Valsad
—  city  —
Valsad Location of Valsad in Gujarat and India
Coordinates	20°38′N 72°56′E / 20.63°N 72.93°E / 20.63; 72.93Coordinates: 20°38′N 72°56′E / 20.63°N 72.93°E / 20.63; 72.93
Country	India
State	Gujarat
District(s)	Valsad
Population	68,825 (2001[update])
Sex ratio	920/1000 ♂/♀
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 13 metres (43 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 396001 • Telephone • +912632 • Vehicle • GJ-15

Valsad (Gujarati: વલસાડ), formerly known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in the Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. The city has a collectorate, a district court, and a police headquarters with a historic prison. The municipality is governed by the city mayor.

Origin of name[link]

The name 'Valsad' derives from vad-saal, a Gujarati language compound meaning "hampered (saal) by banyan trees (vad)" (the area was naturally rich in banyan trees).

Geography[link]

Tithal Beach

A street in Valsad, South Gujarat.

Swaminarayan Temple.Tithal,Valsad

Shri Swami Narayan Temple Tithal

Shri Sai Baba Mandir, Tithal

Valsad is located at 20°38′N 72°56′E / 20.63°N 72.93°E / 20.63; 72.93.^[1] It has an average elevation of 13 metres (42 feet).

The city center is about 4 km inland from the Arabian sea.^[2]

Tithal beach[link]

Tithal Beach is a tourist attraction in the coastal region of Valsad, overlooking the Arabian sea. It has many tourist attractions including some grand temples like, Shri Sai Baba & Shri Swami Narayan. The Indian government has funded in the development of the area, due to its popularity with local and foreign tourists alike. There are plenty of stalls and shops selling various kinds like Bajiya, Dabeli, Bhel Chat Coconut water and of souvenirs. You will also find places to eat both indoors and outdoors with plenty of choice from a full meal to traditionally prepared snacks. There is also a play area for children, public toilets and hotels. The road from Valsad city to Tithal branches into two around a kilometer after crossing the Wanki river. The road to the left goes to the Sai Baba temple located along the coast of Arabian Sea and the road to the right goes to Tithal beach and further continues along the seashore up to Swaminarayan temple located 1.6 km ahead along the sea coast. The temple is built in stone with exquisite hand carvings. Adjacent to the temple, there is a food outlet serving a variety of vegetarian snacks. The Shri Sai Baba Temple is adjacent to the shore of the Tithal Beach and the daily prayers are attended by many devotees from all over the world. The Shantidham Temple is also a popular religious destination being close to the sea shore provide a good view of the Arabian Sea.

Sun Down at Tithal beach

Economy[link]

The Alphonso mango (known locally as Haafus), for which the city and environs was once famous, is still important to the local economy. Villages in the Valsad district have numerous mango orchards, the only source of income for many villagers.

Overview[link]

Valsad has a population count of about 68,825 according to latest census. Valsad district is home to some popular names such as Vapi (the Chemical Hub of Gujarat), Umbergaon & Bhilad-Sarigam (The Industrial Estates). The union territories of Daman and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, which are important tourist destinations, are located near Valsad. This city's longitude and latitude are 72.98 and 20.54 respectively.

Morarji Desai, the former Prime Minister of India and famous Marathi playwright Ram Ganesh Gadkari were from Valsad^{[citation needed]}, as was also the Indian independence activist Bhulabhai Desai^{[citation needed]} The ancestors of British rocker Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) were from Valsad, as well as those of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Some famous actors were also born in Valsad like Nirupa Roy, Bindu, Prachi Desai, Manhar Desai, Mahesh Desai and producer Manmohan Desai^{[citation needed]}

The first X-Factor Reality show in India saw a huge audience as well as participants. One of which was from the city of Valsad - The Sajda Sisters. Three ladies of the Pandit family are highly renowned faces in Musical groups in Valsad and all over Gujarat. Performing almost round the year to places around the globe they have a reign of family members making their contributions in music and singing. Belonging to a regular family the trio went on to top three in the finale of X-Factor the biggest music reality show.

Valsad in Literature[link]

Valsad is the setting for Kumayl Hasan Rizvi's novel Fairytale.

Demographics[link]

As of the 2001 India census,^[3] Valsad had a population of 68,825. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Valsad has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 77%. Gujarati and Marathi are the main languages of Valsad.

Education[link]

Colleges[link]

City has two technical colleges, Government Polytechnic, which was established in 1965, and Government Engineering College, established in 2004.

Schools[link]

Though the size of valsad city is very small, it has very decent educational facilities. There are many schools providing excellent English education and also a host of Gujarati Medium Schools do exist.
List of Schools

Affiliated to State Board
1. St. Joseph's English Teaching High School
2. Bai Ava Bai High School
3. G.V.D. Sarvjanik High School
4. R.J.J.
5. D.M.D.G.
6. Jamnabai
7. SumantRai
8. ManiBa
9. RM & VM
10. Swaminarayana High School
11. Gaytri High School
12. Khimchand High School
13. Kusum Vidhyalaya
14. Shivang high school
15. Kalyani School
16. Sunrise English Medium School, Shethia Nagar, Valsad. 08128879879

Affiliated to CBSE

• Saraswati International School
• Vallabh Ashram

Affiliated to ICSE
Atul Vidyalay

Transport[link]

The city has a rail terminus for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad line and Mumbai-Delhi line of the Western Railway. Connected by the National Highway no. 8 (NH 8), Valsad is about 150 km north of Mumbai and about 100 km south of the city of Surat.

Railways[link]

Valsad is a major railway station on the Mumbai-Vadodara mainline of Western Railways (WR) and is well connected by rail to all major cities in India. The present railway station building was established in 1925. Most trains on the route including the August Kranti Rajdhani Express have a scheduled halt at Valsad. Adjacent to the railway station is the Valsad Electric Loco Shed which houses over 100 electric locomotives. It is the only loco shed on WR which houses the AC/DC locomotives like WCAM-1 and WCAM-2, WCAM-2P and one of the only two in India (the other being Kalyan on Central Railways) to house AC/DC dual powered electric locomotives. Recently many WAG-5/5As have been homed at Valsad who are pure AC locomotives. Valsad has three platforms no 1,2,3 and there are almost 4-5 freight sidings.

Several long distance express trains and short distance intercity trains originate and terminate at Valsad. Some of the trains starting from Valsad are-

• 0123/0124 Valsad Fast Passenger to Mumbai Central
• 9109/9110 Gujarat Queen to Ahmedabad
• 2929/2930 Intercity Express to Vadodara
• 9051/9052 Shramik Express to Sonpur
• 2943/2944 Udyogkarmi Express to Kanpur
• 245WR/246WR Passenger to Bandra Terminus (Mumbai)
• 249WR/250WR Passenger to Viramgam
• 2911/2912 valsad Haridwar express

Notable People[link]

• Morarji Desai
• Field Marshall Manekshaw (Sam Manekshaw)
• Nirupa Roy
• Bindu (actress)
• Ram Ganesh Gadkari
• Tarun K Modi
• Smitraj N Patel

See also[link]

See also[link]

• Valsad district

References[link]

External links[link]

• Valsad Weather

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Valsad

• Official Website of the Valsad Collectorate (in Gujarati).
• Official Website of the Valsad Nagarpalika.