Gandhinagar

ગાંધીનગર

Ecopolite city/Cosmopolite city

— capital —

Panorama of Gujarat Legislative assembly

Gandhinagar Location of Gandhinagar in Gujarat and India

Gandhinagar (Gujarati: ગાંધીનગર)( pronunciation (help·info)) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in western India. Gandhinagar is located on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the capital of India and Mumbai, the Financial & Economical capital of India.

Etymology

In 1960, when the old Bombay State was bifurcated into the present states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, Bombay city fell to the share of Maharastra. It was then decided to build an entirely new capital for Gujarat^[1].

Gandhinagar, Gujarat's new capital city, lies on the west bank of the Sabarmati River, about 464 km away from Mumbai, the financial capital of India. Gandhinagar presents the spacious, well-organized look of an architecturally integrated city^[1].

Around the central Government complex, stretch 30 sectors into which the city has been divided. Each sector has its own shopping and community center, primary school, health center, Government and private housing^[1]. Apart from which there is a generous provision for wide open green parks, extensive planting and a large recreational area along the river giving the city a lush green garden-city atmosphere^[1].

The famous Akshardham temple is located in Gandhinagar. There was, however, tremendous political pressure to make Gandhinagar a purely Indian enterprise, partly because the state of Gujarat was the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi^[1]. Kalia illumines Kahn's early influence in the city and his replacement by Doshi and then by American-trained H. K. Mewada, who had apprenticed with Le Corbusier in Chandigarh. Kalia shows that, unlike the other two cities, Gandhinagar would become emblematic of Gandhian ideals of swadeshi (indigenous) goods and swaraj (self-rule)^[1].

History

In the 13th century, King Pethasinh of Pethapur, ruled over Shertha town. After the death of Pethasinh, the Sultanate of Patan used this land as battle ground. Sultan Ahmed Shah decided to move his capital from Patan to a new city, and built Ahmedabad. In 1960, Bombay state was split in two different states, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Ahmedabad became capital of Gujarat, and a new capital city was to be built on land which was once part of Pethapur state.

Panorama Of Gujarat Legislative Assembly at Sector 10

Akshardham Temple at Sector 20

The city's infrastructure was planned by two Indian planners, H.K. Mewada (educated at Cornell University)and Prakash Apte. Mewada, a Gandhian, had worked as a trainee under Le Corbusier in the Chandigarh Project in the 1950s. Gandhinagar's streets are numbered, and have cross streets named for Gujarati alphabets like "k" , "kh" , "g" , "gh" , "ch" , "chh" , "j" . All streets cross every kilometre, and at every crossing traffic circles decrease the speed of traffic.