| Gandhidham | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Nickname: | Sardar Ganj |
| Pushpin Map: | India Gujarat |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Gujarat, India |
| Coordinates: | 23.08°N 70.13°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipal Corporation |
| Subdivision Name1: | Gujarat |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kutch |
| Founder: | Bhai Pratap |
| Government Type: | Municipal Corporation |
| Governing Body: | Gandhidham Municipal Corporation |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 63.49 |
| Elevation M: | 27 |
| Population Total: | 248705 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Rank: | 181 |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages = Official |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 370201, 370203, 370205, 370230, 370240 |
| Area Code: | 02836 |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Registration Plate: | GJ-39 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Sex ratio |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 0.879 ♂/♀ |
| Website: | https://www.gandhidhamnagarpalika.org/ |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Kutchi, Gujarati |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Distance from Bhuj |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | 60km (40miles) |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Distance from Gandhinagar |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | 365km (227miles) |
Gandhidham, initially known as Sardarganj, located in the eastern part of Kutch district in the state of Gujarat and 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 (now in Pakistan) in the aftermath of the partition of India.[2] It was named after M.K. Gandhi. An economic capital of Kutch and a growing area for families and retirees. According to the Cesus-2011, 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 15000acres 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 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 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-seventies. A revised plan envisaged three stages of town development with the mid-stage lasting longer with a population of around 150,000.
Gandhidham is located at latitude 23.08° N longitude 70.13° E.[7] The main city is constructed in accordance with the principles ofVastu-Shastra (Hindu belief of construction), i.e., the main city has its face directed to the East.
Due to the very high potential evapotranspiration, Gandhidham has a hot arid climate (Köppen BWh), just short of a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) despite receiving around 3750NaN0 of rainfall per year.
Almost all rainfall occurs during the monsoon season from June to September — outside this period, Gandhidham averages just 152NaN2 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 city is represented by a constituency in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. It forms part of the Kachchh Lok Sabha constituency.
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.
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.[10]
Schools in the area include
CBSE SCHOOLS
STATE BOARD ENGLISH MEDIUM SCHOOLS
GUJARATI MEDIUM SCHOOLS
HINDI MEDIUM SCHOOLS
For professional courses like Chartered Accountancy and Cost & Management Accountancy the national professional accounting body of India like Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Institute of Cost Accountants of India have opened an examination centre at Adipur.
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 is connected by road and rail to the rest of India. Transport Nagar, on the outskirts of Gandhidham, is the hub of all major transport activity. There are trains to, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, Agra, Lucknow, Faizabad, Patna,Jodhpur, Ajmer, Alwar, Abu Road, Jaipur, Mumbai, Vadodara, Surat, Yesvantpur, Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kollam, Kota, Delhi, Durg, Guwahati, Puri, Chengannur, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Raipur, Vizag, Nagercoil, Vijayawada, Warangal, Rajahmundry and several other cities. Many private companies operate bus services to major cities in Gujarat like Ahmedabad and Rajkot. India's largest port, Kandla is around 13.8 km from the city. It also has connectivity to Kandla Airport near village Galpadar. From August 2016 Air connect has started its daily services for Ahmedabad and Surat. They announced one flight from Mumbai to Kandla Airport (Gandhidham)
| Train | Train name | Runs from source | Destination | Departure days | Arrival days | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18501/18502 | Visakhapatnam–Gandhidham Express | Gandhidham | Visakhapatnam | Friday | Sunday | |
| 22973/22974 | Gandhidham–Puri Weekly Express | Gandhidham | Puri | Wednesday | Friday | |
| 16335/16336 | Nagarcoil Express | Gandhidham | Nagercoil | Friday | Thursday | |
| 16505/16506 | Gandhidham–Bangalore City Express | Gandhidham | Bangalore | Tuesday | Monday | |
| 11091/11092 | Ahimsa Express | Bhuj | Pune | Wednesday | Tuesday | |
| 15667/15668 | Kamakhya–Gandhidham Express | Gandhidham | Kamakhya | Saturday | Saturday | |
| 14312/14311 via Ahmedabad & 14322/14321 via Bhildi | Ala Hazrat Express (via Ahmedabad) Ala Hazrat Express (via Bhildi) | Bhuj | Bareilly | Tuesday, Thursday & Sunday For 14312. Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday For 14322. | Friday, Saturday, Monday For 14311. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday For 14321. | |
| 22829/22830 | Shalimar–Bhuj Weekly Superfast Express | Bhuj | Shalimar | Tuesday | Monday | |
| 22904/22903 | Bandra Terminus–Bhuj AC Superfast Express | Bhuj | Bandra | Monday, Thursday, Saturday | Thursday, Saturday, Monday | |
| 12937/12938 | Garbha Express | Gandhidham | Howrah | Saturday | Wednesday | |
| 12960/12959 | Dadar–Bhuj Superfast Express | Bhuj | Dadar | Monday, Thursday | Wednesday, Saturday | |
| 14802/14801 | Gandhidham–Jodhpur Express | Gandhidham | Jodhpur | Monday, Wednesday, Saturday | Monday, Wednesday, Saturday | |
| 22955/22956 | Kutch Express | Bhuj | Bandra, Mumbai | Daily | Daily | |
| 12993/12994 | Gandhidham–Puri Weekly Superfast Express | Gandhidham | Puri | Monday | Wednesday | |
| 19116/19115 | Sayajinagari Express | Bhuj | Bandra | Daily | Daily |
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.