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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 5, p. 189.

AKOLA TALUKAA 189 it on the north, but stretches southward as far as the northern edge of the Balaghat, the southern plateau of Berar. The Kata Pturna flows northwards through the taluk to join the Purna. Akola Town.-Chief town of the District and taluk of the same name in Berar, situated in 20° 42' N. and 77° 2' E., on the Nagpur branch of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, 383 miles from Bombay and I57 from Nagpur. The population in 1901 was 29,289, of whom 21,045 were Hindus, 7,484 Musalmans, 358 Christians, and 226 Jains. Akola is mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari as the chief town of a rich pargana in the sarkdr of Narnala. The walls of the town and the idgah were built for the most part by Asad Khan, Amir-ul-Umara, in whose jdgir Akola was situated in the latter part of the reign of Aurangzeb. The walls bear many inscriptions recording the dates of their erection and repair. Later, in the reign of Akbar Shah II of Delhi (1806-37) a citadel was built by Salih Muhammad Khan, who held the town, with a force of 5 elephants, i,ooo horse, and some infantry, for the Nizam. In 1803 General Wellesley halted at Akola on his way from Assaye to Argaon, 36 miles north of the town, where, on November 29, he defeated the Marathas under Venkaji, the brother of Raghuji Bhonsla. During the later years of the Nizam's rule, the importance of Akola declined owing to the malpractices of the tdlukddr, who robbed the people and did not keep off other marauders; and many of the inhabitants emigrated to Amraoti. The town is bisected by the Murna river, Akola proper being on the west bank, and Tajnapeth, with the houses of Europeans and Government buildings, on the east bank. The municipality was created in 1867. The receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1900-I averaged Rs. 59,000 and Rs. 61,ooo respectively. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 62,000, chiefly derived from taxes and cesses; and the expenditure was Rs. 44,000, the principal heads being conservancy and education. The town is one of the principal centres of the cotton trade in Berar, and has many ginning factories and cotton presses. A cotton market has existed at Tajnapeth since I868. Two Protestant missions are situated at Akola. The educational institutions include a Government high school and a primary school for Mahar boys. Akola T.luka.-Tdluka of Ahmadnagar District, Bombay, lying between 19° i6' and 19° 45' N. and 73° 37' and 74° 7' E., with an area of 572 square miles. It contains I57 villages, the head-quarters being at Akola. The population in 1901 was 70,566, compared with 68,009 in 1891. The density, 123 persons to the square mile, is slightly below the District average. The demand for land revenue in 1903-4 was I lakh, and for cesses Rs. 7,000. Akola consists mainly of the two valleys of the Pravara and Mula rivers, with the smaller valley of the Adula in the extreme north. The general character of the valleys is