Akola is a city in Akola district in Vidarbha region in the state of Maharashtra in central India. It is about 600 km east of Mumbai(former "Bombay") and 250 km west of Nagpur. Akola is the administrative headquarters of Akola District located in Amravati Division. Today, Akola is a developing city and it is the one of the major city of Vidharbha. Akola has very good grain market, oil mills, and dal mills & is known for production of cotton. The IT sector is also growing at a fast pace. The city is known for various cultural activities like classical music, spirituality, theater, sports and literature. These activities and opportunities attract migrants and students from other parts of Vidharbha region.
Akola district has an area of about 5431 square kilometers and population of 1,818,617 (2011 census). Akola is the third largest city in Vidarbha region after Nagpur and Amravati. Marathi is the most popular spoken language, though Hindi, English and Urdu are also used. Akola District is bordered on the north and east by Amravati District, on the south by Washim District, and on the west by Buldhana District.
Akola called as Cotton City, is known for its cotton production and is the largest cotton-producing district in India. The city is also famous for its pulses (dal), oil, and textile mills.
Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the conference on Marathi Literature, was held twice in Akola city. They were presided by Hari Narayan Apte in 1912 and Gopal Nilkanth Dandekar in 1981.
Akola is known as a colorful city because of its many festivals. Eid, Ganesh Chaturthi, Maha Shivratri, Vijayadashmi, Bauddha Purnima, Makar Sankranti, Dasehra, Diwali, Holi and Bakar Eid are celebrated with special enthusiasm
