is among the busiest in the state and handles over 1500 ST buses every day,while the railway station bus stand handles only 200 NMMT buses per day. There are about 20 other small bus stops in Panvel city.