Karad


Karad is a city in Satara district of Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located 302 km from Mumbai, 74 km from Sangli and 162 km from Pune. It lies at the confluence of the Koyna River and the Krishna River known as the "Pritisangam". The two rivers originate at Mahabaleshwar, which is around 100 km from Karad. Karad is well known for sugar production and is known as the sugar bowl of Maharashtra owing to the presence of many sugar factories in and around Karad. It is considered an important educational hub in Western Maharashtra due to the presence of many prestigious educational institutes. Karad is resting place of the first chief minister of Maharashtra Yashwantrao Chavan situated at the confluence of the Krishna and Koyana rivers. It is ranked as the cleanest town in Swachh Survekshan 2020 in the category of population with less than 1 lakh. There is demand for formation of karad district along with neighbouring Walva, Shirala, Patan, Palus and Kadegaon talukas.
Karad has an adjoining small town named Malkapur, Karad which has its own municipal council and a population of 86,671. Karad was awarded a prize under "Sant Gadagebaba Gramswachhata Abhiyan" started by Indian Government.

History

It was originally known as "Karhatak", meaning "Elephant Market". Karad is also a city of historical importance. According to Mahabharata, Sahadeva one of the Pandavas lived in the city also known to be pious as Lord Rama stepped his feet on this land. Located to the south west of Karad is Karad Caves, also known as Aghashiv Caves.
The first capital of the Shilaharas was probably at Karad during the reign of Jatiga II as known from their copper plate grant of Miraj and Vikramankadevacharita of Bilhana. Hence sometimes they are referred as 'Shilaharas of Karad'. The capital was later shifted to Kolhapur. Among the Shilaharas of Kolhapur who ruled over Satara and Belagavi districts from 1000 to 1215 A. D., Gonka deserves mention here, as he is described as the Lord of Karhad, Mairifvja and Konkan.

Geography

Karad is located at. It has an average elevation of 566 metres. Karad is located near Agashiva caves.

Nearest Cities

Tourism

Tourist places in and around Karad are:

Cityscape

The city has many important government offices and other institutions of significance. With the vision of great leader P. D. Patil the city was one of the few in India to have a well- planned underground drainage system well before in the 1960s. By end-2010, Malkapur, Karad, on the outskirts of the city of Karad, is delivering water 24x7 to all its residents as a result of concrete steps taken by the Malkapur Nagar Panchayat with support from the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran, a state government entity. This is the first of its kind by a public body in India. Major offices and institutions in Karad are as follows:
  • Karad Court, Karad
  • Diwani -Foujdari Court, Karad
  • Doordarshan Kendra, Karad
  • Fire- Brigade, Karad
  • Division Office, Karad
  • Tehsil Office, Karad
  • Khashaba Chounk
  • Panchayat Samiti, Karad
  • Government Rest House, Karad
  • City Police Station, Karad
  • Taluka Police Station, Karad
  • Head Post Office, Karad
  • Railway Station, Karad
  • Airport, Karad
  • MSRTC Depot, Karad
  • Cottage Hospital, Karad
  • RTO Office, Karad
  • Taswade MIDC, Karad
  • Nagarpalika, Karad
  • Town Hall, Karad

Demographics

India census, Karad town and surrounding villages had total population of 74,355. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Karad has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 72%. In Karad, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Vast majority of people belong to Hinduism and Speak Marathi language.

Transportation

National Highways

The National Highway 48 goes through the Karad city. National Highway 48 is a major National Highway in Western and Southern India. NH 48 links four of the 10 most populous Indian cities - Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune. NH 48 also connects Karad to Uran Islampur, Kolhapur. Pune is the largest metropolis near Karad and Kolhapur, Sangli is an important trade centre and Karad is educational hub for IIT training and a tourist destination.

Airport

An Airstrip was constructed in the 1955 by the Public Works Department to facilitate the Koyna dam project. It is currently being used for General aviation and pilot training. The airport is spread on 65 acres and the acquisition of more than 100 acres has been proposed. Runway 10/28 is 1280 meters long and 30 meters wide with a 60 meter by 60 meter apron. No navigational aids nor night landing facilities are available on the airstrip.
The State run Maharashtra Airport Development Company plans to extend the 1,250 meters airstrip by another 1,500 m and widen it by 150 m.
Besides this the nearest airports are Pune Airport and Kolhapur Airport.

