POONA, a city and district of British India, in the Central division of Bombay. The city is at the confluence of the Mutha and Mula rivers, 1,850 ft. above sea-level and 119 m. S.E. from Bombay on the Great Indian Peninsula railway. Pop. (1931), 214,380 (including Kirkee). It is pleasantly situated amid exten sive gardens, with a large number of modern public buildings, and also temples and palaces dating from the to the 19th century. The palace of the peshwas is a ruin, having been de stroyed by fire in 1827. From its healthy situation Poona has been chosen not only as the headquarters of the Southern Corn mand, but also as the residence of the governor of Bombay during the rainy season, from June to September. The cantonment is at Kirkee, 4 m. N.W. (pop. 16,302), where there is also a large ammunition factory. The waterworks were constructed mainly by the munificence of Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. There are cotton, paper, rice and sugar mills, ice, and iron works, distilleries and a tannery. It was proposed in 1927 to bring electric power to the city from the Tata power company's installation at Nila-Mula.
Educational institutions include the government Deccan college; Fergusson college; the government colleges of science, engineer ing and agriculture; training schools for masters and mistresses; medical school; and municipal technical school.
The DISTRICT OF POONA has an area of 5,332 sq.m. Popula tion (1931), 1,169,798. Towards the west the country is undulat ing, and numerous spurs from the Western Ghats enter the dis trict; to the east it opens out into plains. The district is liable to drought. The two most important irrigation works are the Mutha canal, with which the Poona waterworks are connected, and the Nira canal. The district is traversed by the Great Indian Penin sula railway, and also by the Madras and Southern Mahratta line, which starts from Poona city towards Satara.
In the I 7th century the district formed part of the Moham medan kingdom of Ahmadnagar, and was the early centre of the Mahratta power and the seat of government.