Melghat
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Melghat (मेलघाट) is a village in Chikhaldara tahsil of Amravati district in Maharashtra. It is known for Melghat Tiger Reserve.
Variants
Location
Origin
Melghat means 'meeting of the ghats'
Jat Gotras Namesake
History
There are passes in Melghat that Kings from the north traversed to reach Berar, where the Imad Shahi dynasty had been founded in 1484. The historic forts, Narnala and Gawilgarh, guarded the main east-west ridge. In 1803, in the Second Maratha War, Colonel Arthur Wellesley, who later became the Duke of Wellington, captured the Gawilgarh fort from the Marathas.[1]
Geography
At the northern extreme of the Amravati district of Maharashtra, on the border of Madhya Pradesh, lies the Melghat in the South-western Satpura mountain ranges. Melghat means 'meeting of the ghats', which describes the area as a large tract of unending hills and ravines scarred by jagged cliffs and steep climbs. The Tapti River flows through the northern part of Melghat Tiger Reserve and forms the boundary of the reserve together with the Gawilghur ridge of the Satpura Range. The forest is tropical dry deciduous in nature, dominated by teak (Tectona grandis).
The reserve is a catchment area for five major rivers: the Khandu, Khapra, Sipna, Gadga and Dolar. These all rivers are tributaries of the river Tapti.
The Melghat area was declared a tiger reserve in 1974. The Meghat Tiger Reserve divided into Sipna, Gugamal and Akot Wildlife Division, administratively. Presently, the total area of the reserve is around 2,768 square kilometres.[2]
Melghat Tiger Reserve
Melghat was among the first nine tiger reserves of India to be notified in 1973 under Project Tiger. It is located in the northern part of Amravati District of Maharashtra. Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as in 1985. The total area of the reserve is 2,768 square kilometres.[1][2][3]
मेलघाट बाघ अभयारण्य
मेलघाट बाघ अभयारण्य भारत के महाराष्ट्र राज्य के अमरावती ज़िले में स्थित एक बाघ अभयारण्य है। सन् 1973 में प्रोजेक्ट टाइगर के अंतर्गत घोषित पहले नौ बाघ के लिए संरक्षित क्षेत्रों में से यह एक था। सन् 1985 में इसे औपचारिक रूप से एक बाघ अभयारण्य घोषित कर दिया गया। ताप्ती नदी अभयारण्य के उत्तर में बहती है और सतपुड़ा पर्वतमाला की गाविलगढ़ शृंखला के साथ अभयारण्य की सीमा है।