Akola

Akola city is located in north-central Maharashtra state, western India, on the Morna River. An important road and rail junction in the Purna River valley, it is a commercial centre trading chiefly in cotton. There are also textile and vegetable-oil industries. Akola is an important educational center with several colleges affiliated with the University of Amravati. Experience India with Indian Travel Agent.

Akola District along with the rest of the Berar province was part of the legendary kingdom of Vidarbha mentioned in the Mahabharata. Berar also formed part of the Mauryan Empire during the reign of Asoka (272 to 231 BCE). Berar later came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE), the Vakataka dynasty (3rd to 6th centuries), the Chalukya dynasty (6th to 8th centuries), the Rashtrakuta dynasty (8th to 10th centuries), the Chalukyas again (10th to 12th centuries) and finally the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri (late 12th to early 14th centuries). A period of Muslim rule began when Ala ud din Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, conquered the region in the early 14th century. The region was part of the Bahmani Sultanate, which broke away from the Delhi Sultanate in the mid-14th century. Experience India with Indian Travel Agent.The Bahmani Sultanate broke up into smaller sultanates at the end of the 15th century, and in 1572 Berar became part of the Nizam Shahi sultanate, based at Ahmednagar. The Nizam Shahis ceded Berar to the Mughal Empire in 1595. The Mughals ruled the Berar province during 17th century. As Mughal rule started to unravel at the start of the 18th century, Asaf Jah I, Nizam of Hyderabad seized the southern provinces of the empire (including Berar) in 1724, forming an independent state.

But the rise of Maratha Empire (from 1674 to 1760) under the command of Chhatrapati Shivaji succeeded by his son Sambhaji and grandson Shahu brought the whole Berar province including Akola district under the Maratha Empire in and around 1734. In 1749 at the time of his death, Shahu appointed the Peshwa as the head of the Maratha Empire with certain conditions to follow. The loss in the third battle of Panipat in 1761 crippled the Maratha empire and corroded the power of Peshwa forever. But the Berar province still remained under the Marathas. Experience India with Indian Travel Agent.

The Battle of Argaon, (or Adgaon near Akot) in took place on 28 November 1803 between the British under the command of Governor Arthur Wellesley and the forces of Maratha under Bhonsle of Nagpur during Second Anglo-Maratha War. In the Third Anglo-Maratha War the last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, was defeated by the British. In 1853, Akola district together with the rest of Berar came under the administration of the British East India Company. Berar was divided into East and West Berar with Akola district being included in West Berar. In 1903 Berar was leased to the Nizam of Hyderabad by the British East India Company in return of the debt. Visit India with Indian Travel agent.

After India's Independence in 1947, the states and provinces were reorgnaised in 1956. Berar province was
divided among different states. Akola district became a part of bilingual Bombay State which was further divided into two states in 1960. Akola district became a part of the new Maharashtra State. Visit India with Indian Travel agent.

Many old forts from the historic past can still be seen in Akola district. Some of these are Narnala fort, Akot Fort, Akola fort (see in attached photo) and Balapur Fort.

Historical places in Akola

A temple of Rajeshwar
Fort Asadgadh
A Sundarabai Khandelwal Tower ( 5 Floors)

Transport
Mount Carmel School Chowk - Railway Station Road, Akola.

Air
The Akola Airport (also known as Shivani Airport)) is the Domestic airport of Akola city. It is having Aerodrome & Airfield at an elevation of 999 ft (304 m) and having 1 Runway (3985×145 ft). The Airport is just 7 km away from the city on National Highway number 6. Visit India with Indian Travel agent. The nearest International airports are Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. The work of Renovation and Operations of Akola Airport for the future has been taken by Airport Authority of India (AAI). Air Deccan is starting intermittent flights from Mumbai and Nagpur to Akola.

Road
The "NH6", which runs through Akola, is an important National Highway, which runs from Hajira (Surat) to Kolkata. NH6 is a part of Asian Highway 46. Maharashtra state transport buses are most commonly used by people to travel to rural parts of the region. They are the cheapest means of transport. State owned and private air-conditioned bus services run daily buses to most important cities to and from Akola. The bus frequency is extremely good. Visit India with Indian Travel agent.

