Nanded City is conferred a status
of Holy City by Government of Maharashtra due to the presence
of the Sachkhand Gurudwara one of the five Takhats of Sikh
religion - housing the Guru Granth Sahib and last resting place
of last Sikh guru Shri Guru Gobind Singhji. By virtue of the
presence of Sachkand Gurudwara, Nanded has emerged as an
important tourism destination center of national and
international significance with over 1.5 million tourists,
mainly Sikhs, from all over the world visiting Nanded every year
during Holi, Baisakhi, Dussera, Diwali and Parlok Gaman of
Guru. Other tourist attractions of in and around Nanded
include:
a.Mahur Renuka Mata Temple and Datta Shikar Temple
b.Aundha Nagnath Temple One of the 10 jyothir lingas,
situated in adjoining Hingoli District
c.8 Gurudwaras linked to life and history of Shri Guru
Gobind Singhji
d.330 year old Masjid of Biloli
e.Unkeshwar Waterfalls in Kinvat Taluka
f.Kandhar Fort, Kandhar Taluka
g.Khandobha Temple in Malegaon- Known for its yatra (annual
fair) where almost a million visitors come during the ten day
long celebration during the month of December. This fair is
famous for the huge turnover in trading of livestock (specially
horses, donkeys, mules and camels), second only Pushkar in terms
of the volume of trading
h.Vishnupuri Barrage and Kaleshwar Temple
i.Art of Hottal in Degloor Taluka A beautiful Siddeshwar
Temple known for Chalukyan era architecture
j.Nanded Fort in Nanded City
It is estimated that over 3
million tourist visit Nanded due to the presence of above
mentioned attractions
A Brief on Key Tourist
Attractions in Nanded
a.Sachkand and Other Gurudwaras
The Sachkand Gurudwara situated in Nanded City is one of the
five Takhats of Sikhs is built in memory of Shri Guru Gobind
Singhji, the 10th and last living Guru of the Sikhs
before consecration of Guru Granth Sahib. Sachkhand Gurudwara is
one of the most sacred religious places for Sikhs as it was here
that Shri Guru Gobind Singhji, declared the consecration of the
Shri Guru Granth Sahib (Guru Ta Gaddi) as the eternal Guru of
Sikh Religion and left for his heavenly abode in the year 1708.
Sachkhand Gurudwara and eight other historic Gurudwaras
connected with events in the life of Shri Guru Gobind Singhji
attracts every year over 1 million pilgrims / tourists to Nanded.
Most of these Gurudwaras are situated in the close vicinity of
the City along the riverside except for couple of them that is
situated at about 8-10 kms from the city. Most of the pilgrims
visiting the Sachkhand Gurudwara also visit these Gurudwaras.
Therefore Nanded holds tremendous significance to Sikhs as one
of their foremost religious destination. It is part of their
spiritual salvation circuit.
b.Shrikshetra Mahurgadh
A pilgrim Center of great significance. It is considered to be
one of the Shaktipeeths of Maharashtra. The temple of Goddess
Renuka Devi is situated on a hillock abounding in natural beauty
at a distance of about 2.415 km. from the village of Mahur. The
temple is said to have been constructed by a Yadava king of
Devgiri about eight to nine hundred years ago. Around 5 6 lakh
pilgrims visit Mahur during the Navaratri Festival Dussera
period.
c.Masjid of Biloli
The Masjid known as the Hazrat Nawab Sarfaraz Khan Sahid Masjid
is said to have been constructed about 330 years back. Sarfaraz
Khan was an officer in the army of Aurangzeb. The Masjid is
constructed in stone has four minarets on the southern side,
which collapsed when it was hit by a lightening in 1960. The one
on the north has eight chains. Below the chains is a figure in
the shape of a bell. To the northwest corner of the Masjid is a
barrow (a well square in shape).
d.Unkeshvar
Unkeshvar is situated on the bank of river Penganga. The village
is famous for its hot water springs. It is situated at a
distance of 19 km from Ambadi, a railway station on Mudkhed
Adilabad railway route. At Unakdeva, there is a temple dedicated
to the Lord Shiva. Near the temple is a holy tank. It was said
to be the abode of the Sage Sarabhanga.
