Gurgaon - Gurgaon

Gurugram or Gurgaon is a city in the Indian state of Haryana and is located near the National Capital Region of India. It is 32 kilometres (20 mi) southwest of New Delhi and 268 kilometres (167 mi) southwest of Chandigarh, the state capital. As of 2011, Gurugram had a population of 876,824. Witnessing rapid urbanization, Gurugram has become a leading financial and industrial hub with the third highest per capita income in India. The city's economic growth story started when the leading Indian automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Limited established a manufacturing plant in Gurgaon in the 1970s. Today, Gurugram has local offices for more than 250 Fortune 500 companies.

Etymology

The origin of the city's name can be traced back to the Sanskrit epic Mahabharat; it is believed that the land was owned by the legendary rulers Pandavas and Kauravas, who presented it to Guru Dronacharaya, their royal guru for warfare, as an appreciation of his training. The land came to be known as Gurugram (Sanskrit: गुरुग्राम, lit. village of the Guru) which over time became changed to Gurgaon (गुड़गाँव). The village still exists within the modern day city.

On 12 April 2016, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar announced a proposal to officially rename the city Gurugram, subject to the approval of the Haryana cabinet and the Union Government. He argued that the new name would help to preserve the "rich heritage" of the city by emphasizing its history and association with Dronacharaya. On 27 September 2016, Manohar Lal Khattar officially announced that the Union Government had approved the name change, and thus the city and district would henceforth be known as Gurugram.

History

Gurugram was historically inhabited by the Hindu people and in early times, it formed a part of an extensive kingdom ruled over by Rajputs of Yaduvansi or Yadav clan. The Yadav were defeated by Muhammad of Ghor in 1196, but for two centuries they sturdily resisted the Muhammadian domination and they were subjected to punitive expedition. Under the rule of Feroz Shah Tughlaq, several were converted to Islam. This was followed by the invasion of Timur and the land was ruled by Khanzadas. It was then annexed by Babur. During Akbar's reign, Gurugram fell within the governing regions of Delhi and Agra. As the Mughal Empire started to decline, the place was torn between contending powers. By 1803 most of it came under the British rule through the treaty of Surji Arjungaon with Sindhia. The town was first occupied by the cavalry unit posted to watch the army of Begum Samru of Sirdhana. It became a part of the district, which was divided into units called parganas. These units were given to petty chiefs for the military service rendered by them. The units were governed by the rules that British kept on changing and eventually these units came under direct control of the British, with the last major change in 1836. Nothing much changed in Gurugram until the Revolt of 1857. In 1858, it was transferred from the North-Western Provinces to Punjab Province. In 1861, the district, of which Gurugram was a part of, was rearranged into five tehsils Gurugram, Ferozepur Jhirka, Nuh, Palwal and Rewari and the modern day city came under the control of Gurugram teshil. In 1947, Gurugram became a part of independent India and fell under the Indian state of Punjab. In 1966, the city came under the administration of Haryana with the creation of the new state.

Geography

Gurugram is located in Gurugram district in the Indian state of Haryana and is situated in the south eastern part of the state, and northern part of the country. The city is located on the border with Delhi with New Delhi to its north east. The city has a total area of 738.8 square kilometres (285.3 sq mi)

Topography

The average land elevation is 217 metres (712 ft) above sea level.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Gurugram experiences a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Cwa). The city experiences four distinct seasons - spring (February - March), summer (April - August), fall/autumn (September - October) and winter (November - January), along with the monsoon season setting in towards the later half of the summer. Summers, from early April to mid October, are typically hot and humid, with an average daily June high temperature of 40 °C (104 °F). The season experiences heat indices easily breaking 43 °C (109 °F). Winters are cold and foggy with few sunny days, and with a December daytime average of 3 °C (37 °F). The Western Disturbance brings some rain in winters that further adds to the chill. Spring and autumn are mild and pleasant seasons with low humidity. The monsoon season usually starts in the first week of July and continues till August. Thunderstorms are not uncommon during the Monsoon. The average annual rainfall is approximately 714 millimetres (28.1 in).

