Chaugaon is a small village in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is located in Dhule taluka of Dhule district on Maharashtra State Highway 10 (MH SH 10). It is located 98 km towards North from District headquarters Nashik. Ajmer Soundane (4 km), Bhakshi (6 km), Mulane (6 km), Morenagar (6 km), and Arai (6 km) are the nearby Villages to Chaugaon.
Etymology
There are four villages with the name "Chaugaon" in Dhule district, which are located in the talukas (administrative districts) of Dhule, Sindkheda, Sakri, and Shirpur. The village in Dhule taluka is commonly referred to as "Chaugaon-Gotane" to differentiate it from the others.
Geography Chaugaon has a total area of . of land are used for agriculture, of which are irrigated and rainfed. Another are forested, and the remaining area comprises buildings, roadways, paths, streams, and rocky outcrops.
The geography is a mixture of hills to plains. Hills are present in the forest areas, which also contain plateaus and numerous streams. The cultivated areas are made of level fields to facilitate flood irrigation; some of the rainfed land is undulating.
Soil types vary from vertisol (known as "black cotton") to laterite. Soil is generally vertisol in flatter areas and reddish to buff in colour along gentle slopes. The soils tend to be reddish, with a high proportion of laterite in areas that are exposed. In both these soils and steep slopes, underlying rock is exposed. The depth of the soil varies from a few centimetres to .
The village is located near several bodies of water: the Iraas, a small river known as the "Hiraasan" in state records; and two small streams, the Waghad and the Bhalkhai. There is a small irrigation reservoir on the Iraas river and two percolation reservoirs on the Waghad and Bhalkhai streams. The stored water has little volume and questionable quality, but is considered acceptable for drinking and other domestic uses.
The total forest area is , of which is assigned to the Joint Forest Management Committee (JFMC) of Chaugaon. Compartment numbers in the forest records identify the parts of the forest area like survey numbers in land records. Chaugaon's JFMC number is 173. The entire forest area is vested in the state government of Maharashtra.
Small populations of wild animals such as blackbuck, fox, hare, hyena, wolf, and wild boar live in the forest. There were leopard sightings reported during 2013 and 2014, and villagers living along the forest boundary have reported leopard attacks on their cattle. Killings of large domestic animals like bulls, buffaloes, and their young are reported to have increased since early 2018. Although the state government compensates people for loss of property, villagers rarely make claims due to the remoteness and non-availability of local staff, and bureaucratic complexities.
Climate
Chaugaon has three distinct seasons during the year: summer, winter, and the rainy season.
The average annual maximum temperature is , and the yearly average minimum is . In the summer months of April, May and June, the daytime temperature reaches a maximum of ; May is the hottest month. Dusty and hot winds are common during the summer months, but there are no storms. Winter is from November to mid-February when the temperature drops to a minimum of . There is no snowfall, but mild hailstorms occur approximately once per decade.
The rainy season occurs from mid-June through September. The average annual rainfall is , most of which falls over 60 days. The nearest rain gauge station is at Dhule. Rain precipitates from monsoon winds, and showers from northeast monsoons are occasional during the winter. Dew occasionally forms on very cold days during the winter season.
Chaugaon rarely faces the problem of water scarcity for many villages in Dhule taluka. The most recent drought in Maharashtra state was during 2012–2013, and the most recent drought year before that was 1972.
During the southwest monsoon season, the humidity is generally about 70%, but the air is dry for the rest of the year. In the summer season, the relative humidity is about 20% at noon. The skies are heavily clouded during the monsoon season but mostly clear for the rest of the year.
Winds are generally light to moderate, with some strengthening in force during the summer and monsoon seasons. During the southwest monsoon season, winds are mainly southwesterly to westerly. In the post-monsoon season, winds are light and variable. In the winter and summer seasons, winds mostly come from the southwest and northwest.
Demographics At the time of the 2011 census, Chaugaon had a population of 4,639 with 2,390 males and 2,249 females. There was an average literacy rate of 59.0%; 70.2% of males were literate, and 47.1 of females were literate. One in every six members of the population was under seven years of age.
Government and politics Chaugaon has a gram panchayat ("village council") for its day-to-day administration, which is grouped with the administration of Hingane, a hamlet located to the south of Chaugaon. The gram panchayat was established on 11 April 1952. The headquarters of both the district council, called the zila parishad, and the block council, called the panchayat samiti, are in the city of Dhule.
Chaugaon has no banks, but there are an agricultural cooperative, a non-agricultural cooperative, and three other credit societies.Government Of India 2001 Census Website: Administration Data for Village Code - 00157800
Chaugaon has a Joint Forest Management Committee (JFMC) founded to protect, conserve, develop, and manage adjoining forests.
Economy
One of Chaugaon's main industries is agriculture. Traditional crops include millet, coconut, cotton, peanuts, sorghum, onion, and wheat.
