WALVA

WALVA

Valva, 17° 2' north latitude and 74° 27' east longitude is a village which gives its name to the taluka in which it is situated lying on the right bank of the Krsna 17.70 km (eleven miles) south-east of Peth and 11.26 km (seven miles) east of Islampur, the latter of which is now the head-quarters town of the taluka. The headquarter of the Valva sub-division was at one time at Valva and since its shifting to Islampur the village has paled into insignificance. Near this village a feeder flows into the Krsna river and on its banks and between it and the Krsna there is some rocky rising ground on which the village is situated. But the eastern portion close to the river is much subject to flooding as also sometimes western which is on the banks of the stream, of which a back-water runs when the Krsna gets flooded. A new village site, a quarter of a mile west of the present site was accordingly granted to this village about 1876 after the great Krsna floods of 1875. The people, however, did not take any advantage, owing perhaps to the distance of the new site from the Krsna which is the major if not the only source of water-supply. However, now the Sangli san tary sub-division has been entrusted with the work of providing water to all the important villages of this taluka. At the new site a well was sunk hut the supply of water was found to he of poor quality and precarious in quantity. Valva has seven primary schools, a high school which has technical faculty also, two libraries, a post office and civil and veterinary dispensaries, A municipality was established at Valva but was abolished in 1873 owing to insufficient income. Valva had a population of 8,885 inhabitants in 1961. Except the mansion of the Thorat family of Desmkhs and the new school building the village has no other remarkable construction. The family first came into notice under Sahu (1708-1749) and was confirmed in the Desmukhi of villages extending up to Simla, besides receiving saranjam or military grants of several large and productive villages. The desmukhi dated from the Musalman times.

History.

In October 1659, Sivaji took Valva after capturing Sirala. The Mohammedans had depopulated it. Ramcandra Pant Amatya repopulated it about 1690, when he was invested with the command of Visalgad and Panhala. In 1684 the district was occupied during the monsoon by a Moghal army under Sultan Muazzam who cantoned on the banks of the Krsna river. It was then annexed by Sambhaji to Kolhapur and suffered greatly from the ravages of Udaji Cavan. The Pant Pratinidhi surprised the camp of Sambhaji and Udaji. Yasvantrav Thorat was killed in the engagement and they were driven to Panhala [Grant Duff's Marthas, Vol. I, p. 375.] with the loss of all their baggage, This first occasioned the cession to the Maratha king of Valva district north of the Varna and Sahu then placed Valva under a thana at Islampur, and one Kusaji Bhosle [ Illegitimately born to Shahu from Lakshmibai. He was granted the jagir of Sirol.] was given charge of it. The first noteworthy Thorat was Bbosle's Sarnobat. The charge of the district given over to him by Balaji Bajirav, the third Pesva (1740-1761) and continued in the Thorat family till the British annexation in 1818. In revenue statement of about 1790 Valva appears as the head of a pargaya in the Raybag Sarkar with a revenue of Rs. 75,000 [Warring's Marathas, p. 244.].