Demographics

Gurugram municipal corporation area has an estimated population of 876,824 as per 2011 India census.

Cityscape

Architecture

Gurugram has architecturally noteworthy buildings in a wide range of styles and from distinct time period. Gurugram's skyline with its many skyscrapers is nationally recognized, and the city has been home to several tall buildings with modern planning. Gurugram has an estimated 1,100 residential highrises. The average cost of a 93-square-metre (1,000 sq ft) two-bedroom apartment at a decent condominium in Gurugram is at least $160,130 (₹10,000,000).

Neighborhoods

Gurugram is divided into 36 wards, with each ward further divided into blocks. The housing type in the city consists largely of attached housing, though a large number of attached multi-dwelling units, including apartments, condominiums and high rise residential towers are getting popular. The top five condominiums in the city, as rated by The Times of India, are: Aralias, Hamilton Court, The World Spa, Gurugram One and Raheja Atlantis.

Parks

Gurugram has a complex park system, with various lands operated by the Haryana Urban Development Authority. The key parks are Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29, which is spread over 15 hectares (36 acres); Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Botanical Garden in Sector 52; Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Park in Sector 14, popularly known as HUDA Garden; Tau Devi Lal park in Sector 23; and Aravali Biodiversity Park on MG Road. However, most of the parks in Gurugram are small and ill-maintained.

Culture

Entertainment and performing arts

Notable performing art venues in the city include Epicentre in Sector 44 and Nautanki Mehal at the Kingdom of Dreams near IFFCO Chowk. Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao was born in Gurugram.

Languages and dialect

The main language spoken in Gurugram is Hindi & Ahirwati, though a segment of the population understands English. The dialect used in Hindi is similar to that of Delhi, and is considered neutral, though the regional influences from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab adds an accent to the language. English is spoken with an Indian accent, with a primarily North Indian influence. Since Gurugram has a large number of international call centres, the employees are usually given formal training in neutral pronunciation in order to be understandable to native English speakers. Haryanvi and Punjabi are other popular languages spoken in the city. The other regional languages include Mewati and Haryanvi.

Religion

Hinduism is a predominant religion among the city's population. Gurugram also includes adherents of Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and the Bahá'í, among others. There are several places of worship for major religions in Gurugram, including Hindu temples, gurdwaras, mosques and churches.

Sheetla Mata Mandir is a famous temple located in district Gurugram of Haryana state of India. It is a temple dedicated to the wife of Guru Dronacharya. The temple hosts fairs regularly and huge number of people come to seek blessings of Sheetla Mata every year.

Sports

The city has two major sports stadiums: Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 38, which has facilities for cricket, football, basketball and athletics as well as a sports hostel, and Nehru Stadium which is designed for football and athletics. Amity United FC is a tenant of Tau Devi Lal Stadium. Gurugram district has nine golf courses, and is described as the "heart of India's golfing country". Joginder Rao, a domestic cricket player was from Gurugram.

Economy

Once a small dusty agricultural village, Gurugram has now emerged to become the city with the third highest per capita income in India. Popularly known as Millennium City, Gurugram has the presence of about 250 or 50% of the Fortune 500 companies. Gurugram's proximity to Delhi means easy access to political decision makers. Maruti Suzuki Private Limited was the first company that set up a manufacturing unit in the city in 1970s making cars. Eventually, DLF Limited, a real estate company acquired vast stretches of land in the city. The first major American brand to set up a unit in Gurugram was General Electric in 1997. GE's setup in Gurugram prompted other companies, both international as well as domestic, to follow suit. Today, Gurugram has emerged as one of the most important offshoring centers in the world, providing outsourcing solutions in software, IT, service and sales through delivery facilities and call centers. However, due to the lack of proper public transport and the inability of most of the employees to afford a personal vehicle, most of the call centers provide pooled-in cars to and from their offices. Apart from Business process outsourcing and IT sectors, the city is home to several other companies that specialize in domain expertise. Siemens Industry Software, in Gurugram Business Park, made a portfolio of design software that was used by NASA to digitally design, simulate and assemble the vehicle before any physical prototypes were built. Various international companies, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, BMW, Agilent Technologies, have chosen Gurugram to be their Indian corporate headquarters. All the major companies in the city depend on their own backup, given the fact that Gurugram does not have reliable power and water supply, public transport and utilities. Retail is an important industry in Gurugram, with the presence of 26 shopping malls. Real estate is a major force in the city's economy. Gurugram is home to some of the nation's most val uable real estate.

