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AHMEDABAD (Gujarat, India)

Ahmedabad district, also known as Amdavad is the largest district in Gujarat state of India. It is former capital of Gujarat. It is one of the developed district of the Vibrant Gujarat. It is about 30 km from the state capital, Gandhinagar.

The District is surrounded on the north by Mehsana and Gandhinagar district, on the South by Gulf of Cambay and Bhavnagar district, on the West by Surendranagar district and on the East by Kheda district. Ahmedabad is situated on the banks of Sabarmati river. The total Geographical area of Ahmedabad District is 8087.59 square kilometres and has population of around 55.7 lakhs.

Ahmedabad city is commercial capital and major industrial Centre of Gujarat and has been classified as Mega City.

It is located in the central region of Gujarat and lies between 21’-58’ to 23’-3’ North latitudes, 71’-37’ to 72’-50’ East Longitudes. [1]

History

The name of city was derived from the ruler of Gujarat, Ahmed Shah.

In the 11th century, history of Ahmedabad begun with king Karandev-1, the Solanki ruler. He declared war against the Bhil king Ashapall and after his victory established a city known as Karnavati on the banks of the Sabarmati. The Solanki rule lasted until the thirteen century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty of Dwarka. Gujarat was defeated by the Sultanate of Delhi at the end of 13th century.

Ahmedabad was constructed an open and spacious plain in the immediate vicinity of Ashaval to the east of Sabarmati. It comprised of a smaller area known as the Bhadra fort. In 1487, Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah secured the city with an outer wall 10 km in circumference and consisting of 12 gates, 189 bastions and over 6000 battlements.

The City was planned according to the ancient Indo-Aryan tradition of a royal capital with main roads, thoroughfares and subsidiary roads. Ahmedabad gradually developed into a well-built city on both the sides of the river Sabarmati. Various residential areas, marketing areas, mansion, palaces and mosques were constructed. Akbar, the great Mughal emperor conquered the province in 1573. Ahmedabad retained its importance as one of the thriving centres of trade in the country and chief city of Gujarat.

Various Mughal rulers came after Aurangzeb. There was a joint rule of the Mughal Viceroy and the Peshwa over Ahmedabad. The combined armies of Raghunath Rao and Damaji Gaekwad overtook the fort and brought an end of Mughal rule.

During the Maratha reign, Ahmedabad was divided into two halves for all purposes, one part belonged to Peshwas and the other belonged to Gaekwads. The condition of Ahmedabad went worsen during Maratha rule.

In 1818 the British East India Company took over the city. Then the city entered into the era of development and progress. Military cantonment, municipal committee and municipal administration were established. Ahmedabad then was made an important railway junction in the traffic and trade between southern and northern India. Large number of people migrated from rural areas to work in textile mills, establishing a powerful industry.

The Indian independence movement developed strong roots in the city. Mahatma Gandhi established two ashrams here that are the Kochrab ashram and Satyagrah ashram. Ahmedabad became the capital of the new state of Gujarat after the bifurcation of the State of Bombay on 1 May 1960.

Today Ahmedabad is distinctive city with a remarkable past and has a vision for the future. [2]

Demography

As per census 2011, the district has population of 5577940 of which male and female are 2938985 and 2638955 respectively. Population density is 945 persons per square kilometres. The metropolitan population of Ahmedabad is 6361084 of which 3350582 are males and 3010502 are females.

The number of literates in the district are 4376393 of which 2402523 are males and 1973870 are females. The average literacy rate is 88.29%. Male and female literacy rates are 92.30% and 83.85% respectively. The population of children (0-6 years) is 621034. School age kids are about 842518 which makes approximate 11% of the total population.

Sex ratio per 1000 is 898 and child sex ratio is 848.

The overall household density is 198 houses per square kilometres. Urban household density is 1478 houses per square kilometres. 88.9% people have permanent houses whereas 63.4% have strong roofs.

Hinduism is majority religion in Ahmedabad. Islam, Jain, Christian are other religions followed. [3]

Infrastructure

67% of the people have facility of piped water supply. 75.5% of urban and 20.2% rural population have piped water supply.

