the taluka. Akkalkot is routinely hit by drought as it falls in a rain shadow and also no major river pass through this taluka. Although the soil is classified as 'medium to deep black' and is of rich quality. Demographics and languages As of 2011 India census, Akkalkot had a population of 40,103 out of which 20,051 were male and 20,052 were female. Akkalkot has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 59% of the males and 41% of females literate. 14% of the population is under 6 years of age. While Marathi is the official language, Kannada language is also spoken widely in villages of Akkalkot Taluka. In December 2022, 10 gram panchayats of Akkalkot tehsil in Solapur district passed resolutions to join Karnataka. Education Shri Shahaji High School is a 125 years old school. Karnatak Lingayat Education Society's Mangrule High school & Kashiraya Kaka Patil High School are some of the large schools. C.B. Khedgi's Basaveshwar Science Raja Vijaysinh Commerce & Raja Jaysinh Arts College, Shri Vatavriksha Swami Maharaj Devashtan's Polytechnic offer higher education. Akkalakot taluka has large number of Kannada schools. Transport It is served by Akalkot Road Railway Station which is 7 km away from the city. Chennai Mail and Udyan Express for Mumbai, Chennai Mail for Chennai, Tirupati, Mantralayam, Raichur, Gulbarga, Udyan express for Bangalore, Hyderabad Passenger for Hyderabad have stop here. It is also served by Tadawal railway station on Solapur -Hubli line around 20 km away, with trains to Bijapur, Hubli, Bagalkot, and Gadag. It is more convenient to board trains from these stations than Solapur station which is 40 km away as this saves time. There is a great demand to stop trains such as Hussainsagar Express, Dadar Chennai Egmore Express, Konark Express, Shatabdi Express, Rajkot Express, and Karnataka Express. The nearest airport to Akkalkot is the Solapur Airport which is 31 km away. However, there is no scheduled commercial air service available. See also List of Maratha dynasties and states Shri Swami Samarth References External links Official Tourism Website Cities and towns in Solapur district Talukas in Maharashtra