Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of 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 ...

. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the

Industrial corridor An industrial corridor is a package of infrastructure spending allocated to a specific geographical area, with the intent to stimulate industrial development. An industrial corridor aims to create an area with a cluster of manufacturing or another ...

between

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, the political capital of

, and

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, the financial capital of

. Gandhinagar lies on the west bank of the Sabarmati River, about 545 km (338 miles) north of

and 901 km (560 miles) southwest of

. The Akshardham temple is located in Gandhinagar. There was a determination to make Gandhinagar a purely Indian enterprise, partly because the state of Gujarat was the birthplace of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. For this reason, the planning was done by two Indian town planners: Prakash M Apte and H. K. Mewada, who had apprenticed with Le Corbusier in

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...

History

The city was planned by Chief Architect H.K. Mewada, a

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

graduate, and his assistant Prakash M Apte.

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 Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Geography

Gandhinagar has an average elevation of . 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 . 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 has a

tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

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 June when the maximum temperature stays in the range of , and the minimum in the range of . It is pleasant in the winter days and quite chilling in the night during December to February. The average maximum temperature is around , the average minimum is , and the climate is extremely dry. The southwest

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

brings a humid climate from mid-June to mid-September. The average annual rainfall is around .

Governance and politics

On 1 May 1960, Gujarat was created out of the 17 northern districts of the former

State of Bombay Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding S ...

. 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 Mahendrasinh Rana was an Indian National Congress politician, who later defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was the first mayor of Gandhinagar. See also * Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation * Bharatiya Janata Party References

Liv ...

became the first mayor of the city. The

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

Member of the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

for Gandhinagar is Amit Shah from the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

(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 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) is an international airport serving the twin cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India. The airport is located in Hansol, north of Ahmedabad. It is named after Sardar Vall ...

located in Ahmedabad is 18 km away from Gandhinagar, providing both domestic and international flights.

Rail

Gandhinagar Capital railway station Gandhinagar Railway Station or Gandhinagar Capital (Station Code: GNC) is a major railway station with a 5-star hotels, 5-star hotel on its top in the city of Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Location It serves the capital city of Gujarat. The 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

and

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the ri ...

and

Shanti Express The 19309 / 19310 Shanti Express is a daily express train offered by Western Railways in India. It runs between of Indore City in the state of Madhya Pradesh and Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat. The name Shanti means 'peace' which reflects ...

for

Indore Junction BG Indore Junction (station code: INDB) is one of the Railway junctions in Madhya Pradesh and serves Indore, the commercial capital of Central India. The railway station of Indore Junction BG (future Indore Central) falls under the administrative ...

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 Kalol Junction Railway Station is a railway station in Kalol, Gandhinagar of Gujarat, India. Its code is KLL. Kalol lies on the main railway line connecting Ahmedabad to Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital ...

(KLL). File:Gandhinagar Capital Railway Station.jpg,

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 Ahmedabad Metro is a rapid transit system for the cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat state of India. The Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited was established in February 2010 and the long Phase–1 of the project was approved ...

, 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

External links

*
Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority

Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Gandhinagar district Indian capital cities Memorials to Mahatma Gandhi Planned cities in India Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2001 All articles containing potentially dated statements