Thane

Thane Thane
suburb
Location of Thane
Population  (2001)
• Total	1,261,517

For the Anglo-Saxon royal retainer, see Thegn.

For the community within the City and Borough of Juneau, AK, see Thane (Juneau)

Thane (Marathi: ठाणे) (formerly Thana) is a city in Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Conurbation, northeast of Mumbai at the head of the Thane Creek and is almost submerged in Mulund, a suburb of Mumbai with a mere road dividing both cities. It is the administrative headquarters of Thane District.

Brief history

The name "Thane" is said to be derived from Sthan or Sthanaka, the capital of the Shilahara kings of Konkan. It is currently the headquarters of Thane district.

The earliest evidence of Thane appears in the works of the Greek geographer, Ptolemy, who, in his writings (135-150) refers to a place called Chersonesus, which, according to researches, is the area around Thane creek.

Slabs and copper plates dating back to the Middle Ages have also been discovered in Thane.

Venetian traveller Marco Polo also visited Thane in 1290. He describes the city as a great kingdom, which apparently had a well-developed port, for he mentions a continuous traffic of ships, and merchants trading and exporting leather, buckram, cotton, and importing horses.

The Portuguese came to Thane about 1530 and ruled for over 200 years till 1737. Thane was then known as Cacabe de Tana. Work on the Thane Fort began in 1730.

The Marathas, who conquered Bassein and Thane in 1739 and 1737, held sway over the region till 1774, when the British captured the Fort and ruled Thane, then also called Tanna. They made it the headquarters of the district administration with a district collector stationed in Thane. The Thane Municipal Council was formed in 1863 when the city had a population of 9000.

The first railway train in India ran from Bombay VT (Now Mumbai CST, See Mumbai) to Thana in 1853. Thane (or Thana) literally means "station" in Marathi the local language. It was the only railway station besides Victoria Terminus.

After India's independence, Thane grew slowly and became an industrial town in the '60s and '70s. There was also a corresponding growth in trade, transport and construction activities, which picked up tremendously in the '80s. Once considered as the 'ugly twin' of Mumbai, today Thane outshines Mumbai in its planning and neatness. Even as it develops at a fast pace, Thane, also known as the City of Lakes, is still plagued with overcrowding and commuting problems. It features an automatic weather station which is located at VPM'S Polytechnic.

History

The city of Thane is situated on the western banks of Thane creek with Parsik hills on the east and Yeour hills on the west. The creek not only provides a natural protection to the place but has also facilitated transport of big and small ships since ancient times. This has also acted as an impetus for the development of local and international trade since the pre-historic times. Besides being the stamping ground of the pre-historic tribes, Thane city has a rich cultural heritage, mythological background, and has been home to many events of historical importance.

The history of Thane city can be broadly categorized into 5 eras.

1. Vedic period to 1300. : Comprising of Hindu or ancient period, Aparant, Silhara and Bimba dynasties.
2. 1300 –1737: Muslim and Portuguese rule.
3. 1737-1800: Maratha and Portuguese rule.
4. 1800-1947: British Rule.
5. 1947-till date : Independent India.

‘Aparant’ is the ancient name of the geographical area hosting Thane city. During the Indian expedition of the Greek Emperor Alexander, a number of philosophers, historians and geographists visited India. The second-century Greek historian Ptolemy mentioned the city of Thane in his writings. In the 9th century the city, know as Shreesthanak, was the capital of the Silhara dynasty. The Silharas ruled thane from 810 to 1260. A place called ‘Ghodbunder’ was famous for horse trading thus deriving its name from the word ghoda i.e. horse and bunder meaning port. During this period a fabric called ‘Tansi’ was exported from Thane.

The Silhara emperors were disciples of Lord Shiva, and the Kopineshwar Temple was built during their reign. During this period, due to the secular attitude and tolerance of Silharas towards different religions, people from diverse communities including Parsis, Christians, Muslims and Jews settled down in Thane, creating a cosmopolitan city.

At this time the Silharas also divided the city into different sections and named them as ‘padas’. These padas exist today, in the names of Naupada, Patlipada, Agripada etc.

In the earlier part of the 12th century with a view to create a new township, King Bimbadev, along with 66 segments of his community came over and settled in Thane. The explorer Marco Polo visited Thane in 1290 and noted it to be one of the best cities in the world. In 1480 Sultan Mahmud Begara of Gujarat made Thane the capital of his ‘Subha’ Province.

