Chavdaar Tale Satyagraha

It is famous for the Chavdaar Tale's satyagraha of Bhimrao Ambedkar at Chavdar Tale, which is a large public water tank in Mahad town.^[1] Ambedkar with his followers of over 2,500 dalits marched to the tank. In the March some upper caste people also participated, who use to admired Bhimrao's ideology. Ambedkar was the first to take his hand and sip water from the tank, followed by the rest. This was a revolutionary step for the time and broke the taboo of caste discrimination. This came to be known as the Mahad Satyagraha.^[2] Many disciples of the Buddha and followers of B.R. Ambedkar visit Chavdaar Tale every year on Kranti Din (Day of Revolution).

However, this was not the end of the struggle. There was tremendous backlash from the rest of the community and some even performed a purification ritual to counter the act of revolution. Ambedkar made another statement by burning the Hindu book Manusmriti at the very same spot on 25 December 1927.^[2]

Shivaji and Raigad fort

Mahad has a glorious history during the rule of the Maratha king Shivaji. The capital of Hindavi Swarajya and Samadhi of Chhatrapati Shivaji is at Raigad fort. which is around 24 km (15 mi) from the city. It was part of Birwadi Subha (Tehsil) and was ruled by Birwadi Subhedar's Kadams (Mahamunkars). The village Umarath of Tanaji Malusare & Kinjaloli of Murarbaji are also in the vicinity of Mahad.

Gangharpale Buddhist Caves

According to the mythological story, Gandharpale Caves are the sculptured houses built in one night by the Pandavas. Originally these caves are Buddhist caves build during the reign of Prince Vishnupalita Kanbhoja.^[3]

2016 Flood in Sawitri river

In 2016, a major flood hit Mahad because of the collapse of the British era bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway and caused great losses. The incident resulted in the loss of 42 lives.^[4]

Several disasters like floods and landslides have continuously devastated markets and old houses, specifically classic Konkani-styled architecture, causing great loss of life. This is primarily due to lower elevation of the city compared to surrounding areas and being surrounded by rivers on all sides, making the city like a triangular island. Also, Konkan, receives predominantly very heavy rainfall in comparison to rest of Maharashtra.^[5][6]

Shimga Festival

The most important festival among whole Konkani community spreading from Thane, Raigad to Goa and Karawar coast is "Shimga". It is speciality of "Konkan and Goa". Every City, every town or village has its own way of celebrating it. Almost every Konkani working day and night, sleeplessly in metropolis like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi or in foreign countries rush to their homeland during Shimga. People worship their local deities, fun-fairs are organised; the Palkhis of local deities are main attraction and is considered prestigious among locals. Each town represents its own religious culture and traditions.

Central Market

Mahad was the central market for people of Poladpur, the Raigad villages and the hill station Mahabaleshwar. The city is surrounded by the Sahyadri mountain ranges and the Savitri, Kal and Gandhari rivers originating through Mahabaleswar, hills in Mulshi and Raigad fort respectively. Mahad was a flourishing port in the past. "Mahadi Gul" was well known in Gujarat, which is made in Satara, Pune district and exported to other locations through Mahad's port.

Mahad M.I.D.C. and Economic Corridor

Airways

Nearest airports:

• Navi Mumbai International Airport, Ulve-Panvel, Navi Mumbai
• CSIA, Mumbai
• Pune International Airport, Lohagaon, Pune

Railway

Konkan railway line starts from Roha-Kolad and exits Raigad district via Veer. Main railway stations in Mahad is Veer railway station.

Road

National Highway NH 66 (previously known as NH 17) passes through Mahad. It connects Panvel (Southern Navi-Mumbai) to Kanyakumari, passing through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

MSRTC

Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation has a bus depot at Mahad for public transport. Buses plying from Khed, Chiplun, Ratnagiri have halt at Mahad MSRTC Bus depot.

GSRTC

Many people from Mahad commute to cities like Surat, Vapi and Valsad in Gujarat from even before the Independence. For inter-state public transport, Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation started buses from Mahad and Poladpur bus stand which are under operations of Mahad MSRTC Bus Depot to Surat and other cities of Gujarat.