Thane (
MarathiMarathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are 90 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi is the 4th most spoken language in India and the 15th most spoken language in the world...
: ठाणे) (also called
Thana) is a city in
MaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population....
,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
, part of the
Mumbai ConurbationThe Mumbai Conurbation is a conurbation that comprises the metropolitan city of Mumbai, and six urban areas - Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar, Kalyan-Dombivali, Ulhasnagar and Bhiwandi-Nizampur as well as several other towns and villages. Several public authorities are responsible for...
, northeastern suburb of
MumbaiMumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most-populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around...
at the head of the
Thane CreekThane Creek is part of the estuary of the Ulhas River in western India opening into Bombay Harbour. It comprises the area stretching from Mumbra Retibunder to the Mankhurd-Vashi Bridge. It has been recognised as an Important Bird Area by the Bombay Natural History Society, as it is home to...
. It is the administrative headquarters of
Thane DistrictThane is a district in northern Maharashtra state in western India. The headquarters of the district is the city of Thane. Other major cities in the district are Navi Mumbai , Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar,Ambarnath, Kulgaon-Badlapur, Dahanu, Shahapur, Wada and Vasai-Virar...
. The city has an area of 147 km
2. It had a population of 1.26 million according to the 2001 census.
Geography
Thane is located on
Salsette IslandSalsette is an island in Maharashtra state on India's west coast. The metropolis of Mumbai and the city of Thane lie on this island, making it the 14th most populous island in the world.-Location:The present island was formerly made up of several smaller islands, which were joined together...
to the Northeast of
MumbaiMumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most-populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around...
. Spanning an area of about 147 km², the city is located at an elevation of 7 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by scenic hills, the hill of Yeoor and Parsik Hill. It is divided by
Thane CreekThane Creek is part of the estuary of the Ulhas River in western India opening into Bombay Harbour. It comprises the area stretching from Mumbra Retibunder to the Mankhurd-Vashi Bridge. It has been recognised as an Important Bird Area by the Bombay Natural History Society, as it is home to...
, a stream of water from the
Ulhas riverThe Ulhas River is a river of western India. It originates near Karjat in the Western Ghats Range, and flows westward through Raigad and Thane districts of Maharashtra between Kulgaon-Badlapur, north to Ulhasnagar and on to Kalyan, where it turns west to Thane...
and
Arabian SeaThe Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui, the north-east point of Somalia, Socotra, Kanyakumari in India, and the western coast...
forming an
estuaryAn estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are thus subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of...
. Two road bridges & one rail bridge connect the two parts of the city.
The city has around 30 lakes. The most beautiful of them is the Masunda Talao, also known as
Talao PaliTalao Pali is a lake located in Thane in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The lake is surrounded by roads on all sides including Uthalsar road and Talao pali road. The lake is located about 600 m west of Thane creek and a kilometer north of Thane railway station. This is one of the recreational...
. The lake offers boating and water scooter facilities. The
Upavan LakeUpvan is a lake located in Thane in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The lake is surrounded by roads. The lake is located near Vartak nagar. This is one of the recreational areas for people who live in Thane. It is one of the biggest lakes in Thane, surrounded by Yeoor Hills, and lies in the...
is located at the foot-hills of Yeoor hills and is a scenic spot. It is flanked by the Yeoor hills on one side and the tall Neelkanth Heights on one side. It is a common spot for people to hang out and refresh themselves. Other lakes include :
• Masunda Lake
• Kachrali Lake (near parmatam-niketan)
• Makhmali Lake
• Ambe Ghonsali Lake
• Siddheshwar Lake
• Jail Lake
• Wagle Lake
• Upvan Lake
• Yashasvi Nagar Lake
• Kausa Lake
• Kharegaon Lake
• Raila Devi Lake
• Balkum Lake
• Rewale Lake
• Bramhala-Kolbad Lake
Demographics and culture
Thane has a predominantly Maharashtrian culture although, like its neighbouring city
MumbaiMumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most-populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around...
