Bhusawal

Bhusawal situated on the banks of the Tapi river, also known as the Tapti river. The Tapi flows through central India, between the Satpura Range and the Ajanta Hills of the Deccan plateau. It is one of the major rivers on the Indian peninsula with a length of around 724 kilometres (450 miles). The Tapi river is originated at Betul district. This district is located in Madhya Pradesh. The Tapi River, along with the Narmada River and the Mahi River, flows from east to west. Bhusawal being located on the North-West region of the state of Maharashtra and being bounded by mountain ranges has a very diverse climate, the city has a dry and hot weather most of the year.

Bhusawal is located at 21°02'50.56"N 75°47'15.99"E. It has an average elevation of 209 metres. The city lies on the banks of the Tapi river falling in the valley between the Satpura ranges and the Ajanta hills of the Deccan plateau. The total land area of the municipal council is 228.57 sq.km.

The population is 187,421 (2011 census), with 96,147 males 91,274 females. The literacy rate is 88.38% including 91.74% of men and 84.87% for women.[3] Hinduism is the religion followed by 64.06% of its population, followed by Muslims (24.40%) and Buddhists (8.79%).[3]

The city has a very dry and hot weather. In summers the temperature reaches around 46 to 49 degrees which is amongst the highest in India. In the year 2010 the temperature crossed the 49 °C mark and reached 49.8 °C.

The Ajanta Caves are about 63 km (via Jamner) from Bhusawal.

Rail

Bhusawal Railway Station

Bhusawal Junction railway station has rail service and is a divisional headquarters of Central Railway. It is on both the Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line and the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line. Bhusawal railway division is a subdivision under Central Railway. Its headquarters is at the station. Bhusawal railway yard is the second biggest yard in Asia after Pandit Din Dayal Upadhyay Junction Railway Yard, Mughalsarai. Bhusawal is the nearest junction to Ajanta (83  km away). During the steam locomotive era, a locomotive shed was there. The shed was located there due to the proximity of the river. The train usually stopped there to get water and stock as well as for passenger utility. The shed was later converted to service electrics.

It is the Central Railway's divisional headquarters and is one of the largest railway yards in the continent. Also the Railway Coach Factory planned to be built here. The city has two ordnance factories out of the 41 factories in India, the city does have a major military base as well. The city has 5 Thermal power station units out of which 4 are operational together with a capacity of over 1420 MW thus becoming a major contributor to the states overall electricity generation with over 12% of Maharashtra's total power output, a proposed and planned new 660 MW sixth unit is to be developed which would take the city's power output above 2000 MW. Bhusawal has a major Orient cement production unit.

Major industrial facilities include:

• Bhusawal Thermal Power Station (7  km)
• Ordnance Factory Bhusawal (8.3  km)
• Ordnance Factory Varangaon
• Orient Cement Grinding Unit (12  km)
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited Depot (15  km)
• Railway's Zonal Training School
• Electricity Locomotive Workshop Bhusawal

Bhusawal is known for banana cultivation.[4] The city is a major exporter of Banana both internally and externally with more than 40% of the state's banana cultivation in the Jalgaon district area. Traders come to Bhusawal to buy raw bananas. Bananas are exported across the world. Bhusawal is also known for its special white brinjals (Eggplant) which is grown locally.

• Bhusawal Junction railway station
• Bhusawal Railway Division
• Bhusawal Thermal Power Station
• Bhusawal (Vidhan Sabha constituency)