Jalgaon (About this sound pronunciation (helpinfo)) is a city in western India, north of Maharashtra in Jalgaon district and in the agricultural region of Khandesh. Jalgaon has a municipal corporation, and had 460,468 residents at the 2011 census. It is 59 km (37 mi) from the Ajanta Caves. Jalgaon, in a Central Railway zone, can be reached by National Highway 6 and has an airport. The city, with industrial areas, schools, hospitals, shopping malls and residential areas, has communications and transport infrastructures. Known as Banana City, it contributes about half of Maharashtra's banana production.[1] The Gandhi Museum, with a large library and other Gandhi-related material, is at Gandhi Teerth in the Jain Hills. Jalgaon has a varied climate. It is hot and dry in summer, with temperatures reaching 47 C (117 F) from late May to mid-June; the record high, in May 2010, was 49.2 C (120.6 F). Jalgaon receives about 700 millimetres (28 in) of rainfall during the monsoon. Pratibha Patil, the 12th president of India, Ujwal Nikam and Shashank Shankhapal Muktadir Deshmukh are from Jalgaon.Jalgaon has an average elevation of 209 m (686 ft). The Girna River flows north, west of the city. It is connected by rail with Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Delhi, Howrah and Ahmedabad. Jalgaon is on Asian Highway 46-National Highway 6, connecting it with Surat and Dhaka via Kolkata. The Ajanta Caves are about 55 km (34 mi) south of the city, and the Yaval Wildlife Sanctuary is about 32 km (20 mi) north.In the 2011 Indian census,[2] Jalgaon had a population of 460,468. According to the 2001 census, males constituted 52 percent of the population and females 48 percent. Jalgaon has an average literacy rate of 76 percent, higher than the national average of 59.5 percent. Male literacy is 80 percent, and female literacy 71 percent. Thirteen percent of the population is under six years of age.
