CHIPLUN

Chiplun (Chiplun T.; 17° 30' N, 73° 30' E; p. 15,847), the headquarters of Chiplun taluka, is situated 108 miles south-east of Bombay and twenty-five miles from sea, on the south bank of the Vasishthi river, which, up to Govalkot, one and a half miles from Chiplun, is navigable for boats of about fifteen tons. [At Govalkot around 1870, stone quays were built for loading and discharging cargo. From Govalkot to Chiplun, one and a half miles, runs a narrow tidal; gullet, up which only flat bottomed boats can work. At the head of the Chiplun market is a pier, made soon after the territory was gained by the British. Owing to the silting of the creek, it is little used, most of the traffic being carried on by trucks.] The nearest railway station is Karad, 60 miles to the south-east.

TRADE.

At the head of a navigable river and near the entrance to the Kumbharli pass, one of the easiest routes from the Deccan to the sea, Chiplun was always a good centre of trade. The chief articles received from the Deccan were cotton, gur, clarified butter, oil, grain, turmeric, and chillies; and from Bombay, most of them to be sent on to the Deccan, piece-goods, metals and other miscellaneous articles.

At present mill-made cloth coming from Malegaon, Ichalkaranji, Bombay, etc., has captured the local market. As a result the local handloom industry which was thriving in the last decade has received a set-back. Chiplun can no longer boast of being a feeding centre for surrounding talukas. Gur, Chillies, tobacco, sugar and grains are imported from up-ghats while Bombay supplies cloth.

Population.

Of the total population of 15,847, according to the Census figures of 1951, the agricultural classes number 2,681 and the non-agricultural classes 13,166. Of the latter, 2,509 persons derive their principal means of livelihood from production other than cultivation; 3,555 persons from commerce; 1,617 persons from transport; and 5,485 persons from other services and miscellaneous sources.

Municipality.

Chiplun municipality was established in 1876, and is now governed under the Bombay District Municipal Act, 1901. It is composed of 19 members, all elected. There are two seats reserved for women and one for the Scheduled Castes. The municipality elects a managing committee and committees for sanitation, dispensary, schools and shops and establishments.

For the year 1956-57, the total income of the municipality excluding extraordinary and debt heads, amounted to Rs. 3,12,030; municipal rates and taxes being Rs. 2,61,182; revenue derived from municipal property and powers apart from taxation Rs. 7,155; grants and contributions Rs. 17,683; and miscellaneous Rs. 26,010. The total expenditure for the same year, excluding extraordinary and debt heads, amounted to Rs. 2,03,426; general administration and collection charges being Rs. 38,860; public safety Rs. 25,014; public health and convenience Rs. 54,033; public works Rs. 65,913; public instruction Rs. 15,537; and miscellaneous Rs. 4,069.

There are two sources of water supply. One nalla caters for a part of the town and one pucca built pick-up-weir across the river serves the rest of the town. However, water supply is scanty during April and May. Tail water when released from Pophali at the lowest stage of the Koyna Project will help to solve this difficulty to a great extent. Road watering is done by well water pumped up by diesel pump.

There is no proper drainage system at present. It is difficult to arrange for under-ground drainage, as the town is very little above the sea level. A drainage system has been taken in hand (1959).

There is compulsory primary education, managed by the District School Board, the municipality paying its statutory contribution. A public library called the Lokamanya Tijak Smarak Vachan Mandir is paid grant-in-aid by the municipality to the extent of Rs. 500 to Rs. 750 a year.

The municipality has recently constructed a fish market at a cost of about Rs. 30,000. There are a few dispensaries and maternity hospitals in the town besides a dispensary and a maternity ward run by the municipality, which are located in the municipal office building. Government maintains a veterinary dispensary in the town.

For fire service, the municipality has one truck fire-fighter which is used also as a road-watering vehicle.

Out of the total road mileage of 12.50, five miles are asphalted, four miles metalled and three and a half miles kaccha roads.

There is no municipal cremation or burial ground. The Brahman Vaishya and Shimpi communities have their own cremation grounds. The Muhammedans also have their burial ground privately managed.

Somewhat separated from the town and half way up the road to the Public Works Department Bungalow, is a decent, new building for State Transport Stand and a canteen.

History.

Chiplun, the first home of the Konkanasth or Chitpavan Brahmans, according to local traditions, stocked with Brahmans and supplied with sixty ponds and sixty gardens by Parashuram, the reclaimer of the Konkan, has for long been a place of consequence. [A stone was found at Chiplun bearing the date 1156 (10788), Bom. As. Soc. Meeting, September 1879.] In the seventeenth century it was a great village, very populous and plentifully stored with all provisions. [Ogilby's (1670) Atlas, V. 247. ] In 1818, it was taken by a body of Ramoshis, but abandoned by them on the approach of British forces. [Nairne's Konkan, 116.] In 1819, it was an insignificant village, but bid fair to be, Rajapur excepted, one of the chief trade centres of the southern Konkan. During the dry season Vanjaris, Vanus, and a few Parsees, came, set up temporary booths, and left when the rains fell. [Collector to Govt. 15th July 1819; Rev. Diaries 142 of 1819, 2375.] In 1821, it is spoken of as a place of very important trade. [Bom. Rev. Rec. 16 of 1821, 638.] In 1826, Chiplun was a town of considerable importance. The river was navigable for boats of about eight tons (30 Khandis) close to, and for boats of about fifteen tons (60 Khandis) within three miles of the town. [Clune's Itinerary, "38.] The building now used as a Government office was built as a rest house for Bajirav Peshva, who for some years (1812-1815) came down the Kumbharli pass to visit his palace at Guhagar near Dabhol. [Nairne's Konkan. 121.]

Rock Temples.

About a quarter of a mile south of the town is a series of rock temples. Of these the chief is tolerably high, with, at its inner end, a Buddhist relic shrine, daghoba. There are also two or three smaller caves, and a deep thirteen feet square pond. Three stages on the road from Chiplun to Karad in Satara is another series of Buddhist caves, consisting of a room with a small round relic shrine, six feet in diameter and a hall, shala, 19' by 18', with a raised seat at one corner and three recesses at the inner end. [Jour. Bom. Royal As. Soc. IV. 342.]

Govalkot Fort.

At Chiplun on a detached hill commanding the creek, and surrounded on nearly all sides by higher hills, is the fort of Govalkot. This is said to have, at different times, belonged to the Habshi, Angre, and the Peshva, and Angre is said to have besieged it for twelve years. At the top of the fort is a fine reservoir. [Nairne's MS. notes.]

A bridge has been constructed recently linking Govajkot fort with Chiplun town. To speed up the carrying of goods and heavy machinery to and from the Koyna Project site a crane to load and unload the cargo from ships plying between Dabhol and Goval has been erected at Goval. A road from Govalkot fort to Pophali was recently renovated.

Of the sixty legendary ponds dug by Parashuram,, only Ram-Tirth holds some water. The walls of Ram Tirth and the buildings on its bank are in a dilapidated condition which gives a deserted look to the surroundings.