, it has a cosmopolitan culture as well. Beside Marathi, sizeable populations of North Indians, South Indians, Sindhis, Gujaratis and Marwari and other people from different regions live in Thane, mainly because of its proximity to
MumbaiMumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most-populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around...
.Thane is bordered by the Yeoor Hills on one side and is dotted with numerous beautiful lakes, which are a cause of cooler weather than that of
MumbaiMumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most-populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around...
.
Festivals such as
Ganesh ChaturthiGanesha Chaturthi is a Hindu festival of Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, who is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi....
, Navratri and Durga Puja are celebrated with great zest in the city. As in
MumbaiMumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most-populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around...
, Thane offers high rewards amounting to 1 million rupees (US$ 25,000) for winners of Dahi Handi
sportSport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as...
during the Gokulashtami
festivalA festival is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community.Among many religions, a feast or festival is a set of celebrations in honour of God or gods. A feast and a festival are historically interchangeable...
.
Since 2005 the Dahi Handi festival has been on a much larger scale; there is competition between various clubs to host the biggest of Dahi Handis. The biggest ones are Open House, Panchpakhdi; Jambli Naka; Tembhi Naka; Vartak Nagar; all of these now have TV coverage will almost all major news channels beaming the day's proceedings to the whole nation.
Life
The size of the city has increased manifold in recent years, spurred on by a residential boom due to people moving away from Mumbai to find affordable homes and good amenities.
The Panchpakhadi area is well-known for its many eateries, having a wide variety of restaurants, ice-cream parlours, cake shops, cafés and snack shops. Plans have been made to construct board walks along the three major lakes to attract more tourism to the city. The development of upmarket residential complexes such as Vasant Vihar, Neelkanth Heights, Hiranandani Estate and Hiranandani Meadows has increased the influx of people into the city. The city has an increasing number of malls, such as Eternity mall, Cine Wonder Mall and Lake City mall. In addition, there are a number of older single-screen cinemas, prominent among them, Malhar Talkies, Vandana Talkies, Ashok Talkies, Pratap Talkies and Anand Talkies.
Transport
Thane was the terminus for the first ever passenger train in India. On 16 April 1853, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder (Now renamed Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus), Mumbai and Thane. Covering a distance of 34 kilometres (21 mi), it was hauled by three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh and Sultan.
Thane Municipal Transport (TMT),
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and TransportThe BEST is Mumbai's public transport service and electricity provider....
and Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport NMMT corporations provide public bus service to the city. Thane is well connected with neighbouring suburbs through Central Railways's sub-urban railway network. There are 3 railway stations in Thane city limit. Thane station is part of the Central Railway division of Indian railways, and is about 30 km away from the Mumbai city station. The other 2 stations are
KalwaKalwa is a small town on the outskirts of the Indian city of Mumbai. It is located in northern Thane and is the suburb of the Thane city. Kalwa comes under the Thane Municipal Corporation. The Kalwa bridge links Kalwa and Thane...
and
MumbraMumbra is a small town in India, situated around 40 km from Mumbai and is the suburb of city. It is close to Thane and Diwa and is well connected with Mumbai by roads and the local train network.-History:...
which are also the suburbs of Thane. Thane has gained new importance as a railway link to Navi Mumbai due to the Thane-
VashiVashi is an upmarket residential as well as commercial township in the city of Navi Mumbai. It is a premier city in Navi Mumbai and was one of the first "nodes" developed by CIDCO.-Populace:...
/
NerulNerul is an upmarket residential and a semi commercial node of the city of Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, India and is better known as the queen of Navi Mumbai...
and
PanvelPanvel is 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...
-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. Almost all trains going to
Konkan railway|}The Konkan Railway is a railway line which runs along the Konkan coast of India. It was constructed and is operated by the Konkan Railway Corporation...
from Mumbai have stops at Thane.