Bus
Locally, the Akola Municipal Transport (AMT) is Akola's public transport service. AMT is also an important mode of transport for many people.It has got a huge response since its launching. In addition, Auto Rickshaw is also widely used in Akola city for commute due to its quick ride. Indian Travel agent provides hotel bookings, hotel booking in India.

Traffic is generally a problem, in the form of congestions due to increasing number of vehicles, bad roads, stray animals and a general disregard of traffic rules. Road accidents, quite often fatal, are not uncommon in Akola city because of all these factors combined. Recently, Local corporation is trying to bring IRDP in Akola city. This may create new face of the city. Indian Travel agent provides hotel bookings, hotel booking in India.

Rail
Akola also has good railway connectivity with direct trains to Mumbai, Delhi,Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Okha, Kolhapur, Pune, Bhusawal, Wardha, Nagpur, Howrah, Puri, Chennai, Jaipur and Hyderabad.

Akola railway junction situated on both the Mumbai-Bhusawal-Wardha-Nagpur-Howrah rail line and the Kacheguda-Jaipur meter gauge line is an important junction for passengers from North and South India and also for goods trains. Broadgauging of Akola-Purna railway line under Unigauge is under progress. Indian Travel agent provides hotel bookings, hotel booking in India. Important railway stations in Akola region with their codes are Paras, Gaigaon, Akola Junction(AK), Murtajapur Junction (MZR) and are under Bhusawal-Badnera Section of Bhusawal Division of Central Railway.

The other stations under meter gauge are Hiwarkhed (HWK), Adgaon Buzurg (ABZ), Akot (AKOT), Patsul (PTZ), Ugwe (UGWE), Akola Junction, Shivani Shivpur (SVW), Barshitakli (BSQ), Lohogad(LHD), Amna Vadi(AMW), Jaulka(JUK) are under Purna - Khandwa Section of South Central Railway.

The stations under narrow gauge are Lakhpuri, Murtajapur Junction, Karanja under two Narrow Gauge Branch lines viz Murtajapur-Achalpur and Murtajapur-Yavatmal of Bhusawal Division of Central Railway. Indian Travel agent provides hotel bookings, hotel booking in India.

Religion and Culture
Raj-Rajeshwar Temple, Akola.
"Raj Rajeshwar Temple" in Akola is a famous pilgrimage place for worshippers of Lord Shiva and has a great historical heritage. (see attached photo) During the marathi calendar month of 'Shravan', there is a huge rush of devotees to worship Lord Shiva especially on every Monday of the month. The month of Shravan is very sacred according to Hindu Religion and worshippers from long distances travel to Raj Rajeshwar Temple to worship Lord Shiva. We provide tourist transport in India.

Narsingh Maharaj Mandir at Akot and Baladevi temple at Balapur both in Akola District are also famous religious temples near Akola. Also in Balapur, 'Chatri' memento by Raja Jaisingh in the memory of his Horse is also famous. We provide tourist transport in India.

The Atishay kshatra Shri Antariksh Parshvanath Jain Temple is situated in Shirpur (Akola District) about 75 km away from Akola. The Black colored idol of Bhagawan Parshvanath is very Ancient and is amongst very famous Jain Temples in Maharashtra.

Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj, Shegaon (Buldhana District).

Other Temples in Akola city are:
Birla Mandir (Shri Ram Temple) Shreenath Dutta Mandir, Ramdas Peth, Jain Temple

Shegaon (in Buldhana District), a very famous pilgrimage place of "Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj", is just 45 km away from Akola. Sant Gajanan Maharaj Sansthan is the biggest temple trust in the Vidarbha region and is so called as "Pandharpur of Vidarbha". We provide tourist transport in India.The origin of Sant Gajanan Maharaj is untraceable in history. People from all over Maharashtra visit Shegaon and offer there prayers to Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj.

Akola is known as a colorful city because of its many festivals. Ganesh Chaturthi, Makar Sankranti, Dashera, Diwali, Holi and Eid are celebrated with special enthusiasm. We provide tourist transport in India.