Gandhinagar

Etymology

The name of the city means "Gandhi's city" and it is named after Mahatma Gandhi.

History

The city was planned by Chief Architect H.K. Mewada, a Cornell University graduate, and his assistant Prakash M Apte. It was developed in the 1960s.

Demographics

census of India, Gandhinagar had a population of 208,299. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Gandhinagar has an average literacy rate of 90%. Male literacy is 91%, and female literacy is 89%. In Gandhinagar, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Over 95% of the population of Gandhinagar are Hindus.

Geography

Gandhinagar has an average elevation of 81 m. The city sits on the banks of the Sabarmati River, in north-central-east Gujarat. The 20,543 km2 area around Gandhinagar is defined by Gujarat capital territory. Gandhinagar spans an area of 326 km2. The river frequently dries up in the summer, leaving only a small stream of water. Gandhinagar is India's tree capital with 54% green cover on its land area.

Climate

|Gandhinagar |11.6|27.8|0.5|14.7|31.0|0.0|19.1|35.9|0.8|24.0|39.4|0.7|27.9|41.8|1.3|28.5|38.9|91.0|26.6|33.4|284.1|25.7|31.8|270.8|25.2|33.2|109.5|21.8|35.2|12.5|17.2|32.5|1.8|12.4|29.4|0.6|source=

Gandhinagar has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) with three main seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. The climate is generally dry and hot outside of the monsoon season. The weather is hot to severely hot from March to May when the maximum temperature stays in the range of 36 to, and the minimum in the range of 19 to. It is pleasant in the winter days and quite chilling in the night during December to February. The average maximum temperature is around 29 °C, the average minimum is 13 °C, and the climate is extremely dry. The southwest monsoon brings a humid climate from mid-June to mid-September.{{cite web |access-date=4 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514030021/http://weather.yahoo.com/climo/INXX0048_f.html |archive-date=14 May 2006 | Jan record high C = 34.5 | Feb record high C = 38.1 | Mar record high C = 43.2 | Apr record high C = 44.6 | May record high C = 48.0 | Jun record high C = 45.0 | Jul record high C = 40.5 | Aug record high C = 36.7 | Sep record high C = 41.0 | Oct record high C = 39.2 | Nov record high C = 37.4 | Dec record high C = 36.5 |year record high C = | Jan record low C = 3.6 | Feb record low C = 3.1 | Mar record low C = 7.0 | Apr record low C = 14.5 | May record low C = 19.2 | Jun record low C = 19.0 | Jul record low C = 21.3 | Aug record low C = 20.0 | Sep record low C = 19.4 | Oct record low C = 12.5 | Nov record low C = 7.6 | Dec record low C = 4.4 |year record low C = | access-date = April 8, 2024

Governance and politics

On 1 May 1960, Gujarat was created out of the 17 northern districts of the former State of Bombay. These districts were further subdivided later on. There are 33 administrative districts in the state. Gandhinagar is a political hub for the state of Gujarat.

Congress won the first municipal election in 2011. Mahendrasinh Rana became the first mayor of the city. The current Member of the Lok Sabha for Gandhinagar is Amit Shah from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Gandhinagar is also situated near the west command post of the Indian Army and Indian Air force and also has a command centre in the city.

Gandhinagar has recently developed the Gujarat State Emergency Disaster Management centre.

Transport

Air

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport located in Ahmedabad is 18 km away from Gandhinagar, providing both domestic and international flights.

Rail

Gandhinagar Capital railway station (GNC) is located in Sector 14. Many trains running on the western zones pass through Gandhinagar. Currently, there are five trains running from this station in which three are express trains and two are MEMU trains. Jaipur-Bandra Garib Rath, Haridwar mail for Delhi and Haridwar and Shanti Express for Indore Junction BG are main express trains running through this station.

Ahmedabad Railway Station (ADI) in Kalupur Ahmedabad is the nearest rail junction (25 km away) which provides connectivity with all the major cities and towns of India. The Indian Railways transports are available for moving in northern India and eastern India from Kalol Junction railway station (KLL).

File:Gandhinagar Capital Railway Station.jpg|Gandhinagar Capital railway station File:GandhinagarCityBus.jpg|Gandhinagar City Bus File:Academic Area, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar.jpg|Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar File:Mahatma Mandir as seen from Swarnim Park.tif|Mahatma Mandir as seen from Swarnim Park

Metro

Under Phase II of the Ahmedabad Metro, total 22.8 km long network connecting Gandhinagar with Ahmedabad is being constructed. The north–south line of the Ahmedabad Metro is being extended from Motera station to Mahatma Mandir station. A branch line will connect GNLU station to GIFT City station.

References

References

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8. (28 August 2023). "Hardlook: Why Gujarat's capital city — a greenfield project of the '60s — stands on a cusp".
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10. Apte, Prakash Madhusudan. (2012). "The Building of Gandhinagar: New Capital of Gujarat, India". Prakash M Apte.
11. "City at a Glance – Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation".
12. "With 54% green cover, Gandhinagar India's tree capital". [[The Times of India]].
13. "IMD Data 1991-2020". IMD.gov.in.
14. (2012-12-11). "Gujarat State profile".
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17. "Seventeenth Lok Sabha Members Bioprofile". Parliament of India.
18. (2022-05-15). "Ten firms bid for last section of Phase-2 of Ahmedabad Metro".