A suburban railway station was built in 1955. In January 1960, Ulhasnagar Municipality was formed, with Arjun K. Ballani as first chief, and a municipal council was nominated. In 1965, elections were first held in this council. In the late 1970s, Ulhasnagar was a town settled mainly by Sindhi refugees. Now this 28 square kilometre area has 389,000 people of Sindhi descent, the largest enclave of Sindhis in India. The town lies outside Mumbai city but within the Mumbai Conurbation. In 2010, the estimated population of Sindhi Hindus in Ulhasnagar was 400,000. There are a number of criminal gangs in town working under the patronage of political parties. Also for many illegal building projects in 1990s, politicians started to charge money to look the other way.
Economy
The town covers an area of 13 square kilometers and is divided into 285 blocks. It is a centre for the production of rayon silk, dyes, ready-made garments, electrical / electronic appliances & confectionaries. The total length of existing Roads & Streets in the town measures 352 kilometers. The town is served by underground & open-surface drainage, night soil being disposed of by septic tank latrines. The town gets a protected water supply through MIDC. Sanctioned Water Quota at various tapping points is 112 MLD. Fire-fighting service is also available in the town. 60 private hospitals with a total bed-strength of 840 beds 3 Government hospitals with total bed-strength of 356 beds, 255 dispensaries / clinics, 100 RMP and a family planning centre cater to the curative and preventive health needs of the town population. Ulhasnagar has number of small businesses manufacturing denims. Some of the manufacturers export jeans worldwide from Ulhasnagar. The city is also known for its furniture market, cloth market and electronic market.
Demographics
According to the 2011 Census of India, Ulhasnagar had a population of 506,098. Ulhasnagar is the 22nd biggest city in Maharashtra and 88th in the country. Males constituted 53% of the population and females 47%.
Education
Educational facilities are provided by 129 primary schools, 56 secondary schools, 9 higher secondary schools, 3 colleges and 2 technical colleges. Smt. Chandibai Himmatmal Mansukhani College, established in 1965, has five college buildings:
Ulhasnagar Girls College, started in 1961, later converted to R K Talreja College. Nari Gursahani Law College, an undergraduate law college affiliated to the University of Mumbai, is located in Ulhasnagar.