The villagers have created a water supply for irrigation by digging wells and pumping water up to their farms. Water is available at a distance of up to from the village.
During the 1990s and 2000s, farmers from Chaugaon engaged in land development works without the support of government funding to bring more fallow land under cultivation. This activity, which was still ongoing in 2010, included land leveling, terracing, bunding, nalla (the modification and creation of small streams), and training.
Use of advanced farming techniques like improved seeds, drip irrigation, and chemical and organic fertilizers have led to an increase in agricultural output. In recent years, horticulture has been used for growing sugar-apple, pomegranate, and papaya.
The increased prevalence of irrigation in farmed land has led to a shortage of farm labourers, which has led in turn to a rise in wage rates. Labourers from adjoining villages such as Padalda, Ajnale, and Mehergaon have been recruited to overcome the labour shortage. There is also a greater demand for farmyard manure because many farmers practice organic farming.
Dairy farming is another major economic activity of the village. For decades, this was traditionally the profession of the Gawali community, but other communities have also taken it up. Buffaloes are reared for their milk, which is mostly sold to traders from Dhule, who also finance the purchasing of the buffaloes.
Village cottage industries
Historically, in Maharashtra, certain professions or village level services were community assigned. There are 12 such professions assigned to the 12 communities. These professions are called the 12 balute, and these communities are called 12 balutedars, which provided village-level services or labour. Through this system, the balutedar provides services of routine nature to the farmers throughout the year. Under the balute system, farmers had to make payment in kind, mostly in the form of a fixed volume of grains and other agricultural produce of food value every year after the harvest. Internal exchange of services was common. However, variations in profession have greatly increased in the 21st century with the spread of education, and economic development. There are other village industries in which all communities can engage themselves.
Tailoring has been the traditional occupation of the Shimpi community in Chaugaon. However, changes in the socio-economic conditions of the people and the increased availability of professional training mean that people from other communities have also taken up this occupation. A number of women of other communities also tailor, specializing in women's garments. Carpentry is an important cottage industry in Chaugaon, as farmers require their services for the manufacturing and repairs of new agricultural implements. Broom-making is the hereditary and traditional occupation of the Mang community.
Culture and tourism
During the Diwali festival, villagers have a custom of gathering on the river banks to watch Helyachi Takkar (male bulls' head fights). The farmers raise male buffaloes to enter these fights.
The population of Chaugaon is made of various communities: Kunabi, Mali, Gawali, Bhil, Koli, Sutar, Shimpi, and Harijan. Each individual community has constructed a separate temple for its own faith or deity in or around the village settlement. The communities hold festivals that take place almost every year. Most of the other communities and sometimes other villages attend each of these festivals. These gatherings last between one day and a whole week. They include Bhajan (devotional songs), Kirtan (saint-led religious discourse), and Bhandara (community-sponsored lunch).
Chaugaon has an annual two-day fair in the month of Chaitra (March/April) of the Hindu calendar in reverence to the goddess Bhavani maata. Festivities include a tagatrao (country-made chariot), which is pulled by a pair of bulls to the temple of the goddess. Wrestling competitions are also held. On the second day there is a Tamasha, a local countryside performance of folk dance and drama.
There is also an annual community stand-alone drama performance.
Dress
In Chaugaon, like elsewhere in Maharashtra, the dress of both men and women consists of two pieces, one that covers above the waist and the other below the waist. In men, the pattern and styles of dress differ slightly between communities, but the differences are more apparent in women. Within a single community, dress varies with sex and age, while attire patterns differ between the elderly and young generations.
Men wear a type of shirt known locally as a kurta, sadra or angee that covers the body above the waist. Elderly men across all communities wear a dhotar (commonly called dhoti in Hindi), which is a long white cloth generally 4 metres long and 1.2 metres wide. Wrapped around the waist and legs, it is typically wound and tied at the waist with a knot at its corner. However, the dhotar is becoming less common among the younger generation, which prefer to wear shirts, trousers, and pajamas or pants. The kurta shirt (also called sadra or angee) has undergone changes due to fashions and styles over the years; the material has changed from coarse cotton to synthetics and blended fabrics. It is generally half-open at the front from neck to chest with buttons and half or full sleeves. Most elderly men wear full-sleeved Nehru shirts and Gandhi caps.
Women across all castes invariably wear a saadi (commonly called sari in Hindi), with a parkar (a type of petticoat) underneath and a choli (country blouse). There are two types of saadi, one 9 metres in length, preferred by the elderly, and the other 6 metres in length, preferred by the young. The manner of wearing the saadi varies considerably between different castes. Young people wear other Indian and western-style attire. Boys wear half or full pants and shirt, with or without underwear. Girls wear North Indian-style clothing, the salwar (trousers) and kamiz (tunic), or a western-style skirt and blouse or shirt.
Jewellery