Dhoraji () is a town situated on the banks of the River Safura, a tributary of the River Bhadar. It is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Rajkot district Rajkot district is one of the 33 districts of the Indian state of Gujarat. Located in Saurashtra peninsula, Rajkot city is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is the third-most advanced district in Gujarat and the fourth most po ...

in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

Dhoraji was acquired by Kumbhaji II of Gondal State from Junagadh State about the middle of the eighteenth century. Bhagwatsinhji, the noble ruler of Gondal State, was born at Dhoraji Darbargadh. In the late 19th century, he introduced town planning principles to regularize and monitor the growth of the town and established a town planning department. The new neighbourhoods between the railway station and the old town are an example of

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

during the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. After the arrival of railway in the town, the new town was designed with axial planning, road circles, parks, public amenities, markets and broad avenues.

Attractions

Dhoraji Fort was completed in 1755 AD. The massive fort wall has several bastions, 4 main gates and 3 smaller gates, known as baris. The four main gates are Kathiawadi Darwaja in the East, Porbandar Gate in the West,

Halar Halar (Haalaar) is a historical region of western India, located by the Gulf of Kutch coast on the northwestern area of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, in Gujarat State, on Saurashtra peninsula, roughly corresponding to the present Jamnagar District ...

Gate in the North and

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally ...

Gate in the South. Next to the temples of Shri Panchnath Mahadev, Rushiwadi Bileshwar Mahadev and Shri Chetaniya Hanuman, Shree Swaminarayan Mandir is also a popular spiritual centre in the old town. Murli Manohar Temple located is older than 350 years, bearing various architectural styles like Gujarati ornamental, Rajasthani and Indo-mughal styles.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, Dhoraji had a population of 80,807. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Dhoraji has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78% and, female literacy is 65%. In Dhoraji, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Environmental Issues

Major pollution is caused by Jetpur cotton industries.

Economy

The area's economy was long centered around sugar and tile production. Today, it relies on agriculture, specifically cotton, groundnuts, peanut, sugar cane, corn, vegetables, as well as edible oil production. However, Dhoraji is also developing into a hub for the plastics industry. The city dhoraji also famous for its own food items(like Garlic potetoes, Bread pakoda, Besan gathiya, Dabeli of popatbhai, Aflatun sweet of M.H sons, Bhel of Manohar, Paubhaji of Kailash, Super King famous Gola dishes) in whole saurastra.

Transport

Air

Rajkot and Porbandar are the nearest airports.

Keshod Keshod is a town (Now a City) and a Taluka in Junagadh District. History on the name It has been told by many old aged people of this city that the name of the city came from a very interesting incident happened during the Mahabharata time. K ...

and Jamnagar are also nearby airports.

Road

Dhoraji is on National Highway 27. NH27 connects Dhoraji with

Upleta Upleta is a city and tehsil in the Rajkot district of the state of Gujarat, India. It contains within it two towns and 49 villages. Geography Upleta is located at . It is about from Dhoraji, in the Rajkot district of Gujarat, on the banks of the ...

, Rajkot, Porbandar, Gondal and Jetpur. National Highway 927D connects Dhoraji to Jamnagar via

Kalavad Kalavad is a city and a municipality in Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Post Office Pin Code is 361160. Kalavad is known for shitla mataji temple. Geography Kalavad is located at . It has an average elevation of 87 metres ...

Railway

Dhoraji railway station lies on the Wansjaliya-Jetalsar railway line that connects with Rajkot, the nearest large city. Wansjaliya railway junction is west of Dhoraji and connects with Porbandar, Jamnagar. Dhoraji railway station and

Jetalsar Jetalsar Junction railway station is an important junction railway station under Bhavnagar railway division of Western Railway Zone of Indian Railways. It connects on north direction, , on West direction, and on south direction and Khija ...

railway junction are east of Dhoraji and connect with Rajkot.

References

{{Rajkot district Cities and towns in Rajkot district