Gandhidham

Gandhidham

• Gandhidham is a city in the Kutch District of Gujarat state of India. The town was created in the early 1950s for the resettlement of the refugees from Sindh (now in Pakistan) in the aftermath of the partition of India. It was named after Mahatma Gandhi, the father of Indian nation. Gandhidham is an economic capital of Kutch and it is a fast developing city in Gujarat state. A growing retirement and family city, Gandhidham is the 8th most populous city in the state of Gujarat. The city is a popular destinations for conventions, business, and meetings.

History

• 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 His Highness Maharao Shri Vijayrajji Khengarji Jadeja, on the advice of Gandhiji gave 15,000 acres (61 km²) of land to Bhai Pratap, who founded the Sindhu Resettlement Corporation Ltd (SRC) to rehabilitate Sindhi Hindus that migrated
  
  from Sindh in Pakistan
• The Sindhu Resettlement Corporation Ltd was formed with Acharaya Kriplani as chairman and Bhai Pratap Dialdas as managing director. The main objective of the corporation was to assist in the rehousing of displaced persons by the construction of a new township. The original plan was prepared by a team of planners headed by Dr. O. H. Koenigsberger, 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 Gandhi in 1947. Hence, the town was named Gandhidham. To clean the desert where it was built, Bhai Pratap gave incentive of 25 paise to kill scorpions and 50 paise to kill snakes.The original plan envisaged 400,000 as the ultimate population of the town, expecting half of it to be reached in the mid-seventies. A revised plan envisaged three stages of town development with the mid stage lasting longer with a population around 150,000.

Geography and climate

• Gandhidham is located at latitude 23.08° N longitude 70.13° E. 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. Summers are hot and dry and frequently the temperature touches 45 °C (113 °F). In winters, it falls to 3 °C (37 °F) accompanied by cold waves. The climate here is "desert." there is virtually no rainfall in a year in Gandhidham. This climate is considered to be BWh according to the Koppen-Geiger classification of climates. The average annual temperature is 26.8c. The average rainfall is 375mm.