A light rail network covering 42 km has been proposed in three phases. In the first phase, consultants have suggested connectivity between Balkum and Kolshet via Naupada. It will be 16.05 km long with 14.65 km elevated, and only 1.4 km on the surface, and 11 stations in all.
Industries
Thane has a large industrial area. Thane industrial area consists of Wagle estate, Trans Thane Creek (TTC) area known as Thane belapur road, Ghodbunder road. These industrial areas house mostly chemical, engineering, textile and electrical industries. Now many of these industrial area are housing IT companies such as
Tata Consultancy ServicesTata Consultancy Services Limited , is a software services and consulting company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is India's largest provider of information technology and business process outsourcing services...
,Eresource Infotech Pvt. Ltd,Adventity, Sai Electrical Engineers, Godrej BPO (Lawkim), Infotech, ICICI Customer care and many more. Cadburys and GlaxoSmithkline Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Emerson also have plants here in Thane.
Education
Thane has a number of good schools offering education in English as well as vernacular medium. Some of the English medium schools include
Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania SchoolSmt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School is a high school in Jekegram, Thane, close to the city of Mumbai in India.The school was founded in the year 1968 by Gopalkrishna Singhania and named it after his wife. The school started operating in 1969 and has expanded rapidly from under 400 students then, to...
,
SVPT's Saraswati Vidyalaya,
Shreerang Vidyalaya English Medium,
St. John the Baptist High School,
Holy Cross High School ThaneHoly Cross Convent High School is a girls' school located in K'Villa, Thane, Maharashtra, India, which was founded in 1964.It is one of the premier primary and secondary educational institutions in the Greater Mumbai area and has a widespread alumnae network.- History :In 1839, Mother Claudine...
,
Kendriya Vidyalaya Air Force Station,
Hiranandani Foundation SchoolHiranandani Foundation School Thane is a school located in the Hiranandani Estate in Thane, India. Many children from this school have won national and international level prizes. It was founded by Lakhumal Hiranand Hiranandani.It is one of the facilities provided by Hiranandani. The school is a...
,
Little Flower Jesus English High SchoolLittle Flower High School is a convent school located at Pokharan Road No.2 near Upvan Lake in Thane, Maharashtra, India....
, A. K. Joshi High School, and People's Education Society's English Medium High School & Jr. College, Bharat English High School & Jr. College (Science & Commerce). Some of the new English schools that have come up are Sri Ma Vidyalaya, K.E.S's Bhagavati Vidyalaya High School, Saraswati Education Society's High School {S.E.S. High School}, Vasant Vihar High School and Junior College, DAV Public School, Thane, Arunodaya Public School and Lok Puram Public School, Carmel High School, St. Xaviers English high school, St. Lawrence High School and Junior College of Science and Commerce. Some of the Marathi medium schools include Saraswati Secondary School, Bedekar Vidyamandir, Maharashtra Vidyalaya, Shiva Samartha Vidyalaya, M.H. High School, New English School, New Girl's School, Vartak Nagar Vidyalaya. Thane also has two well known B-Schools, ASM's Institute of Management & Computer Studies(IMCOST), Wagle Estate, Thane; and Bedekar Institute of Management Studies, Near Station. These institutes offer quality management education with excellent placement opportunities.
EuroKids is a prominent player in the preschool segment in Thane. The Swadhyaya Parivar's instititute,
Tatvajnana Vidyapeeth (philosophical university) at
ThaneThane is a city in Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Conurbation, northeastern suburb of Mumbai at the head of the Thane Creek. It is the administrative headquarters of Thane District. The city has an area of 147 km
2...
is where students are taught Indian and western philosophy, comparative religion, logic,
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
, Vedic rites and rituals.
The city also has the only medical college in thane district, The Rajiv Gandhi Medical College and The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, a tertiary level hospital run by the Thane Municipal Corporation.
External links