Ashta is a town and a municipal council in Sangli district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is located at. It has an average elevation of 567 metres. The name "Ashta" comes from the legend that Lord Shri Ram established eight Lord Mahadev temples in this area. The city is divided into 19 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. The Ashta Municipal Council has the population of 37,105 of which 19,171 are males while 17,934 are females as per the report released by Census India 2011. Ashta is rapidly merging with Sangli city as a satellite suburb and will soon become part of Sangali Urban Agglomeration. Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 3739 which is 10.08% of the total population of Ashta. In Ashta Municipal Council, Female Sex Ratio is of 935 against state average of 929. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Ashta is around 869 compared to Maharashtra state average of 894. Literacy rate of Ashta city is 83.60% higher than state average of 82.34%. In Ashta, Male literacy is around 89.52% while female literacy rate is 77.32%. Ashta Municipal Council has total administration over 7,709 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorized to build roads within Ashta Municipal Council limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.
History
It is said that Ashta is formally known as 'Sawalakhi Ashta'. There are eight linga present in the town which are created by Lord Rama. That's why it is known as Ashta.
Education
Annasaheb Dange College of Engineering & Technology is an autonomous engineering college, located in the city. It is located about 20 km from Sangli. The institute is NAAC-accredited and NBA-accredited. Annasaheb Dange Ayurved Medical college Annasaheb Dange college of B.Pharmacy Arts & commerce college M.G.V & junior college K.B.P English Medium Sschool New EnglishSchool For Girls
Agriculture
Industry
Zanver Group of industries 1) Ashta Liners Pvt Ltd 2) Kasturi Foundry Pvt Ltd
Transport
Railway
is the nearest big railway station 18 km from Ashta. Sangli station is connected to major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Mysuru, Hubli, Bhopal, Agra, Nagpur, Goa, Mangalore, Cochin by express trains. The nearest junction is Miraj junction connected via rail to India's major cities with express services to Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi. Miraj is located on distance of 27 km from Ashta.