All Nippon Airways, a Japanese airline, maintains its Delhi sales office in the Time Tower in Gurugram.

Law and government

Gurugram is governed by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram which follows a Mayor-Council system.

Crime

The crime graph is on a rise in Gurugram. The city reported 89 homicides in 2012. Another rising concern is the increase in number of rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, and thefts, including motor vehicle thefts. The total vehicle thefts registered by the police in Gurugram in 2014 was 3,638, and this trend continues. Gurugram is experiencing high rates of homelessness, drug abuse, gang violence and prostitution. Several organized cartels and street gangs operate in the city.

The police department in Gurugram is headed by the Commissioner of Police - Gurugram Police, which forms a part of the Haryana Police. and reports to the Haryana state government. Navdeep Singh Virk is the Commissioner of Police in Gurugram. Gurugram Police has a separate traffic police department headquartered in sector 51. Fire protection within the city limits is provided by Municipal Corporation of Gurugram through four fire stations, located in sector 29, sector 37, Udyog Vihar and Bhim Nagar.

Education

The city's public school systemand other stuffs are managed by the government of Haryana, is administered by Haryana Board of School Education. The city also has a large number of private schools, where education is often expensive and the quality usually better than the government schools. Schools like The Shri Ram School - Aravali, the Ardee World School, Sector 52, The Heritage School, DAV Public School Sector 14 and Amity International School are among the top 10 schools in the city, according to the 2013 Hindustan Times - C fore Top Schools Survey.

There are several universities and institutes located in Gurugram and its nearby areas, that form a part of Gurugram district including Ansal Institute of Technology; ITM University, Sector 23A; GD Goenka University, Sohna Road; KR Mangalam University, Sohna Road; Amity University, Manesar; Apeejay Stya University, Sohna; BML Munjal University, NH8; Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Budhera; and National Brain Research Centre, Manesar. Gurugram is also home to one of India's top ranked business schools, Management Development Institute.

Transport

Roadways

Highways

The major highway that links Gurugram is National Highway 8, the road that runs from Delhi to Mumbai. While the 27.7-kilometre (17.2 mi) Delhi-Gurugram border-Kherki Dhaula stretch has been developed as an expressway, the rest is expanded to six lanes. The second Highway Is Dwarka Expressway, Which Starts from Gurugram and linked to New Delhi's various major Inter cities.

Intercity buses

Gurugram bus terminal, managed by Haryana Roadways (under the department of state transport,haryana) is a busy bus station in the city that provides bus connectivity, both private and government, to other cities in Haryana and neighboring states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and other cities like Chandigarh.

Railways

Intercity rail

Gurugram railway station operated by Northern Railway of Indian Railways. The rail station that forms a part of the larger Indian railways network, where trains connect Gurugram to Delhi and other important cities in India like Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmadabad and Jaipur.

Delhi Metro

There are five stations served by Delhi Metro located on the Yellow Line, which are HUDA City Centre, IFFCO Chowk, MG Road, Sikanderpur and Guru Droncharya.

Rapid Metro

Currently Rapid Metro Gurugram have six stations, connecting Yellow Line of Delhi Metro at Sikandarpur metro station, which are Sikanderpur, Phase 2, Vodafone Belvedere Towers, IndusInd Bank Cyber City, Micormax Moulsari Avenue and Phase 3. Two stations, Shankar Chowk and Gateway tower, are scheduled to become operational soon. The first phase of Rapid Metro became operational in November 2013 and covers a distance of 3.3 mi. Two more phases of the project are in the pipeline and would take the total number of subway stations in Gurugram to 16. An estimated 33,000 people ride Rapid Metro everyday, which provides an exclusive elevated transit service with three coach trains that run in a loop.