Total 64.6% of people have LPG/ gas for cooking. 74.3% of urban and 10.6% of rural population have gas for cooking.

Overall 97.4% of people have electricity connection. Whereas 98.4% of urban and 92.1% of rural population have electricity connection.

The district has 541 post offices. There are 407209 telephone connections in the district. Only 8.5% of the population have internet facility. 9.9% urban population have internet connection.

The district has 69.4% sewerage connection. 81.5% of urban areas have sewerage connection.

76.6% drainages of the district are covered. In these, 88% of urban areas and 13.5% rural areas have covered drains. 

Administration

The district contains 11 talukas and 649 villages. The talukas are City, Dascroi, Dholka, Bavla, Dhandhuka, Barwala, Ranpur, Sanand, Viramgam, Mandal and Detroj-Rampura.

Sub divisions-6

Patwar circle- 35

Panchayat samitis-18

Nagar palika- 7

Gram panchayat- 518

Revenue villages- 649

Assembly area- 9. [1]

Religions in Ahmedabad

Hindu:        79.80%

Muslim:     14.23%

Christian:   2.30%

Sikh:            1.72%

Others:       1.95% [3]

Languages spoken in Ahmedabad

Gujarati is the main language spoken here. Hindi and English are also spoken and well understood by the people here.

 Topography

Ahmedabad district is located in Central Gujarat. It comes under Seismic Zone- III. [1]

Weather

Ahmedabad has a tropical monsoon climate, which is hot and dry, except in the rainy season.

Winter is experienced from October to January. The average maximum and minimum temperatures in winter are 30°C and 15.4°C respectively.

Summer days are very hot with average maximum temperature of 41.3°C whereas nights are pleasant with average minimum temperature of 26.3°C.

The average annual rainfall of the area is 782mm, although there is a considerable variation from year to year. It occurs generally during the months of June to September. [2]

Forest cover

Ahmedabad district has 12480 hectares of Forest. As per the National norms 33 % of total land should be forest area but district have negligible area of reserve forest, mostly confined to Dhandhuka, Barwala, Dascroi and Viramgam talukas.

Promotion of forming of raw materials should be carried out seedling species like eucalyptus, Silanthus and Acacia can be provided. Farmers should be encouraged for free planting, specific requirements of vincer and plywood industries should also be kept in while encouraging farming. [1]

Industries and enterprises

Ahmedabad is one of the industrially developed district in the state of Gujarat having large, micro, small and medium scale industries of various types. A large number of industries related to textiles, chemicals, machinery, metal products, pharmaceutical, engineering, plastics, electrical appliances, electronics, passenger cars etc. are located in the district.

There are 12 main industrial estates, 12 special economic zones, and 10 industrial parks/ developers in Ahmedabad district.

Industry at a glance

Number of registered units (SSI): 64836

Number of registered units (MSME): 22541

Estimated average number of daily workers employed in small scale industries: 263119 (SSI) and 238254 (MSME)

Details of existing micro & small enterprises and artisan unit in the district

Serial no.             Type of industry               Unit no.                Employment

1              Base metals products, machinery equipment and parts excl. transport equipment           6164       51982

2              Chemical & allied products           3657       41996

3              Ores, minerals, mineral fuels, lubricants, gas       1219       18320

4              Other manufactured articles and services             309         3474

5              Railways, airways, ships and road surface transport         149         4270

6              Rubber, plastic and leather          852         8299

7              Textile and textile products         4396       40196

8              Vegetables, horticulture, forestry products, beverages, tobacco, pan masala and non-edible      704         8743

9              Wood, cork, thermocol and paper articles            1594       15697

10           Other    3795       42463

                Total      22839    235440

Large scale industries :

