Gandhidham, initially known as Sardarganj, located in the eastern part of Kutch district, in the state of Gujarat. It is the largest and most populous city in (Kachchh) Kutch District, Gujarat, India.[1] It was created in the early 1950s for the resettlement of Sindhi Hindu refugees from Sindh, Pakistan, in the aftermath of the partition of India.[2] The city was named after M K Gandhi. An economic capital of Kutch, Gandhidham is a growing area for families and retirees. According to the 2011 Census, Gandhidham is Gujarat's 8th[3][4] most populous city. It is a popular destination for conventions, business, and meetings.
Soon after the Partition of India, in 1947, a large group of Sindhi Hindus refugees from Sindh of Pakistan migrated to India. The maharaja of Kutch Vijayaraji donated 15,000 acres (61km2) of land to Bhai Pratap, who founded the Sindhu Resettlement Corporation Ltd. (SRC) to rehabilitate Sindhi Hindus that migrated from Sindh in Pakistan.[5]
The Sindhu Resettlement Corporation Ltd was formed with Acharya Kriplani as chairman and Bhai Pratap Dialdas as managing director. The corporation's primary goal was to help displaced people find new dwellings by building a new township. The original plan was prepared by a team of planners headed by Otto H. Königsberger, director of the division of housing in the Government of India. Later, the plan was revised by Adams, Howard and Greeley Company in 1952. The foundation stone of the town was laid with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi in 1947. Hence, the town was named Gandhidham. To clean the desert where it was built, Pratap gave an incentive of 25 paise to kill scorpions and 50 paise to kill snakes.[6] The original plan envisaged 400,000 as of the ultimate population of the town, expecting half of it to be reached in the mid-1970s. A revised plan envisaged three stages of town development with the mid-stage lasting longer with a population of around 150,000.
Geography and climate
Gandhidham is located at latitude 23.08° N longitude 70.13° E.[7] The main city is constructed in accordance with the principles of Vastu-Shastra (Hindu belief of construction), i.e., the main city has its face directed to the East.
Almost all rainfall occurs during the monsoon season from June to September — outside this period, Gandhidham averages just 15 millimetres or 0.59 inches of rain in eight months. Gandhidham's amount of rainfall, although not especially low on paper, is amongst the most erratic anywhere in the world with a coefficient of variation of around sixty percent [8] – among the few comparably variable climates in the world being the Line Islands of Kiribati, the Pilbara coast of Western Australia, the sertão of Northeastern Brazil, and the Cape Verde islands.[9]
During the "cool" season from October to March, temperatures range from very warm to hot during the afternoon and are cool to pleasant in the mornings. Whilst during the hot season, afternoon temperatures become sweltering and extremely unpleasant, especially when, with the approach of the monsoon, humidity increases.
The Gujarat earthquake of 2001 majorly affected the city of Gandhidham along with many nearby towns like Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau and more. The shock, which measured 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killed 13,805–20,023, left roughly 166,800 injured, and many were left homeless including Gandhidham. The death toll in the Kutch region was 12,300. Bhuj, which was situated only 50 km away from the Gandhidham, was devastated. Considerable damage also occurred in City Gandhidham and Bhachau and Anjar with hundreds of villages flattened in Taluka of Anjar, Bhuj and Bhachau.
Land of Adipur and Gandhidham
Gandhidham was the dream of Pratap Dialdas. He requested great Leaders of India for the procurement of land in the Kachchh region. They requested Maharao Vijayraj Ji of Kachchh for granting of land for re-settlement of Sindhi community people migrated from Sindh. Maharao, without any delay, granted 15000 acres of land for the purpose. Bhai Pratap said this is too big land and cannot be developed by SRC Ltd, therefore, he desired to keep with him only 2,600 acres, and the rest of the land was given to KPT and GDA for management. Today Adipur and Gandhidham townships are the townships of pride in the District of Kachchh only with the grace of Rajput Kshatriya ancestors – Provided by Ram Amarnani.
Distance between twin-townships of Adipur & Gandhidham is 5 km developed fully . The airport road dividing wards 5 & 7 divides this city, whereas Municipality is one, known as Gandhidham Municipal Corporation (from 2023). These towns are divided in two parts wherein land is recognized as Wards & Sectors. They have six wards each 1 to 6 in Adipur and 7 to 12 in Gandhidham. These wards consist of commercial, industrial and residential plots of land. The land which is owned and managed by SRC (The Sindhu Resettlement Corporation Ltd) is known as 'Wards' and The land which is owned and managed by KPT (Kandla Port Trust) is known as 'Sectors'. There are 13 such sectors in Gandhidham. Apart from this, there is vast land managed by GDA (Gandhidham Development Authority) which is known as "NU". For the construction of any permanent structure in these townships, the permission of GDA is a must.
The Authority was constituted by the State Government under their Resolution No. TPS-3858(a) dated 08.08.1958 published in the Bombay Government Gazette part IVB, Extraordinary issue dated 11.08.1958. The GDA was created on 08.08.1958.[11]
Colleges for graduation and higher studies are Tolani College of Science & Arts, Tolani Commerce College, Pharmacy college and Diploma in Engineering, Management Institute situated nearby in Adipur. DNV International Educational College is situated in Bharat Nagar; the courses provided are BCA and BBA. Gandhidham Institution of Medical Sciences (GIMS) has been started for aspiring Medical/ Pharmacy students/
Transport
Gandhidham Junction main entranceKutch Express at Gandhidham Railway Station(Gandhidham - Kamakhya) Express route map
The area is served by Kandla airport near Galpadar town. Daily service is available to Mumbai. SpiceJet announced one more flight for Mumbai from 11 July 2017 onward.
