Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas of Thane district; also, it is the headquarters of the namesake district. With a population of 1,841,488 distributed over a land area of about 147 square kilometres (57 sq mi), Thane city is the 15th most populous city in India with a population of 1,890,000 according to the 2011 census.[1]
Etymology and other names
The ancient name of Thana was Śrīsthāna. It appears as Thāna in early medieval Arab sources.[2]
The name Thane has been variously Romanised as Tana,[3]Thana,[4]Thâṇâ,[5] and Thame.[6]Ibn Battuta and Abulfeda knew it as KukinTana; Duarte Barbosa as TanaMayambu.[7] Before 1996, the city was called "Thana", the British spelling of the city, until it was replaced with the more-local name.
History
A copper plate dating to AD 1078 was discovered near the foundations of Thane Fort in 1787. A land grant from Arikesara Devaraja, lord of Tagara, wherein he addresses the inhabitants of a city called "Sri Sthanaka".[8] For a long time, it was a military training and recruitment center of the Maratha empire.
In Thane, temperature varies from 22°C to 36°C. Winter temperatures can fall to 12°C at night while summer temperatures can rise to over 40°C at noon. The lowest daytime temperatures are witnessed during the peak of the summer monsoon in July and August when temperatures can drop to about 25°C. Out of total rainfall, 80% rainfall is experienced during June to October. Average annual rainfall is 2000–2500mm and humidity is 61–86%, making it a humid zone.
Masunda Lake ( also known as Talao Pali) is located on West of Thane, in the heart of Thane city. The lake is surrounded by important historic places like Gadkari Rangayatan, St. John church, Kopineshwar temple and Jambli market. There is a Mahadev Dhyan Mandir at the centre of the lake and also a statue of Shivaji Maharaj near the lake.
The population of Thane according to the 2011 census is 1,886,941.[13] The average literacy rate of Thane city is 91.36 percent for where male and female literacy was 94.19 and 88.14 percent respectively. The sex ratio of Thane city is 882 females per 1000 males. Child sex ratio is 900 girls per 1000 boys. Total children (0–6) in Thane city are 186,259 as per Census India report on 2011. There were 98,017 boys while 88,242 are girls. Children form 10.24% of total population of Thane City.
The dominant language spoken in Thane is Marathi. Hindi too is well understood and spoken. Around 70% of population speaks Marathi. Some of the East Indian families in the Khatri ward of Thane still speak Portuguese.[14] About 1,800 of India's approximately 5,000 Jews live in Thane.[15]
Cricket is the most popular sport in this settlement. Dadoji Kondadev Stadium, a sports arena of cricket is present in the city. Thane comes under jurisdiction of Mumbai Cricket Association, the governing body for cricket in Mumbai. Its players play for Mumbai cricket team in Indian domestic cricket.[17]
Transport
Railways
Thana was the terminus for the first ever passenger train in Asia. On 16 April 1853, the passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder (Bombay) and Thane.[18] Covering a distance of 34 km (21 mi), it was hauled by three locomotives: Sahib, Sindh and Sultan.
Thane is connected with neighbouring suburbs through Central and Trans-Harbour LineSuburban railway network. Thane is a railway junction for the Thane-Vashi & Panvel Harbour Line and Central Line. It is one of the busiest stations in India and handles 654,000 passengers daily.[19][20]
Thane railway station will soon be revamped, Work to start soon on Rs 800-crore project.[21]
On 26 August 2015, the MMRDA sanctioned ₹354 billion for 118 km Mumbai metro network. This includes a 40-km Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali Metro-4 corridor via Wadala GPO and R.A.Kidwai Marg costing ₹120 billion.[24]
Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) ply in direction towards Vashi and Navi Mumbai. It goes through Airoli, Turbe etc. Most of NMMT buses ply in Thane from the Kalwa area. NMMT connects city of Thane to various parts of Navi Mumbai. NMMT operates buses to Airoli, Rabale, Mahape, Panvel, Vashi, Ghansoli, Nerul, CBD Belapur etc.
Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Transport (MBMT) started from 2006. The buses ply from Dahisar Check naka towards Versova [Thane] Check naka. So till now majority of MBMT buses can be taken up at the Check naka only. MBMT has started new services to Thane City from January 2010.
Vasai Virar Municipal Transport (VVMT) operates two routes in Thane. First from Vasai to Mulund Via Thane/Ghodbunder road and second from Nala Sopara to Thane Kopri.
Future of transport in Thane
A light rail network covering 42 km has been proposed in three phases. In the first phase, consultants have suggested connectivity between Balkum and Kolshet via Naupada. It will be 16.05 km long with 14.65 km elevated, and only 1.4 km on the surface, and 11 stations in all.[27]
^Habig, Marion Alphonse (1979), The Franciscan Book of Saints, Franciscan Herald Press, cited in "Thomas of Tolentino and Companions", Roman Catholic Saints, retrieved 9 November 2016.
^Colonialism: An International, Social, Cultural and Political encyclopedia By Melvin Eugene Page, Penny M. Sonnenburg, page 135Archived 7 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine