Malkapur, Karad
Malkapur is a town in Satara district in the southern part of Indian state of Maharashtra. It lies beside the city of Karad and along the NH4 highway. It had one of the highest revenue-generating (through taxes) Gram Panchayats in Maharashtra. Later on due to increasing population and urbanization it was given the status of a town having Municipal Council. The town is well known even in other countries for its 24×7 water supply to each and every house and at very cheap cost. It is also implementing Solar City Project in which municipal gives subsidiary on  purchasing any solar-powered equipment and reducing power dependency on MSEB. The Malkapur town is divided into 17 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. Malkapur is fast growing town because the adjoining Karad city does not have sufficient expandable land available. Also, Malkapur has industrial as well as business establishments, such as Krishna Hospital and Deemed University, Emerson Climate Technologies, Bharati Vidyapeeth, some big hotels and restaurants, co-op societies etc. Hence people prefer to settle at Malkapur nowadays. History. Originally Malkapur was a village with small population near the Karad city. People's basic occupation was  agriculture with the educated ones travelling to Karad and Satara for employment. Later on due to limited space available in Karad and the proximity to NH4 highway lot of businesses started growing in Malkapur. People started flooding in here which lead to the establishment of schools, hospitals, shops, commercial centers, etc. Eventually, it grew so big that it had to be declared as a town with a Municipal Council. Its closeness to Karad city lead people to consider it as a part of Karad city itself. Public Schemes. Malkapur 24x7 Water Supply Scheme. As per the demand of people of  Malkapur Grampanchayat, it was decided to plan and execute 24x7 Water Supply Scheme by adopting Koyana River as a perennial source and accordingly the proposal was framed for a projected population of 67196 for year 2037 and submitted to Govt. for approval. Shrimati Premala Tai Kanya Suraksha Campaign. This plan deals with the problem of female fetus sex detection of the unborn baby which is widespread in urban centers. Priya Darshani Kanya Ratna Yojna. Under this campaign, girls will be issued free bus passes from mahila and bal kalyan fund. This would be helpful for common and economically backward families  for their girl's education. Malkapur Nagarpanchayat has decided as social obligations to initiate and execute the scheme to issue free transport bus passes to girl students taking education in various schools & colleges situated in Karad city and adjoining areas. The scheme is being implemented since 8 July 2013, the date of death anniversary of late Mrs. Premalatai Chavan who was a parliamentarian in the regime of late Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Under this scheme as on today 792, free bus passes have been issued to girl students by Malkapur Nagarpanchayat though Women & Child Welfare fund. The girl students from general  and poor families will be benefited by the scheme. Biogas. The Maharashtra government irrigation and health and hygiene department gives grants to the people constructs toilet, but weaker sections cannot take benefit from it. The council itself implemented its own scheme to grants 10,000/- rs for weaker sections, peasants and farmers. As 40% farmers in the town/ city carry animal husbandry so to develop the campaign of bio-gas and gobar gas, the council itself is ready to give grants of 10,000/- rs to the farmer. Malkapur Solar City. As per Jawaharlal National solar mission, Malkapur municipal council water  supply department have developed Malkapur solar city. Through which solar energy is provided in the entire city, Malkapur municipal council water supply department has planned in their project to distribute minimum one solar water heater and at least two to four solar lamps in every house. They have decided to provide it into the four stages, the first circulation will be of 700 connections and remaining all three circulations will be of 1500 connections. Geography. Malkapur is located at . It has an average elevation of 566 metres (1856 feet). Malkapur is located near Agashiva . It has been referred in great  epic Mahabharata. It has the shape of an "Aum" (Devanagari?) when viewed aerially. Climate. Malkapur belongs to the subtropical category of climate characterized by medium to heavy rainfall and moderate temperature. Three main seasons in the region are: Average maximum temperature is 36 °C and Minimum temperature is 11 °C. May is the hottest and December is coldest month of the year. Climate of Malkapur is temperate. The maximum rainfall is in June to Aug from south-west monsoon. The average rainfall is 540.40 mm in Malkapur. Demographics. The Malkapur Nagar Panchayat has population of 31,671 of which  16,352 are males while 15,319 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. Population of Children with age of 0–6 is 3576 which is 11.29% of total population of Malkapur (NP). In Malkapur Nagar Panchayat, Female Sex Ratio is of 937 against state average of 929. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Malkapur is around 882 compared to Maharashtra state average of 894. Literacy rate of Malkapur city is 88.14% higher than state average of 82.34%. In Malkapur, Male literacy is around 92.37% while female literacy rate is 83.65%. Nearest railway station is Karad and has trains on route  from Mumbai to Miraj, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Bangalore (some trains). Transportation. Railways. You can reach Malkapur from Mumbai or Pune easily by road or rail ("Mahalaxmi Express", "Koyna Express", "Sahyadri Express" or "Chalukya Express"). 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 Malkapur. Travel time from Miraj to Malkapur is approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. National Highways. The National Highway 4 goes by Malkapur city. National Highway 4 (NH 4) is a major  National Highway in Western and Southern India. NH 4 links four of the 10 most populous Indian cities - Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Chennai. Airport. The nearest airport is the Karad Airport which has a small strip for landing and taking off. Tourism. Some tourist points near Malkapur include: Controversies. Sanjay Patil Murder Case. Wrestler and winner of the Maharashtra Kesari title Sanjay Patil was shot dead on 15 January 2009 near Krishna hospital in Malkapur. Salim alias Sallya Chepya of Karad and eight others were arrested by the Karad police in connection with the murder and a charge sheet was  also filed in the court.