| Gandhinagar Gandhinagar is the state capital of Gujarat, India. It is located at the bank of river Sabarmati. With 205 sq km area Gandhinagar is just 25 km away from Ahmadabad, the commercial hub of Gujarat. The city is among the few planned city of India. The other planned city of India are New Delhi, Chandigarh, NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority), Punckula, Mohali, Bhubaneswar, Dispur, and Navi Mumbai. All state administrative head offices are located in Gandhinagar.
History After Independence, the territories in India were divided based on linguistic lines. The erstwhile Bombay state was bifurcated into two states, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Gujarat and Maharashtra came into being on 1st May, 1960. Initially, Ahmadabad - a commercial hub of Gujarat was chosen as the state capital and it was proposed that a new capital should be constructed along the line of other new state capitals, particularly Chandigarh. The two Indian architect, H.K. Mewada, and Prakash M. Apte, who worked as apprentice for the Chandigarh city, designed the new state capital. It was named after Mahatma Gandhi. The foundation stone was laid on 1965 and in 1971 the capital was shifted from Ahmadabad to Gandhinagar. Climate Similar to most parts of India, Gandhinagar has three main seasons, summer, winter, and monsoon. The climate on average is dry through the year except during monsoon season. The summer, which lasts from March -June is very hot with maximum temperature reaching to 42-43 0C. The maximum temperature ranges between 36 - 42 0C and minimum temperature fluctuates between 19-27 0C during summer season. The winter season that range from mid-October to mid-February is pleasant with average maximum and minimum temperature being 29 0C and 14 0C respectively. The southwest monsoon brings humid climate through mid-June to mid-September. The average annual rainfall is 803.44 mm (32 inches). Demographics The city population is around 195,891 according to 2001 census. Male and female comprises 53% and 47% respectively of the total population. The literacy rate is around 78% with male being 83% and female being 73% literate. 11% of the total population is under age 6. Geography Gandhinagar lies at the bank of river Sabarmati at 23.22 0 N 72.68 0 E with an average elevation of 265 feet (81 meter). Gandhinagar is made of 30 sectors with total area of 53 sq km. The city is well organized and is structured into grids. The grid is made of blocks and streets, similar to US avenues and streets. The streets (roads) are made fo Letters (K, KH, G, GH, CH, CHH & JA) and numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7). The letter roads runs parallel across the city and are perpendicular to the number roads. The square or block formed is known as sector and the intersection of the streets (roads) is given the name using the combination of letter and number like GH1, GH2, CH3, JA1, KH6 etc. Transportation The capital of Gujarat is well connected by rail, road, and air services to Major Indian, Gujarat, and to some international cities. Road and rail are the primary mode of transportation in Gujarat and India. Most of the people while traveling within Gujarat use buses operated by government or private companies, whereas, for traveling outside the state they use rail services operated by the Indian Railways.
Road Gandhinagar is connected to major cities like Mumbai, Surat, Vadodra, Udaipur, Ajmer, Jaipur, and Delhi through National Highway (NH) 8, 8A, and 8C. Gujarat State Road Transportation Corporation (GSRTC) is the nodal government organization that provides road transportation through its Intercity, Mofussil, Interstate, Parcel, and City Services throughout the state. It operates 8000 buses, 126 depots, 226 bus stops, and 1554 pick-up stands. Ahmedabad, the commercial hub of Gujarat, is just 25 km away from Gandhinagar which is served by GSRTC city bus services. The district headquarters of the state like Mehsana, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagadh, Patan, and Navsari are reachable using GSRTC Intercity bus services. Apart from GSRTC services, private bus services available from sector 28, Ahmedabad Sarkhej, and Paldi area provide luxury services for traveling to various cities within and outside the state.
Travelers visiting Gandhinagar city can use GSRTC city bus or VTCOS eco-friendly (Green bus) services for visiting any sector of the city. VTCOS is a private company that provides city transportation services to 6-7 cities of Gujarat. At present VTCOS serves 11 routes of the city. Pathik Ashram (ST Bus Depot) is the main hub for all bus services for traveling within and outside the city. Other major bus stops are Gh-6, Gh-5, Gh-2, Sector -28, Ch-5, and Sachivalay. Air Gandhinagar is served by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport located in Ahmadabad that is just 20 kms away from the city. It provides domestics and international flights connecting Major Indian and many world cities. With traffic of more than 250 aircraft a day, the airport is served by major careers like AirIndia, Indian Airlines, Kingfisher, SpiceJet, Indigo, Emirates, Qatar, and Jet Airways. Ahmadabad railway station is just 8kms away from the airport providing connectivity to majority of in –state and out-states cities. Ahmadabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) provides bus services to-and-fro to SVP airport and Ahmadabad city. There is also plan to extend BRTS service to airport. This transportation consist of four terminals like domestic, international, one additional terminal for secondary traffic and one for cargo terminal. The airport was under renovation and now has 45 parking bays and both the international and domestic terminals have four aero-bridges each. The new terminal has been modelled on the Singapore Changi Airport. The new terminal has many firsts for the airport, including a half-kilometre-long moving walkway, which connects the two terminals, making the changeover of flights hassle-free. This will also help in making the airport as an international transit hub, in turn, reducing the burden at the Delhi and Mumbai airports. | |
Gandhinagar Weather
Updated Saturday, January 28, 2012 3:40 PM
Clear | 28°C | High: 27°C
Low: 17°C
Wind: 17 kph
Humidity: 19%
|
Sunday
27° / 17° |
Monday
28° / 14° |
Tuesday
28° / 16° |
Wednesday
29° / 16° |
|
|
|
| |