Ratnagiri
Ratnagiri | |
|---|---|
Thibaw Palace | |
Ratnagiri in Maharashtra | |
| Coordinates: 16°59′40″N 73°18′00″E / 16.99444°N 73.30000°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| Region | Konkan Division |
| District | Ratnagiri |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal council |
| • Body | Ratnagiri Municipal Council |
| • Rank | City |
| Elevation | 11 m (36 ft) |
| Population (2018)[1] | |
• Total | 327,120 |
| Demonym(s) | Ratnagirikar, Ratnakar, Girikar |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Marathi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 415612, 415639 |
| Telephone code | 02352 |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-MH |
| Vehicle registration | MH-08 |
| Website | www |
Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; [ɾət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː]) is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District[2] in southwestern Maharashtra, India. The district is part of the Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for the Hapus or Alphonso mangoes and is colloquially referred to as the Mango City. Ratnagiri is the birthplace of Indian independence activist Lokmanya Tilak.[3] Thibaw, the last king of Burma, alongside his consort Supayalat and two infant daughters were exiled to a two-storied brick mansion in Ratnagiri.[4] The building is now known as Thibaw Palace.
History
Ratnagiri, located along the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, has a rich and diverse history that dates back centuries. It served as the administrative capital under the Sultanate of Bijapur, with its strategic location making it an important military and trade center. The Ratnadurg Fort, originally built by the Bijapur Sultanate, was reconstructed by Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1670, turning it into a key coastal defense post.
In 1731, Ratnagiri came under the control of the Kingdom of Satara, marking the beginning of its integration into the Maratha Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the British annexed Ratnagiri to British India in 1818, further embedding it into the colonial structure.
Ratnagiri holds significant cultural importance as the birthplace of Indian freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, born on 23 July 1856.[5] Tilak, an influential leader in India’s struggle for independence, moved to Pune with his family at the age of 10. His early years in Ratnagiri influenced his later revolutionary thoughts.
The city was also a place of exile for King Thibaw of Burma after the British Empire annexed his country. In 1886, King Thibaw, along with his family, was exiled to Ratnagiri, where he lived the rest of his life under British surveillance.[6] His residence, the Thibaw Palace, still stands as a symbol of this chapter in the city’s history.
Furthermore, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was confined in Ratnagiri from 1921 to 1935, first in prison and then under local confinement. His time in Ratnagiri played a pivotal role in shaping his revolutionary ideologies.
Today, Ratnagiri is known not only for its historical significance but also for its agricultural contributions, especially the famous Alphonso mangoes, and its growing role as a cultural and educational hub in Maharashtra.
Geography
Ratnagiri is located at 16°59′N 73°18′E / 16.98°N 73.3°E.[7] It has an average elevation of 11 meters (36 feet). The Sahyadri mountains border Ratnagiri to the east.
Climate
The climate is a tropical monsoon climate (Koppen: Am), with the monsoon providing heavy rain between June and October, with the rest of the year warm and dry, devoid of any rainfall.
| Climate data for Ratnagiri (1991–2020, extremes 1901–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.3 (99.1) |
39.4 (102.9) |
40.6 (105.1) |
37.5 (99.5) |
37.8 (100.0) |
39.0 (102.2) |
32.8 (91.0) |
34.2 (93.6) |
36.1 (97.0) |
37.5 (99.5) |
38.1 (100.6) |
37.2 (99.0) |
40.6 (105.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 32.0 (89.6) |
32.0 (89.6) |
32.3 (90.1) |
32.6 (90.7) |
33.3 (91.9) |
30.8 (87.4) |
29.0 (84.2) |
28.9 (84.0) |
29.7 (85.5) |
32.4 (90.3) |
34.0 (93.2) |
33.0 (91.4) |
31.6 (88.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.0 (77.0) |
25.5 (77.9) |
26.9 (80.4) |
28.5 (83.3) |
29.5 (85.1) |
27.6 (81.7) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.5 (79.7) |
26.5 (79.7) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.5 (81.5) |
26.1 (79.0) |
27.0 (80.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 18.4 (65.1) |
19.1 (66.4) |
21.6 (70.9) |
24.3 (75.7) |
26.0 (78.8) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.3 (75.7) |
24.1 (75.4) |
23.7 (74.7) |
23.4 (74.1) |
21.9 (71.4) |
19.8 (67.6) |
22.7 (72.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 11.5 (52.7) |
11.6 (52.9) |
14.4 (57.9) |
16.1 (61.0) |
20.8 (69.4) |
19.2 (66.6) |
18.4 (65.1) |
20.6 (69.1) |
20.4 (68.7) |
17.7 (63.9) |
15.4 (59.7) |
13.9 (57.0) |
11.5 (52.7) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.3 (0.01) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (0.01) |
1.4 (0.06) |
38.3 (1.51) |
901.8 (35.50) |
1,041.7 (41.01) |
678.1 (26.70) |
416.4 (16.39) |
149.4 (5.88) |
15.1 (0.59) |
2.1 (0.08) |
3,245 (127.76) |
| Average rainy days | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 20.0 | 26.2 | 24.7 | 15.1 | 6.4 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 96.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) | 54 | 56 | 62 | 66 | 67 | 81 | 86 | 85 | 81 | 73 | 61 | 55 | 69 |
| Source 1: India Meteorological Department[8][9][10] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1991–2020)[11] | |||||||||||||
Government and politics
The Ratnagiri Municipality was established in 1876.[12] The Office of the President of the Council was occupied by Mr. Pradeep Salvi of the Shivsena, before it got dismissed due to the completion of the Term. Currently, the Office of the Council President remains vacant with the Administrator and the Chief Officer being in charge of the Municipal Administration.
