Gandhinagar- the capital of Gujarat is the second planned city after Chandigarh. The city is divided into thirty organised sectors. Located on the western bank of the Sabarmati river, Gandhinagar is also known as the greenest capital city in the whole of Asia.

History of Gandhindagar

It was the year 1960 when Gujarat and Maharashtra came into existence from the state of Mumbai. Mumbai city became the capital of Maharashtra and Gujarat made Ahmadabad its capital in the hustle. But soon the requirement of new capital was in demand because the dense population of Ahmadabad could not carry the responsibility of capital. Thus land at the north of Ahmadabad was selected to build a supplant city as the capital city. It was the year 1966 the construction was begun. In the year 1970, all the government offices and staff quarters were transferred to the newest capital city – Gandhinagar. The name of the city was chosen from the name of Mohandas K. Gandhi, father of our nation. It is just 32 km. away from Ahmadabad.

In history also the land of the city Gandhinagar was known as the witness of many freedom movements of India. At the same time, Mahatma Gandhi was also led many national movements from this place. At first, Gandhinagar was to build on the base plan of American architect Louis Kahn. Someone also suggested copying the plan of Chandigarh, but finally, it was decided to make the city on the base of Indian enterprise and as a reflector of the Indian freedom movement. So, the responsibility was given to H.K. Mewada and Prakash M. Apte, who were apprentices on the project of Chandigarh.

It is a view from the Gujarat legislative Assembly, with a statue of Gandhiji.

Highlights of Gandhinagar town planning

Gandhinagar is known as a well-planned city. The main attractive thing is the grid type streets. Some blocks are divided into streets but that streets have two patterns. This town has ‘letter road’ as well as ‘number road’. This pattern divided the district city into a block or square. This is a very common pattern seen in the U.S. Each crossing of the roads is given names after the combination of alphabets as well as numbers like CH1, CH2, JA1 JA2. But the funniest part is still coming. The roads have names and numbers but the name is in the Gujarati alphabet. So, when an unknown person came to Gandhinagar for the first time, the person not only starts to Google map but also start to remember the Gujarati alphabet. The city also has very good connectivity of Transportation in a form of buses, trains, planes etc.

Main attractions of the city Gandhinagar

This promising city has many new things to attract outsiders. In that list, some names are like Swaminarayan Temple, Sarita Udyan, Children’s Park, Indroda Dinosaur and Fossil Park, Rani Roopmati’s Mosque and so on. Apart from this, each sector of the city has parks, monuments, gardens and grand civic buildings.

Akshardham- This is the most attractive place for the people who follow Swaminarayan Sect. This is not only the temple of Lord Swaminarayan but also a garden, museum and a complete light and sound show about the life of Lord Swaminarayan. The use of pink sandstone made this place full of positive vibes and pilgrims along with tourists piled here to feel the vibes of this place.

This is the front view of temple Akshardham with a fountain and garden.

Indroda Nature Park – This popular place to visit in Gandhinagar is Indroda Dinosaur and Fossil Park. It is the second-largest dinosaur-egg hatchery in the world. We can also find other skeletons of massive mammals like the blue whale. The places also have a big botanical garden, an amphitheater and an interpretation center. People can do camping here, too.

This is an image of the structure of dinosaurs and Fossil Park.

Adalaj Stepwell- This one is the historical sight of Gandhinagar. Adalaj Stepwell is built as the answer to the scarcity of water in those days. It is a unique example of the architecture of the then technical knowledge. It was built in the year 1498. The main intention behind building this stepwell is to provide access to groundwater. It is five storeys deep; the unique way of construction keeps the temperature of the inside well six degrees lower than the outside.

Above all, as this city is named after Mahatma Gandhi, and a vegetarian-friendly city. From street food to five-star cuisine you can find only the most mouth-watering vegetarian food. So, be prepared and take a step towards the visit to Gandhinagar.

Dipesh Joshi
28-01-2022