There are total 265 large scale industries in the district. Some of them are A T E MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD, AARVEE DENIMS AND EXPORTS LIMITED, ADITYA ELECTRO COMMUNICATIONS LTD, AHMEDABAD PACKAGING INDSUTRIES LTD, AHMEDABAD STEEL CRAFT LTD, AIA ENGINEERING PVT LTD, ALPS CHEMICALS PVT. LTD., AMBICA GRANITE PVT LTD, AMTEX INDIA LTD., ANIL BIOCHEM LIMITED, ANUPAM SILK TEX PVT. LTD., ARVIND POLYCOT LIMITED, ASCENT YARNS PVT. LTD., ASIATIC INDUSTRIES, ATMARAM MANEKLAL IND. LTD., BHAGWATI SPHEROCAST LIMITED, BR LABORATORIES PVT LTD, CADILA HEALTHCARE (P) LTD., CADILA HEALTHCARE LIMITED, CADILA LABORATORIES LIMITED, CADILA PHARMACEUTICALS LTD, CHIRIPAL PETROCHEMICALS LTD, CLARIS LIFESCIENCES LTD, COATES OF INDIA LTD, CONCORD BIOTECH LTD, DEEK PRINTERS, DOLPHIN LABORATORIES LTD., FORGE & BLOWER INDUSTRIES LTD, GUJARAT GAS COMPANY LTD, GUJARAT NARMADA VALLEY FERTILIZERS COMPANY LTD., GUJARAT STEEL TUBES LIMITED, HARSHA ENGINEERS PVT. LTD, HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD, KISAN INDUSTRIES, MAFATLAL MICROMACHINES, MAHALAXMI RUBTECH LIMITED, MAHENDRA SUITINGS LTD., METRO DYE CHEM INDIA LTD., MODERN DENIM LIMITED, NIRMA LIMITED, PEPSICO INDIA HOLDINGS PVT LTD, THE ARVIND MILLS LIMITED, TRANSFORMERS & RECTIFIERS (INDIA) LTD., VADILAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED.

Growth trend

According to Industrial Entrepreneurial Memorandum (IEM) field from 1988 to 2007, Ahmedabad has attracted an investment of INR 15,399 crore in industries such as petrochemicals 7 refinery, pharmaceuticals, drugs and engineering.

Textiles and chemicals have the major sectors of investments and employment in the district. Ahmedabad is an industrial hub for textiles and is popularly known as the ‘Manchester of India’.

Many business unions such as Reliance industries, Nirma group of industries, Adani group, Claris life Science, Arvind mills, Cadila pharmaceuticals, Shell, Vadilal industries limited, Bosch Rexroth (Germany), Rasna, Stock and Rollepal (Netherland) are present in the district.

Major exportable items :

Electrical engineering items, chemical products, pharmaceuticals & bulk drugs and mechanical based items.

Potential areas for new MSMEs

1.            Spinning cotton textiles

2.            Other food processing activities

3.            Mining of other non-ferrous metal

4.            Manufacturing of allopathic pharmaceutical preparations

5.            Manufacturing & refining of sugar

 Public health

Ahmedabad district has 32 allopathic hospitals and 14 ayurvedic hospitals. It also has 12 community Centers, 44 primary health centers and 239 sub health centers. Ahmedabad has 240 private hospitals, too.

Public health Centre       Persons per Centre

Sub health Centre           25441

Primary health Centre   150149

Community health Centre           510507

Sub divisional hospitals  7657594

District hospitals               7657594

Banking commercial

Ahmedabad district has 876 commercial banks, 3 rural banks, 114 co-operative banks and 5 PLDB branches.

Education and research :

There are 2251 primary schools, 980 secondary & senior secondary schools, 234 colleges and 4 technical universities in the district.

The district has colleges that are affiliated to Gujarat university. The colleges offer courses in engineering, science, medicine, arts, commerce, management etc.

Some well-known universities in Ahmedabad are Ahmedabad university, Gujarat technological university, Nirma university and Gujarat Vidyapeeth. The district is home to esteemed institutes like National institute of fashion technology, Indian institute of management, National institute of design and B.J. medical college.

Some of nationally prestigious institutes in Ahmedabad are Physical research laboratory and the Space applications centre which fall under ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization).

