Gandhinagar
Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the political capital of India, and Mumbai, the financial capital of India. Gandhinagar lies on the west bank of the Sabarmati River, about 545 km (338 miles) north of Mumbai and 901 km (560 miles) southwest of Delhi. The Akshardham temple is located in Gandhinagar. There was a determination to make Gandhinagar a purely Indian enterprise, partly because the state of Gujarat was the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi . For this reason, the planning was done by two Indian town planners: Prakash M Apte and H. K. Mewada, who had apprenticed with Le Corbusier in Chandigarh. History. The city was planned by Chief Architect H.K. Mewada, a Cornell University graduate, and his assistant Prakash M Apte. Demographics. census of India, Gandhinagar had a population of 195,891. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Gandhinagar has an average literacy rate of 77.11%. Male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 73%. In Gandhinagar, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Over 95% of the population  of Gandhinagar are Hindus. Geography. Gandhinagar has an average elevation of . The city sits on the banks of the Sabarmati River, in north-central-east Gujarat. The 20,543 km area around Gandhinagar is defined by Gujarat capital territory. Gandhinagar spans an area of . The river frequently dries up in the summer, leaving only a small stream of water. Gandhinagar is India's tree capital With 54% green cover on its land area. Governance and politics. On 1 May 1960, Gujarat was created out of the 17 northern districts of former State of Bombay. These districts were further subdivided later on . There are 33 administrative districts in the state. Gandhinagar is a politics hub for the state of Gujarat. Congress won the first municipality election in 2011. Mahendrasinh Rana became the first mayor of the city. The current Member of the Lok Sabha for Gandhinagar is Amit Anil Chandra Shah from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Gandhinagar is also situated near the west command post of Indian Army and Indian Air force and also have a command centre in the city. Gandhinagar has recently developed Gujarat State Emergency Disaster Management centre. Climate. Gandhinagar has a tropical wet and dry climate with  three main seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. The climate is generally dry and hot outside of the monsoon season. The weather is hot to severely hot from March to June when the maximum temperature stays in the range of , and the minimum in the range of . It is pleasant in the winter days and quite chilling in the night during December to February. The average maximum temperature is around , the average minimum is , and the climate is extremely dry. The southwest monsoon brings a humid climate from mid-June to mid-September. The average annual rainfall is around . Transport. Air . Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport located in Ahmedabad is 18 km away from Gandhinagar, providing both domestic and international flights. Rail. Gandhinagar Capital railway station (GNC) is located in Sector 14. Many trains running on the western zones pass through Gandhinagar. Currently, there are five trains running from this station in which three are express trains and two are MEMU trains. Jaipur-Bandra Garib Rath, Haridwar mail for Delhi and Haridwar and Shanti Express for Indore Junction BG are main express trains running through this station. Ahmedabad Railway Station (ADI) in Kalupur Ahmedabad is the nearest rail junction (25 km  away) which provides connectivity with all the major cities and towns of India. The Indian Railways transports are available for moving in northern India and eastern India from Kalol Junction railway station (KLL). Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The governing body of Gujarat planned for rapid transit in the city by proposing the Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) also known as the Ahmedabad Metro. The contract for the four corridors of the system were awarded to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) which also manages the Delhi Metro. Delhi Metro carried out a pre-feasibility survey  in 2004–05. In 2003, when the project was conceived, its cost was worked out at Rs 45  billion but the work for the metro was not started for the next 15 years, but now in 2019 it has again gained momentum because of partially completion of metro project in Ahmedabad. The DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd) has already done its techno-feasibility study and submitted its report.