Ulhasnagar Knowledge Guide

History

Originally known as Kalyan Military transit camp, Ulhasnagar was set up to accommodate 6,000 soldiers and 30,000 others during World War II. There were 2,126 barracks and about 1,173 housed personals.After the partition of India, over 1,00,000 Sindhi Hindus refugees from Sindh, Pakistan were relocated to the deserted military camps five kilometres from Kalyan. The area was converted into a township in 1949 and foundation ceremony took place on 8 August 1949. The Governor-general of India, C. Rajagopalachari named the town Ulhasnagar (literally 'city of joy'; ulhas=joy; nagar=city) and he also laid the foundation stone for the township. It was called Ulhasnagar because of its close proximity to Ulhas Plateau and its valley.A suburban railway station was built in 1955. In January 1960, Ulhasnagar Municipality was formed, with Arjun K. Ballani as first chief, and a municipal council was nominated. In 1965, elections were first held in this council. In the late 1970s, Ulhasnagar was a town settled mainly by Sindhi refugees. Now this 28 square kilometre area has 389,000 people of Sindhi descent, the largest enclave of Sindhis in India. The town lies outside Mumbai city but within the Mumbai Conurbation. In 2010, the estimated population of Sindhi Hindus in Ulhasnagar was 400,000.There are a number of criminal gangs in town working under the patronage of political parties. Also for many illegal building projects in 1990s, politicians started to charge money to look the other way.