Karjat (1)
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Karjat (1)
Southern taluka of Ahmadnagar District, Bombay, lying between 18° 20' and 18 degree 50' N. and 74 degree 43' and 75 degree 13' E., with an ana of 565 square miles. It contains 81 villages, including Karjat, the head- quarters. The population in 1901 was 35,619, compared with 48,828 in 189 1. The decrease, which is greater than in any other taluka, is primarily due to emigration to the Nizam's Dominions and other regions, consequent upon famine. It is the most thinly populated in the District, with a density of only 63 persons per square mile. The demand for land revenue in 1903-4 was Rs. 80,000 and for cesses Rs. 6,000. A chain of low hills with flat summits traverses the taluka from north-west to south-east, dividing it into two equal parts. The streams from the eastern slope flow into the Slna river, and from the western into the Bhima. The country presents a dismal appearance, owing to the large proportion of rocky and unprofitable ground, almost destitute of vegetation. There are a few level tracts, some of con- siderable extent, where the soil is deep and rich. In the neighbourhood of the hills the soil is of the poorest description. The rainfall is extremely uncertain, and good harvests are rare. It suffered severely in the famines of 1876-7 and 1899 -1901, w hen many villages were deserted. The cultivators, owing to a succession of bad harvests, are nearly all in debt.