Schools in Ahmedabad are affiliated to GSEB (Gujarat secondary and higher secondary education board). Some schools like Delhi public school and Kendriyavidhyalaya are associated with CBSE. [2]

Transport and connectivity :

The district is well connected to neighboring districts and other parts of the country by roadways, railways and airways.

Local transport

Local public transport services in the city are provided by AMTS and BRTS. AMTS (Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service) is India’s largest municipal transport service for local conveyance. AMC has integrated a special purpose vehicle called Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited in order to run and operate BRTS buses. BRTS buses provide faster, eco-friendly, reliable and advanced public transport to the citizen of Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd has 87 km long operational route with 160 (59 A.C) buses and average 1.45 lakhs passengers per day. 

Other local transports include auto rickshaws and private taxis.

Roadways

National highway 8 which connects national capital Delhi to financial capital Mumbai, passes from Ahmedabad. There is an express highway also that connects two cities Ahmedabad and Vadodara.

Railways

Ahmedabad is one of the six operating divisions in the western railway zone connecting city to towns in Gujarat and other major Indian cities. Ahmedabad junction is the biggest and busiest railway station in Gujarat. In western railways it is the second highest income generating division after Mumbai division.

Metro

The mass transit metro system known as MEGA being built for the cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar has been under construction since March 2015. And expected to complete by 2020.

Airways

Ahmedabad international airport is also known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. It is the 8th busiest airport in India. It is located inHansol, 9 km from the northern Ahmedabad. The airport has two terminals one for domestic and the other for international flights.

Sports :

There are a few sports complexes in the district. The three main sports complexes are Veer Savarkar sports complex, Raipur sports complex and Kankaria sports complex. These have equipment and facilities for sports such as cricket, tennis, football, badminton, table tennis.

There are gyms, swimming pools and skating rinks in the sports complexes, too.

Some skating rinks are Ishanpur skating rink, Paldi skating rink and Vasna skating rink.

Major attractions

Gandhi ashram :

Also known as Sabarmati ashram. It is one of the residences of Mahatma Gandhi.

Earlier it was established in the kochrab area of Ahmedabad. After about two years it was shifted to a piece of land on the banks of Sabarmati. Mythologically this was ashram of Dadhichi Rishi who donated his bones for righteous war.

The ashram is located in between a jail and a crematorium as Gandhiji believed that a satyagrahi has to invariably go to either of the place. He lived here with his wife Kasturba from 1917 to 1930.

The ashram served as a main center of Indian Freedom Fight. That is the reason why it is also known as Satyagrah ashram. The historic Dandi March was originated from here.

Over the years, the ashram became home to the ideology that set India free. Today, it serves as a source of inspiration and guidance. It stands as a monument to Gandhiji`s life.

Activities at ashram- Involved in a number of activities that serves to preserve the history and freedom struggle of Gandhiji. It also serves to promote and educate people in the great values, philosophies and teachings of Gandhiji. The charkha used by Gandhiji to spin khadi and the writing table for writing letters are also kept here.

The main ashram sites are Hridaykunj, Maganniwas, Vinoba-Mira kutir, Nandini, Gandhi memorial museum. Hridaykunj was home of Gandhiji in ashram.

Some observances of the ashram are truth, non-violence, non-stealing, swadeshi, fearlessness.

Museum at the ashram- ‘My life is my message’ gallery here has 8 paintings portraying Gandhiji in different poses during various activities like marching, spinning cloth, meditation etc.