Kutch district, officially spelled Kachchh, is a district of Gujarat state in western India, with its headquarters (capital) at Bhuj. Covering an area of 45,674 km2, it is the largest district of India. The area of Kutch is larger than the entire area of other Indian states like Haryana (44,212 km2) and Kerala (38,863 km2), as well as the country of Estonia (45,335 km2). The population of Kutch is about 2,092,371. It has 10 talukas, 939 villages and 6 municipalities. The Kutch district is home to the Kutchi people who speak the Kutchi language.
The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January at 08:46 am IST. The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch (Kachchh) District of Gujarat, India.
Bhuj is a city and the headquarters of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Rapar is a city and a municipality in Kutch district (Kachchh) in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Adipur is a town in Gandhidham Municipal Corporation of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. The town is situated approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from Gandhidham.
Pantiya is a village near the town Anjar, the taluka of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. This village is adopted by IFFCO Kandla.
Maharajadhiraj Mirza Maharao Sir Khengarji III Sawai Bahadur was a progressive and one of the longest ruling monarchs and also the longest ruling king of the Princely State of Kutch from 1875 to 1942.
Galpadar is a village in the Gandhidham Municipal Corporation, within the Kutch District of the Gujarat State of India. It is located at a distance of about 3 km from Gandhidham, 11 km from Anjar and 51 km from Bhuj.
Ratnal is a village near the town of Anjar in the Anjar taluka of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is located around 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Anjar and 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Bhuj capital of Kutch.
Sindhis in India refer to a socio-ethnic group of people living in the Republic of India, originating from Sindh. After the 1947 Partition of India into the dominions of new Muslim-majority Pakistan and remaining Hindu-majority India, a million non-Muslim Sindhis migrated to independent India. As per the 2011 census of India, there are 2,772,364 Sindhi speakers in the Indian Republic. However, this number does not include ethnic Sindhis who no longer speak the language.
The Gandhidham–Samakhiali section is a rail line belonging to the Western Railway of Kutch district in Gujarat state, India. It passes through Bhimasar, Chirai and Bhachau.
The Gandhidham–Palanpur section belongs to the Western Railway of Kutch district of Gujarat state.
Samakhiali Junction railway station is a railway station belonging to the Western Railway of Ahmedabad division.
The Gandhidham–Ahmedabad main line belongs to Western Railway of Ahmedabad Division in Gujarat State.
Bhai Pratap, was an Indian businessman, philanthropist and freedom fighter, best remembered as the founder of the city of Gandhidham-Adipur to resettle refugees from Sindh after the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan in August 1947.
The 1956 Anjar earthquake occurred at 15:32 UTC on 21 July, causing maximum damage in town of Anjar in Kutch, Gujarat, India. It had an estimated magnitude of 6.1 on the surface-wave magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of IX on the Mercalli intensity scale.
Bhachau railway station is a railway station serving Bhachau town, in Kutch district of Gujarat State of India. It is under Ahmedabad railway division of Western Railway zone of Indian Railways. It is located on Gandhidham–Ahmedabad main line.
Kundrodi is a small village in Mundra Taluka in Kachchh District of Gujarat, India, and is located between Anjar and Mundra. It is around 40 km from Gandhidham and around 60 km from Bhuj. The postal code is 370410. Kundrodi is surrounded by Mandvi Taluka towards west, Anjar Taluka towards North, Adipur Taluka towards East and Bhuj Taluka towards North. Mandvi, Adipur, Bhuj, Gandhidham are the nearby cities to Kundrodi. Kundrodi is very close to the much-coveted Mundra port which is hardly 10 to 15 km from the village.
Adipur Junction railway station is a railway station in Kutch district, Gujarat, India on the Western line of the Western railway network. Adipur Junction railway station is 49 km far away from Bhuj. It is connected to Mundra Port by rail.
Anjar railway station is a railway station in Kutch district, Gujarat, India on the Western line of the Western Railway network. Anjar railway station is 42 km away from Bhuj.
↑ "Bhai Pratap". The Sindhu Resettlement Corporation, Gandhidham, India. p.1. Archived from the original on 17 December 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2007. To clean the desert where it was built, Bhai Pratap gave an incentive of 25 paise to kill scorpions and 50 paise to kill snakes
↑ Van Etten, Eddie J.B.; ‘Inter-annual Rainfall Variability of Arid Australia: greater than elsewhere?’; Australian Geographer; 40 (2009), pp. 109-120
↑ Dewar, Robert E. and Wallis, James R; ‘Geographical patterning of interannual rainfall variability in the tropics and near tropics: An L-moments approach’; in Journal of Climate, 12; pp. 3457-3466
Kripalani, J. B. 1951. Gandhidham. Bombay: [Mangharam N. Thadani for the Sindhu Resettlement Corp.]
Adams, Howard & Greely. 1952. Report on a revised plan for the town and region of Gandhidham, Anjar Taluka, Kutch India, prepared for the Government of India Ministry of Transport, and the United States Department of State. [Boston: Adams, Howard & Greely].
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