Bhoom

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Bhoom is a town in Dharashiv district, Maharashtra, India. It is the headquarters of Bhoom tehsil and has a municipal council since 1948. The town sits in a valley between the Banashankar hills of the Sahyadri range, on the banks of the Banaganga River, which flows into the Bhima.

Historically, in 1717 Sambhaji II of Kolhapur granted Bhoom as jagir to Yashwantrao Thorat for bravery. The Thorat family ruled Bhoom until India’s independence in 1947. In the 17th century the area was under Adil Shahi rule, then became part of the Maratha Empire. The current head of the Thorat family is Shrimant Vijaysinh Amarsinh Thorat, who served as President of the Bhoom Municipal Council from 1991 to 2006. In the 19th century Bhoom was under the Nizam’s territory during British rule, but locally ruled by the Thorat family.

In 2001 Bhoom tehsil had about 116,900 people (60,620 men and 56,274 women). By 2011 the tehsil had about 137,217 people, with a gender ratio of 905 females per 1,000 males and 86.4% of people living in rural areas. The literacy rate was 73.1% overall (82.9% for men and 62.5% for women), and 11.5% of residents were aged 0–6.

Since 2000, Bhoom has seen more white-collar jobs as educated people moved in. Hi-Infotech Computer Education started in 2000 and has trained about 10,000 students and workers.

Bhoom is divided by the Banganga River into Kasba (traditional farming) and Peth (more cosmopolitan). The Banganga and Ramganga dams provide drinking water. S P College has served Bhoom and nearby villages for decades; its founder and first principal was Dr. S. N. Singh.

Nearby areas include Bhimnagar, Gandhi Chowk, Sambhaji Chowk, and Samarth Nagar. The Allamprabhu temple sits on a hill near a lake and is visited by people of different faiths. Historically, Bhoom was part of the Nizam’s territory, and on September 17, 1948, the Nizam’s forces surrendered to Indian forces, after which Bhoom became part of India.