Solapur

Solapur, Maharashtra, India

Solapur, also called Sholapur, city, southern Maharashtra state, western India. It is situated in an upland region on the Sina River.

In early centuries the city belonged to the Hindu Chalukyas and Devagiri Yadavas but later became part of the Muslim Bahmani and Bijapur kingdoms. Located on major road and rail routes between Pune (west) and Hyderabad (east-southeast, in Telangana state) with branch lines to the south, Solapur developed as a commercial centre for cotton and agricultural produce. It is also an industrial centre, second only to Mumbai (Bombay) as a cotton textile centre. There are ruins of the old Muslim fort.

Solapur’s surrounding area comprises a low, undulating plateau with no major hills. The Bhima River (a tributary of the Krishna River) and two major tributaries—the Nira and Sina—drain the plateau. Most of the population is engaged in agriculture, but uncertain rainfall causes occasional famine. Wheat, millet, and cotton are the principal crops; sugarcane is grown under irrigation. Cigarette and oil-cake manufacture and hand-loom weaving are the major industries. Pandharpur is an important religious centre. Pop. (2001) 872,478; (2011) 951,558.