Osmanabad


Osmanabad is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Osmanabad derives its name from the last ruler of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Osmanabad city is the administrative headquarter of Osmanabad District.

History

The city Osmanabad derives its name from the last ruler of Hyderabad, the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, of which the region was a part till 1948. Osmanabad's history dates way back to the era of the Ramayana where the Hindu deity Rama is said to have spent a few years of his exile. As per historical evidence, the district was ruled by the Mauryas, Satavahanas, Rashtrakutas, and Yadavas. In early centuries the city belonged to the Hindu Chalukyas and Devagiri Yadavas, but later became a part of the Bahmani and Bijapur kingdoms.
For a period of time, Osmanabad was also ruled by the Mughals, Bahmani, Nizam and Adil Shah kingdoms. Before the Hyderabad Nizam's rule, it was under control of the Mughal King Aurangzeb. Being under the Nizam rule, the district did not celebrate its freedom when the rest of India became independent in 1947. However, soon in 1948, Hyderabad State was merged with independent India and the district became a part of the then Mumbai District. It became a part of Maharashtra State when the State was formed in 1960.
Osmanabad has a historic lineage dating back to the days of Marathwada and even before that to several kingdoms of which the region was a part.

Geography

The city of Osmanabad has an elevation of.
Osmanabad city is located in the west central part of Osmanabad Tahsil, but relatively central for the district as a whole. Tuljapur, Bhoom, Paranda, Washi, and Kalamb are the nearby towns. Solapur, located southwest of Osmanabad in Solapur district, is the nearest sizable city.Osmanabad is on Balaghat Pathar. Bhogavati river flows through the city & meets Sina River near Mohol in Solapur district.

Demographics

In the 2011 Indian census, the city of Osmanabad had 106,644 inhabitants, with 41,982 males and 38,643 females, for a gender ratio of 920 females per thousand males. In 2001, Osmanabad had an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, male literacy was 80%, and female literacy was 67%. In 2001 in Osmanabad, 14% of the population was under 6 years of age.

Climate

The climate of the Osmanabad district is generally dry. The rainy season starts from mid of June and remains till the end of September. From October to November, the climate is humid. From mid-November to January it is winter. From February to march the climate is dry. From April to June it is summer. During summer the temperature of Osmanabad district is low compared to other districts of the Marathwada region.

Education

Osmanabad has one Government BAMS College Known As Ayurvedic College, one Government Polytechnic College, Osmanabad Known As GPO, Three Private Pharmacy Colleges and Three Private Engineering Colleges. Another engineering college in Osmanabad District is in Tuljapur. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, a deemed university of international repute has started a B.A., M.A., Mphil., and PhD program located in tuljapur. The Most Popular College Of Osmanabad City for Higher secondary education Is Ramkrishna Paramhans Mahavidyalaya. Osmanabad has a Government Agriculture college near Ter.
Osmanabad also has a sub-centre of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, which includes Department of Management Science, Department of Education, Department of Chemistry, Department of Biotechnology & Department of microbiology etc. In Osmanabad Shri Tuljabhavani Sainiki Vidyalay and Shripatrao Bhosale Highschool is well known school for students across Osmanabad district.
Arya Chanakya High School, Shree.Chhatrapati Shivaji High School,Podar International School are few of the Schools For Kids Education.Osmanabad Has Also A Urdu Higher School Known As Shamsul Uloom Urdu Higher And Secondary School Which Is Mostly Known As Best Performance Of Teaching And Faculties.

Tourism

Dargah

A dargah of Khwaja Shamsuddin Gazi. The interior decoration of the dargah, consisting of many colorful glass pieces, is the main attraction of the Dargah. The Urs of Kwaja Shamshoddin Gazi festival celebrates in the city in the month of Rajjab of the Islamic calendar.

Yedshi Ramling Wildlife Sanctuary

Yedshi Ramling Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the villages of Yedshi, Wadgaon and Bhanasgaon near to Osmanabad city which is situated in the Balaghat range. Yedshi is considered to be the Matheran of the district of Osmanabad. Yedshi is considered as a possible hill station-cum-health resort. It is a railway station on the Miraj-Latur broad gauge railway.
The only object of interest nearby is the temple of Ramling. Situated at a distance of about two miles from Yedshi, Ramling was a railway station on the Miraj-Latur narrow gauge section of the South-Central Railway. The temple is located in a ravine and is to such a depth that the spire of the temple is not visible from a distance and also after reaching the entrance gate of the temple. To reach the temple one has to descend a number of steps down below. The temple has an open courtyard with a sabhamandap and a pindi of Shankar is placed in an inner chamber. Many devotees throng the temple on every Monday in the month of Shravana. An annual fair is held in honour of Shri Ramling on Margashirsha Shuddha 4 and 5. More than five thousand people assemble here at the time of the fair. In the temple of Ramling is also a shrine of Jatayu.
The place is also revered as it is considered to be the spot where Jatayu attacked Ravana, the king of Lanka, while he was carrying away Sita by force. Jatayu lost the battle and died at the hands of Ravana.
Dry deciduous forests occupy the area. Wildlife species include Chinkara, Hyena, Wolf, Wild bear, Fox, Blackbuck, Hares and Peacock. More than 100 species of birds are also found. The best time to visit is from October to June.

Other Places

Osmanabad is also famous for sweet Gulab Jamun made up of Khoa, Maida & Sugar.
Osmanabadi Goat Mutton is also a very famous & tasty item. The boiled mutton with Rassa or locally called Sherva.

Transport

Air

lies approximately from the city centre. There are no scheduled commercial air services to this airport. It takes about 15-20 mins to reach airport by car from the bus stand. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has leased the airport to Reliance Airport Developers Ltd. for 95 years. Reliance paid Rs. 63 crore for the deal, which includes other four airports of Maharashtra. The nearest operational airport Aurangabad Airport.

Rail

is an important railway station situated on Latur - Miraj railway route of central railway. Before 2004, a narrow gauge track connecting Latur to Kurduvadi passed through the Osmanabad district. The station nearest to the city at Yedshi was 18 km away from Osmanabad City. During the conversion from narrow gauge to Broad Gauge, the track alignment was changed and directed towards Osmanabad city. In the first stage, the broad gauge track between Latur-Osmanabad was completed and became functional in 2007. The first train to arrive at Osmanabad railway station was the Mumbai-Osmanabad Express that ran via Aurangabad and Manmad. The Osmanabad-Kurudvadi section was completed and made functional in 2008. Latur-Osmanabad-Mumbai Express was started via Kurduvadi, Pune in 2008.
Osmanabad railway station come under Solapur Mandal of Central Railway zone.
Osmanabad has connections to Pune, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Miraj-Sangli, Pandharpur, Nagpur, Parbhani, Latur, Nanded, Parali Vaijnath, Hyderabad, and Nizamabad.

Road

passes through Osmanabad city. This National Highway connects the cities such as, Sangrur-Hisar-Kota-Indore-Dhule-Aurangabad-Beed-Osmanabad-Tuljapur-Solapur-Vijayapura-Hubballi-Ankola.
Maharashtra State Highway 67 also passes through the Osmanabad city.