Two hot water tanks are located close by the temple. The tank
water is said to cure skin diseases.
e.Kandhar Fort
Kandhar fort is situated in the heart of Kandhar Town.
Encircling the fort, is a ditch filled with water. Its
construction is attributed to the Rashtrakuta King Krishna III
of Malkhed who styled himself as Kandharpuradhi Swar. Outside
the Kandhar fort at some distance is a hillock on which is
situated an old Idgah held in reverence by the Muslims. It is of
Nizamsahi period with two domes in characteristic Ahmednagar
style.
Tourism Infrastructure in
Nanded City
Despite it potential in the
tourism sector the hospitality infrastructure in Nanded is
grossly underdeveloped. The city does not have good quality
lodging facilities. Most of the hotels in the city have room
capacities in the range of 15 to 45 catering to lower and middle
end customers.
Other than the private hotels,
Gurudwaras in Nanded are the largest providers of accommodation
facilities offering over 2,000 rooms in the form of family rooms
and dormitories to pilgrims. There are about 640 restaurants
/ eateries in Nanded, including small and medium facilities.
The following table provides a summary of the accommodation
facilities in Nanded.
a.Industrial base in the city has almost died out with the
closure of the textile mills and lackluster entrepreneurial
response to the industrial estates in and around Nanded.
b.Education which was a key economic driver seems to have
lost its primacy despite having established institutions of
higher learning there is a tremendous potential for revival of
the sector around the already well established institutions in
the city, including the SRTM University.
c.The cluster of Gurudwaras in the region is already
attracting over 1 million pilgrim tourists per annum however,
their activities are confined to pilgrim related activities and
do not contribute significantly to the economy of the city,
probably due to lack of other tourist & leisure facilities that
may be of interest to tourists.
d.The city has a rich natural heritage in the River
Godavari. The river has been an integral functional element of
the city for generations, but has lost its grace and utility
over the years due to gross neglect on part of the city
administration and citizens. The river offers substantial
tourism potential, which is further enhanced by the presence of
the Vishnupuri Barrage on the edge of the city. This dam holds
large quantity of water all the year round and could be used as
a major source for river rejuvenation and tourism attraction.
Nanded has unique inherent
economic drivers that could be nurtured and promoted in a
systematic manner to generate high overall economic growth. The
key inherent economic drivers for the city lie in the services
sector, including tourism, education, health and trade &
commerce. There is potential for industrial development in the
region, as well, given the availability of water, land and a
strategic regional setting by way of proximity to Aurangabad and
Hyderabad.
Some of the strategy options
include:
a.Promote industrial and overall economic development by
capitalizing on inherent strengths like abundance of water and
proximity to regional centers like Aurangabad, Nagpur and
Hyderabad, - textile, agro processing units, etc.
b.Improving and strengthening regional connectivity
c.Developing infrastructure and leisure facilities in
Nanded, aimed at providing a good quality of life - to attract
and retain good quality manpower in the areas of hospitality,
education, health care services industry managers and skilled
workforce. NWCMC could consider the following strategies for
tourism development:
d.Develop leisure/entertainment facilities in the immediate
short term
e.Branding and marketing of Nanded in national,
international context
f.Develop tourism supporting activities such as tourism
circuits, kiosks, help line, travel/booking etc., shopping
areas, hotels/yatri niwas
g.Develop riverfront including heritage walkway, bathing
ghats and sanitation facilities
h.Develop heritage concepts such as Gurudwara Parikrama,
heritage walk tracing history of Shri Guru Gobind Singh,
experiencing events, historical model showcasing evolution and
spread of Sikhism, souvenir marketing thru special religious
handicrafts etc.
i.Positioning Nanded as a regional hub for education. The
city already houses institutions for higher education such as
the university, medical college, law college, engineering
college, management, agri sciences and others, which attracts
students from the region all around Nanded. This institutional
set-up positions the city to develop strategies around the
existing strengths and provide further opportunities in a
dedicated manner for education purposes. This will provide
supply of educated staff/ workforce, which would be required to
support economic development of the city.
j.Capitalizing on the health facilities headway that Nanded
enjoys in the region by virtue of the Government Medical College
& Hospital, Ayurvedic College & Hospital and several private
healthcare facilities. Nanded should explore the demand and
possibility for promoting a dedicated health care center aimed
at servicing the region.