Railways

  • Karad – 4 km from city
Karad has railway station situated near ogalewadi about 04 km distance on the Karad Vita road from Karad Bus stand. Karad is on route from Mumbai to Miraj, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Benguluru.
You can reach Karad from Mumbai or Pune easily by road or rail.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has allocated funds for a plan to build a new 112 km railway line between Karad and Chiplun.
;Nearest railway junction
All super-fast trains like the Karnataka Sampark Kranti, Deekshaboomi Express, Rani Chenama Express, Haripriya Express and Miraj Hubli Express stop at Miraj Junction. You can take private cars or MSRTC buses from Miraj to Karad. Travel time from Miraj to Karad is approxroximately 1 hour 15 minutes.
;; Railway Time Table Karad
;Towards Miraj - Kolhapur - Hubli
No.Train No.Train NameTrain TypeDayDeparture time
01 01023Pune – KolhapurPune - Kolhapur SpecialDaily01.37 Am
02 11097Pune – ErnakulamPoorna ExpressSun02.25 Am
03 17318Dadar - HubliHubballi ExpressDaily03.35 Am
04 17411Mumbai - KolhapurMahalaxmi ExpressDaily04.05 Am
05 11021Dadar - TirunelveliTirunelveli ExpressSun, Wed, Thu04.45 Am
06 11035Dadar – MysoreSharavati ExpressFri04.45 Am
07 11005Dadar - PuducherryPuducherry ExpressMon, Tue, Sat04.45 Am
08 16209Ajmer – MysoreAll Mysore ExpressMon, Sat05.40 Am
09 16505Gandhidham – BangaloreGIMB SBC Bangalore ExpressWed05.40 Am
10 16507Jodhpur – BangaloreJU SBC Bangalore ExpressSun, Fri05.40 Am
11 16531Ajmer – BangaloreSBC Garib Nawaz ExpressTue05.40 Am
12 71441Satara – KolhapurDemuDaily06.25 Am
13 11040Gondia – KolhapurMaharashtra ExpressDaily07.50 Am
14 12148Nizamuddin – KolhapurNizamuddin ExpressFri10.15 Am
15 12782Nizamuddin – MysoreSwarnajayani ExpressTue10.15 Am
16 20475Bikaner – MirajBikaner ExpressTue11.15 Am
17 51409Pune – KolhapurDemuDaily03.56 Pm
18 11028Satara – DadarDadar Express Mon,Tue,Sat04.25 Pm
19 11029Mumbai – KolhapurKoyna ExpressDaily05.10 Pm
20 20674Pune – KolhapurVande Bharat ExpressSun, Wed,Fri05.20 Pm
21 12780Nizamuddin – VascoGoa ExpressDaily08.45 Pm
22 12494Nizamuddin –MirajDarshan ExpressSat10.40 Pm
11023 Sahyadri Express >> Discontinued
Information by : updated In August 2025

;Towards Satara - Pune - Mumbai
No.Train No.Train NameTrain TypeDayDeparture time
01 01024Kolhapur – PunePune - Kolhapur SpecialDaily02.10 Am
0212493Miraj - NizamuddinDarshan ExpressSun06.40 Am
03 11426Kolhapur – PuneDemuDaily07.52 Am
04 20673Kolhapur – PuneVande BharatMon,Thu,Sat10.05 Am
0511027Dadar - SataraSatara ExpressMon,Tue, Sat12.35 Pm
06 11030Kolhapur – MumbaiKoyna ExpressDaily10.50 Am
07 12147Kolhapur – NizamuddinNizamuddin ExpressTue11.40 Am
08 12781Mysore – NizamuddinSwarnajayani ExpressSat11.40 Am
09 16210Mysore – AjmerAjmer ExpressWed, Fri02.10 Pm
10 16506Bangalore – GandhidhamGandhidham ExpressSun02.10 Pm
11 16508Bangalore - JodhpurJodhpur ExpressTue, Thu02.10 Pm
12 16532Bangalore – AjmerGarib Nawaz ExpressSat02.10 Pm
1320476Miraj -BikanerBikaner ExpressTue03.50 Pm
14 11039Kolhapur - GondiaMaharashtra ExpressDaily05.35 Pm
15 11098Ernakulam – PunePoorna ExpressTue06.50 Pm
16 51442Kolhapur – SataraDemu SpecialDaily08.16 Pm
17 11006Puducherry - DadarPuducherry-Chalukya ExpressMon, Wed, Thu10.00 Pm
18 11022Tirunelveli - DadarTirunelveli ExpressTue, Fri, Sat10.00 Pm
19 11036Mysore – DadarSharavati ExpressSun10.00 Pm
20 17317Hubli - DadarHubli ExpressDaily10.45 Pm
21 11012Kolhapur - MumbaiMahalaxmi ExpressDaily11.15 Pm
22 12779Vasco – NizamuddinGoa ExpressDaily11.58 Pm
11024 Sahyadri Express >> Discontinued
Information by : Updated In August 2025

Culture

Performing arts

The city has a major hall for cultural activities and exhibitions: Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial - Town Hall. Cultural events of various organizations and gatherings of schools are also held here. The "Venutai Chavan Hall" is used for classical concerts, conducting national and international seminars on topics like science, space, traditions, culture, spirituality, etc.

Literature

Karad has a tradition of literature lovers. The prestigious 76th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was held at banks of Krishna river in Karad in 2003.

Education

The Government College of Engineering, Karad is one of India's oldest post-independence institutions awarding engineering graduate and post-graduate degrees.

Notable people