MALEGAON

town, northwestern Maharashtra state, western India, on the Girna River, part of the Nasik urban agglomeration, on the BombayAgra highway. An important market for agricultural produce, it was an early centre of the handloom industry. It has rapidly industrialized and recorded remarkable growth since the 1940s. Cotton and silk goods are exported to Bombay, Pune (Poona), and Satara. The town has several colleges affiliated with the University of Poona. Pop. (1981) 245,883.