About Urlikanchan ( Uruli / Kanchan )
Uruli Kanchan is a village 33 km east from the city of Pune in the district of Pune, Maharashtra, India. The village has been famous for the last sixty years for the Naturopathy Center (Nisarg Upchar Ashram) started by Mahatma Gandhi and his disciple Manibhai Desai. The village is also the location of the BAIF Development Research Foundation, an NGO started by Manibhai Desai in the 1960s. BAIF is well known throughout India for its program of breeding high yielding livestock and promoting sustainable rural development.Uruli was first mentioned in a copper plate issued by Shilahar king , Aparajit in 993 AD. The plate refers to Pune region as Punaka vishaya and included Theur, Uruli, Chorachi Alandi, Bhosari etc.[1]
Under British colonial rule, Great Indian Peninsula Railway started train services between Mumbai and Sholapur in December 1858 with Uruli Kanchan as one of the Stations on the route. The Train Station at that time served as a transit point for pilgrims traveling to Jejuri from Uruli using a dirt road.[2] [1] The train was also used for transporting Pomegranate to the markets of Poona and Bombay. The annual Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi procession has been taking a halt for lunch in Urali en route to Pandharpur in the Hindu Shaka month of Jeshtha for centuries.
The British colonial government set up a relief camp for people affected by the great famine of 1897 in Uruli. The work mainly involved cutting stone from a local quarry.[3] A Grampanchayat or Village Council was established in 1936 with Mr, Pranlal Shah as the first Sarpanch or leader of the council.
Mahatma Gandhi came to Uruli Kanchan on 22 March 1946, & stayed here for 7 days with his young disciple, Manibhai Desai. Manibhai, as has been mentioned before, was instrumental in totally transforming the village over many decades.[4] His first major activity here was to open a Nature cure Ashram which continues to this day and is well known throughout India. This was followed by opening of Schools in Uruli.[4] In 1967, he founded the Bharatiya Agro-Industries Foundation (BAIF). BAIF has been a pioneer in introducing the Indo-European hybrid cattle breed to India.