The Portuguese ruled Thane for over 200 years from 1530 to 1739. During this period Thane was known as “Kalabe De Tana”. St. John the Baptist Church was constructed in Thane in 1663. Construction of the Thane Killa (Fort) was started in 1730. In 1737 the Maratha general Chimaji Appa the planned the conquest of Vasai (Portuguese Baçaim), and on March 28 1738 the Marathas conquered the Thane Killa. The fort is presently being used as Thane Central Jail.

In 1744 the British conquered Thane city and its fort.

The famous Kopineshwar Temple was renovated in 1760. In 1778 the palatial residence of the Peshwas was converted into the Court building. In the year 1780 Keshavji Sorabji Rustomji Patel constructed the first Parsi Agyari in Thane. The first District Court was established in 1803. The first railway train ran on April 16 1853 from Boribunder to Thane. The Thane Borough Municipality was established on March 10 1863.

The first newspaper in Thane was launched in the year 1866. Different Marathi magazines like Arunodaya, Survodaya, Vakilancha Sathi, Nyaylahari, Manohar, Dyanapradip, Dyanadipika were seen to be in circulation thus showing the importance of the print media during that period. In the year 1880 the Thane Borough Municipality spent Rs. 12,960 on construction of the Pokharan Lake, to supply the town with drinking water. This prestigious project was inaugurated by the then Governor of Bombay Presidency, Sir Ferguson James. The first elections of the Municipality were conducted in 1885.

The first census took place in the year 1881 and the population of Thane at the time was 14,456. The Jain temple of Thane was built in 1879. The first ever English medium school was started in 1821 and was named as ‘Thane English School’. In the year 1893, the first Marathi Library was established. In 1896 the birth anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj was celebrated for the first time in Thane. In June 1897 Lokmanya Tilak visited Thane. On April 19 1910 freedom fighters Veer Anant Laxman Kanhere, Gopal Krishnaji Karve, and Vinayak Narayan Deshpande were hanged to death in the Central Jail for killing the Nashik District Collector Jackson. In 1938 freedom fighter Veer Savarkar was fêted by the citizens of Thane after his release from the British confinement. In 1920 a road near Masunda lake was named after Dr. F.A. Moose for the commemorative service during the epidemic of plague.

A reputed citizen of Thane Shri Vithal Sayanna’s son Divan Bahadur Narayan Sayanna reconstructed the Civil Hospital building in 1935.

India's Independence day, August 15 1947, was celebrated in Thane by bringing down the British Union Flag and hoisting the tri-coloured flag of India at the hands of a freedom fighter Shri Nanasaheb Joshi at the District Collector’s Office.

With a view to preserve the rich cultural heritage of Thane, the Thane Municipal Council constructed Rangayatan, a drama theatre, named after the Marathi writer Shri Ram Ganesh Gadkari. The theatre has been hosting different plays and cultural programmes since.

The Thane Municipal Corporation was established on 1 October 1982. It had a population of 790,000 as per the 1991 census. The population has reached to about 1,400,000 in the year 2003. The Thane Municipal Corporation has undertaken many development projects and schemes since 1982. One of major projects is the Integrated Road Development Project. Taking in view the all round infrastructural development which has recently taken place in Thane , the Govt. of India conferred the prestigious ‘Clean City Award’ to Thane in the year 2000.

Geography

Thane is located to the North of Mumbai (Bombay, Maharashtra, India). Although being a district place, the city has always been shadowed by the existence of the metropolis just on its outskirts. Spanning an area of about 147 km², this city houses over 10 Lakh (1 million) people. A total of 200 km of roads run through the city. The city is surrounded by scenic hills, which add to its beauty. The Hill of Yeoor is considered to be the hill station for the Thaneyites. On the other hand is the Parsik Hill. The city is divided by Thane Creek, a stream of water from the Arabian Sea. Two road bridges & one rail bridge connect the two parts of the city.

Currently the Thane Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament) constituency is the most populous constituency of the country.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Thane had a population of 1,261,517. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Thane has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 73%. In Thane, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Culture

Majority of the people (over 76%) in Thane are Maharashtrians and Marathi is the most commonly spoken language in the city. In spite of a predominant Maharashtrian culture, Thane, just like its neighbouring city Mumbai, boasts of a very vibrant cosmopolitan culture. Festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi are celebrated with great zest in the city. The Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium has cultural programs running all through the year.

Thane used to be described as a 'sleepy' city when compared to Mumbai until the early 90s. The size of the city has increased manifold in recent years, spurred by a residential boom due to people moving away from the Mumbai city to find affordable and good homes as well as amenities in Thane. Although Thane doesn't have a night life yet, there are several activities going on in the evening time in Thane. There are a variety of good places to eat as well as hang out. The Panchpakhadi area, in particular, is well-known for its many eateries, having a wide variety of restaurants, ice-cream parlours, cake-shops, cafés and snack shops all on a single road.

