Jalgaon district is famous for its banana. Chopda taluka of Jalgaon district is famous for banana production. Located on the banks of the river Ratnavati at the foothills of Satpura, this taluka town is 75 km from Dhule and 50 km from Jalgaon. Chopra city in eastern Khandesh was a famous and bustling city since medieval times. For the protection of the city, there were six gates in the ramparts and ramparts around the entire city. With the passage of time, the entire ramparts and gates have been destroyed by the increasing population, but two of the gates still remain in place. Both these doors have been restored but their original design has been retained. The gate facing the river at the south gate of the city is the Patil Gate. ... Although the original form has been lost due to the renovation of this door, two bastions adjacent to this door can be seen. On the inside of this door there is guards room and from there should be a staircase leading to the bastion, but at present this route is closed. The second gate after this is the Than gate in the western ramparts of the city. This gate towards Shirpur must have been the main gate of the city. Patil Darwaja and Than Darwaja both have different designs. The bastions of the Patil Darwaja are adjacent with the door, while the Bastions of the Than Darwaja are built on the front side and the gate is on the back side. A house is currently built near this door and there is a staircase on the inside leading to a bastion. In front of the door is an old temple of Maruti. Apart from this, there is an old mansion of Raosaheb Shripatrao Deshmukh, the chief of Chopra village in the city. The once three-storied old mansion has collapsed and today only two floors remain, but the wood carvings in here are a must-see. The ramparts around this mansion have been completely destroyed and only the arch of the door remains. On the way from Chopda to Yaval, a cannon can be seen in the newly constructed Kargil Chowk.
© Suresh Nimbalkar