Airways

Airport

Gurugram is served by Indira Gandhi International Airport, though the airport is just outside the city limits and located within the jurisdiction of Delhi near National Highway 8. The airport is one of the busiest airports in India and provides domestic and international air connectivity.

Transit systems

Public transit

Public transit in Gurugram is mostly provided by government buses, Rapid Metro and Delhi Metro. Private buses & vans,reserved and shared auto rickshaws also ply in the city. There are ten subway/metro stations in Gurugram.

In November, 2013, Gurugram launched an Ciclovia-inspired initiative known as Raahgiri Dayâ€"in which a corridor of streets are closed to motor vehicle traffic on Sunday mornings to encourage the use of non-motorized transport and participation in outdoor leisure activities. Gurugram was the first city in India to implement such a program, followed by New Delhi, and later Noida.

Gurugram is also expected to get India's first Pod Taxis.

Infrastructure

Utilities

Electricity in Gurugram is provided by government owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam. Gurugram has power consumer base of 360,000 with average power load of 700-800 MW. There are frequent power outages in the city, especially during the peak consumption season of summer. Apart from the power deficit, the equipment used by the power department like transformers, panels and transmission lines is either old or overburdened.

Health systems

Gurugram has many hospitals and a number of medical research facilities within its city limits. Some of the private hospitals include Fortis Hospital, Medanta, Max Hospital, Paras Hospitals and Columbia Asia Hospital. Gurugram has become an increasingly popular destination for medical tourism.

Telecommunications

For cellular voice module, most of the mobile network operators in Gurugram use GSM technology, though a few carriers employ the CDMA platform. The mobile data service is offered through GPRS, CDMA, EDGE, UMTS/HSPA, WiMAX and LTE. Nine mobile phone service providers operate in Gurugram - Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Reliance, Tata Indicom, Aircel, MTS, Virgin Mobile and BSNL. All these carriers offer voice and data service on prepay as well as postpaid plans. Other dedicated Wireless Internet service providers operating in Gurugram are Tikona, You Broadband and Nextra and Touch Net. Fixed line phone service in Gurugram is provided by Airtel, Reliance, Tata Walky and BSNL, providing both voice and broadband services.

References

Further reading

• Basi, J.K. Tina (2009), Women, Identity and India's Call Centre Industry, Oxford: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-203-88379-2, retrieved 12 November 2013 
• Gururani, Shiva (1 March 2013), "Flexible Planning: The Making of India's 'Millennium City', Gurgaon", in Anne M. Rademacher, Ecologies of Urbanism in India: Metropolitan Civility and Sustainability, K. Sivaramakrshnan, Hong Kong University Press, pp. 119â€", ISBN 978-988-8139-77-4 
• Narain, Vishal (2009), "Growing city, shrinking hinterland: land acquisition, transition and conflict in peri-urban Gurgaon, India", Environment and Urbanization, 21 (2): 501â€"512, doi:10.1177/0956247809339660 
• Pagnamenta, Robin (6 July 2012), "Indians riot over water shortages and power cuts", The Times, London, retrieved 12 November 2013, (subscription required (help)) 
• Rich, Nathan (2013), "Globally integrated/locally fractured: the extraordinary development of Gurgaon, India", in Peggy Deamer, Architecture and Capitalism: 1845 to the Present, London: Routledge, pp. 172â€"188, ISBN 978-1-135-04954-6, retrieved 12 November 2013 
• Yardley, Jim (6 September 2011), "In Gurgaon, India, Dynamism Wrestles With Dysfunction", The New York Times, retrieved 12 November 2013, (subscription required (help)) 

External links

• Gurgaon travel guide from Wikivoyage
• "Gurgaon: Model City and Cautionary Tale, Slide Show", The New York Times, retrieved 12 November 2013 
• "India Rising, Off-the-Grid: Video", The New York Times, retrieved 12 November 2013