The city is also sprouting malls and multiplexes at a very fast rate (Eternity mall at Teen Haat Naka and its multiplex, Lake City Mall on Ghodbunder Road). In addition there are a number of older single-screen theatres, prominent among them, Malhar Talkies on Gokhale Road (opposite Saraswati Secondary School) and Anand Talkies (near Thane station on the east side) as well as Cinemax (Cinewonder) near Ghodbunder Road.

Thane was also adjuged in the recent past as India's most beautiful city, following a beautification drive by the then commissioner of Thane T.Chandrashekhar.

Industry

Thane has a large industrial area. There are many big and small industries even today. Thane industrial area consists of Wagle estate, Trans Thane Creek (TTC) area known as Thane belapur road, Ghodbunder road. These industrial area houses mostly chemical, engineering, textile and electrical industries. Now many of these industrial area are housing IT companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Adventity etc.There is one Cadburys company in Thane

Wagle estate

Wagle estate was established in 1962. The industrial area houses many industries like engineering, electrical, textile, pharma, rubber and electronics.The recent entrant to this area are BPO's and computer software. The BPO's and software industries are attracted by excellent infrastructure provided here like road ,transportation,proximity to Mumbai city,readily available skilled manpower and green surroundings. Notable companies having factory here are Hawkins, Emerson, Forbes Bradma, Emco, Rubber products, Jost, Meyer, pharmalab.

Transport

Thane has its own bus service known as Thane Municipal Transport (TMT). BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) also runs buses from Thane to some destinations in Mumbai. Thane is well connected with neighbouring suburbs through Mumbai's railway network.There are 3 railway stations in Thane city limit. Thane is a stop on the Central Railway division of Indian railways, and is about 30 km away from the Mumbai city stop.The other 2 stations are Kalwa and Mumbra which are also the suburbs of Thane.Thane has gained new importance as a railway link to Navi Mumbai, thanks to the Thane-Vashi and Panvel-Karjat local train line. This line runs two trains between Thane and Vashi, the principal node of Navi Mumbai, passing through Airoli, Ghansoli, Koparkhairane, Turbhe and Sanpada.

A Ring Railway or MRTS for Thane city has been on the drawing boards for a very long time. In fact Thane Municipal Corporation at the time of T. Chandrashekhar as its Commissioner also has completed surveys for the proposed corridors and route layout for the system. Currrently it lies with the MSRDC and Govt of Maharashtra to make a final decision for the project.

Location

30 km North East of Mumbai on the western coast of India. Also close to Navi Mumbai Airoli node via the Thane-Belapur road TB road for short. It's a junction for local trains towards Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

Weather

Typical coastal sultry & humid

Rainfall - Average 1500 to 2000 mm beginning of June to end of September. Temperature - Average - 25 - 37 °C (76 - 99 °F) Humidity - 45% to 87% highest in month of August.

Landmarks

Thane Central Jail, St. John the Baptist Church, Kopineshwar Temple, Talao Pali, Upvan Lake, Yeoor Hils, Sai Baba Temple(Vartak Nagar), Saket

residential areas

Vartak Nagar, brindaban society, vasant vihar, lokpuram, vedant, happy valley, flower valley, vikas complex, louis wadi, shrirang, garden estate, eden woods, Thanekarwadi, Hari Om Nagar, Sadguru gardens,

restaurants

alok hotel, shiv sagar, shiv prasad, namaskar, royal challenge, royal inn,

Lakes

Thane the city of Lakes has around 30 lakes. The most beautiful of them is the Masunda Talao, also known as Talao Pali. The lake offers boating and water scooter facilities.

Suburbs

Ghodbunder Road,Mumbra,Kalwa,Wagle estate,Gawand Baug,Kopri. The new road that links Saket with the Thane station is soon to be named as River Drive.

Thane City Quick Look

File:Than1.jpg Gadkari Rangayatan Drama Hall	File:Than2.jpg M G Road	File:Than3.jpg Kopri Railway Bridge
File:Than4.jpg M G Road	File:Than5.jpg Tower at Thane East	File:Than6.jpg Flyover above Teen Haath Naka
File:Than7.jpg Tip Top Mithaiwala	File:Than8.jpg Service Road	File:Than9.jpg Talao Pali

Thane City Links

• Thane City Portal Thaneweb.com
• Thane Mahanagar Palika
• Digital Map of Thane City.
• History of Thane at Thaneweb.com
• Official Thane District Web Site
• Thane Police
• Thane City Photo Blog
• Template:Wikitravel