Ratnagiri (Vidhan Sabha constituency):
Uday Samant (Shiv Sena), The Incumbent Cabinet Minister of Industries Uday Samant Government of Maharashtra represents the Ratnagiri constituency in State Assembly since 2004, and has been appointed as the Guardian Minister of the Ratnagiri.[13]
Ratnagiri–Sindhudurg (Lok Sabha constituency):
Narayan Rane (BJP) represents the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency in Lok Sabha, lower house of the parliament since 2024.
Transport
Road
Ratnagiri is well connected to the other parts of the state and country by National Highways & State Highways. National Highways NH 66 (Panvel – Edapally), NH 166 (Ratnagiri – Nagpur) and Coastal Highway (Rewas – Reddy) pass through the city. MSRTC operates bus services to Mumbai, Thane, Vasai, Nala Sopara, Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Pune, Panaji, Nanded, Latur, Tuljapur, Akkalkot, Ambajogai, Beed, Kolhapur, Gargoti, Gadhinglaj, Nrushimhawadi, Ichalkaranji, Sangli, Miraj, Tasgaon, Jat, Islampur, Satara, Belgaum, Hubli, Bijapur and other major towns of the state. North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation also operates buses from Belgaum, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Indi, Muddebihal, Sindgi, Athani, Jevargi and Talikota. Several private buses regularly ply for Mumbai and Pune and a few for Kolhapur, Bijapur.
Railways
Ratnagiri is a major Railhead on Konkan Railway route. Ratnagiri is also one of the two divisions of Konkan Railway Corporation. The city is well connected to Mumbai, New Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhuj, Indore, Jabalpur, Patna, Nagpur, Pune, Margao, Mangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore and other major towns of the country. Every train passing through the city halts here. Connectivity to western Maharashtra is proposed through Vaibhavwadi Road – Kolhapur route.
See also
References
- ^ "Ratnagiri City Population Census 2011 – Maharashtra". Census2011.co.in. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "RATNAGIRI DISTRICT 91 Poisonous" (PDF). 10 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ Bhagwat, A.K.; Pradhan, G.P. (2015), Lokmanya Tilak – A Biography, Jaico Publishing House, ISBN 978-81-7992-846-2
- ^ Christian, John LeRoy (1944). "Thebaw: Last King of Burma". The Journal of Asian Studies. 3 (4). Association for Asian Studies: 309–312. doi:10.2307/2049030. JSTOR 2049030. S2CID 162578447.
- ^ "Birthplace of Lokmanya Tilak | District Ratnagiri, Government of Maharashtra | India". Retrieved 22 February 2025.
- ^ "The last king of Burma in Ratnagiri". BusinessLine. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
- ^ "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Ratnagiri, India". Faiingrain.com.
- ^ "Climatological Tables of Observatories in India 1991-2020" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "Station: Ratnagiri Climatological Table 1981–2010" (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 663–664. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M152. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Normals Data: Ratnagiri – India Latitude: 16.98°N Longitude: 73.33°E Height: 90 (m)". Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ "gazetteer RATNAGIRI (Archived copy)". Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
- ^ "Guardian Minister Hon. Uday Samant inspected the damaged area of Chanderai | District Ratnagiri, Government of Maharashtra | India".
External links
Media related to Ratnagiri at Wikimedia Commons