The library and archives have letters hand written by in original as well as Photostat copies. These also have manuscripts of Gandhiji`s articles published. These also have collection of photographs of Gandhiji and various films that are dedicated to Gandhiji`s life, the Dandi march. [4]

Kankaria lake :

Also known as Houj-e Qutub. It was built by Sultan Qutubuddin in 1451 AD. This lake has a polygonal shape with 34 sides spread over an area of 1.7 km. in the Centre of the lake, there is an island with a garden called Nagina Wadi. In the evening it is packed with crowds, food stalls and informal entertainment. There is also a water and light show in the evening. A natural history museum, a zoo, a special garden for children called balvatika and open-air theatre are surrounding the lake. [5]

Sidi Sayeed mosque :

It is the last of the major mosques to be built in Ahmedabad under the Mughal rule. Its peculiar feature is the carved jaalis in the windows of the western wall. These are known as Sidi Sayeed jaalis all over the world and has become a symbol of the city. Depicting a tree with intertwining branches, the carvings look like fine lace work but are actually made from solid stone. This witnesses the incredible craftsmanship along with religious piety. [5]

Heritage walk :

The city offers two heritage walks around the old city. One can choose from the services provided by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation or the house of MG. Heritage walk passes through various pols, havelis, temples and the popular ManekChowk. [5] 

Places to see around Ahmedabad :

Adalaj stepwell: It is located at Adalaj, 19 km from Ahmedabad station. Queen Rudabai built intricately carved and designed stepwell in 1499. The designs on its walls and pillars have leaves, flowers, fish, birds and other breathtaking ornamental patterns.

Thol lake Bird Sanctuary:  It is located around 20 km from Ahmedabad. It is a shallow fresh water body which is surrounded by swampy lands and scrubby forest.  A visual treat for any tourist and a treasurable experience for a bird lover or ornithologists, this place is home to more than 100 species of birds. The most commonly noticed Indian Saras Crane with its long bare legs, elongated head and red head gracefully pecks insects while walking around the lake with dance like movements.  Cranes, egrets, herons, spoonbills, geese, flamingoes, pelicans, ducks, whistling teals and many other migratory birds nest and breed in the lap of this natures exuberance. [5]

Festivals :

Uttarayan, Deepawali, Navratri, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid and Christmas are celebrated with great enthusiasm in Ahmedabad.

Navratri, a 9-day festival is a very important festival of Ahmedabad. People celebrate it by worshipping goddess Navdurga and by performing garba.

Apart from these traditional festivals, Ahmedabad witnesses kite flying festival. [5]

Shopping areas :

Ahmedabad is famous for shopping in the areas like fabric, fashion, crafts, bandhej, silk.

Some of the popular places of street shopping are laldarwaja, dhalgarwad, manek chowk, law garden, rani no hajiro. One can buy jewellery, fabrics, sarees of different varieties at dhalgarwad market. Rani no hajiro is a place one can shop women clothing and traditional garba clothes.

Some shopping malls in the city are Himalaya mall, R3 the mall, Iscon mega mall, the acropolis.

Food and cuisine :

A typical gujarati thali consists of roti, shaak (cooked vegetable curry), dal and rice.

Some famous street food stalls include Das khaman, Shree bajrang chole kulche, chats at manek chowk, Raipur bhajia house.

For all the desert lovers Asharfi kulfi shop is a popular destination. Different varieties of kulfis and ice-creams are served here.

Bhatiyargali is a popular place for all the non-vegetarian delicacies.

Art, dance and music :

Vikram Sarabhai, a well-known physicist was born in Ahmedabad. He is considered as the father of India`s space program.

Popular cricketers from Ahmedabad are Parthiv Patel, JaspritBumrah.

Mrinalini Sarabhai was a choreographer, classical dancer and instructor from here. She was the founder and director of the Darpana academy of performing arts at Ahmedabad.

Taarak Mehta was a well-known columnist, humorist and write.

Mallika Shah is an Indian classical dancer born in Ahmedabad.

Abhijat Joshi is an Indian academic and screenwriter.

Aishwarya Majmudaar is a singer from the city.

Disha Vakani, a popular television actress is from Ahmedabad.

References :

[1] http://dcmsme.gov.in/dips/dip%20ahmedabad_gu.pdf

[2] https://ahmedabadcity.gov.in/portal/index.jsp

[3] https://www.census2011.co.in/census/city/314-ahmedabad.html

[4]https://gandhiashramsabarmati.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=519&lang=en

[5] http://www.gujarattourism.com/file-manager/ebrochure/ahmedabad_5.pdf