Send Flowers to Ahmedabad

Slightly less than half of all real estate in Ahmedabad is owned by “community organisations” (i.e. cooperatives), and according to Prof. Vrajlal Sapovadia of the B.K. School of Business Management, “the spatial growth of the city is to extent contribution of these organisations”. Ahmedabad Cantonment also provides residential zones for Indian Army officials.

Some of the most popular and visited gardens in the city are Law Garden, Victoria Garden and Bal Vatika. Victoria Garden is located at the southern edge of the Bhadra Fort and contains a statue of Queen Victoria. Bal Vatika is a children’s park situated on the grounds of Kankaria Lake and also houses an amusement park and a water park. Law Garden was named after the College of Law situated close to it. Other main gardens in the city are Parimal Garden, Usmanpura Garden, Prahlad Nagar Garden and Lal Darwaja Garden. Ahmedabad’s Kamla Nehru Zoological Park houses a number of endangered species including flamingoes, caracals, Asiatic wolves and chinkara.

The Ahmedabad Stock Exchange located in the Ambavadi area of the city is India’s second oldest stock exchange. Two of the biggest pharmaceutical companies of India—Zydus Cadila and Torrent Pharmaceuticals — are based in the city. The Nirma group of industries, which runs a large number of detergent and chemical industrial units, has its corporate headquarters in the city. The city also houses the corporate headquarters of the Adani Group, a multinational trading and infrastructure development company.

The architecture of Ahmedabad ranges from the ancient to the very modern. Early in the city’s history, under Ahmed Shah, builders fused Hindu craftsmanship with Persian architecture, giving rise to the Indo-Saracenic style. Many mosques in the city were built in this fashion. Sidi Saiyyed Mosque is one of the most famous mosques in Gujarat. The mosque was built in the last year of the Sultanate of Gujarat. It is entirely arcuated and it has ten stone latticework windows (jalis) on the side and rear arches. Private mansions (Haveli) from this era have unique carvings and can be seen in the ancient pol (narrow streets) of Ahmedabad.

The automobile industry is also important to the city; after Tata’s Nano project, Ford and Suzuki are planning to establish plants near Ahmedabad while the groundbreaking ceremony for Peugeot has already been performed.

The city has large populations of Hindus, Muslims and Jains, and these cultures are preeminent in the city, with their religious festivals and cuisine dominating the city’s culture. Cricket is a popular sport in Ahmedabad, and the Sardar Patel Stadium is situated within the city. In 2012, The Times of India chose Ahmedabad as the best city to live in India.

The city is divided into 5 zones constituting 64 wards. Ahmedabad District is divided into a number of talukas (administrative divisions) including Ahmedabad taluka Barwala, Dholka, Dhandhuka, Detroj, Sanand, Bavla, Ranpur, Mandal, Viramgam and Daskroi.

The city is the administrative headquarter of Ahmedabad district and is the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court is located here. With a population of more than 5.8 million and an extended population of 6.3 million, it is the fifth largest city and seventh largest metropolitan area of India. Ahmedabad is located on the banks of the River Sabarmati, 32 km (20 mi) from the state capital Gandhinagar.

The city’s suburban areas are administered by the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA). The city is represented by two elected members of parliament in the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian Parliament) and 19 members of the Legislative Assembly at the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha. In the 2010 Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections, the BJP won 148 seats, 38 seats went to the Congress, and 3 seats went to an independent candidate.

The effects of liberalisation of the Indian economy has energised the city’s economy towards tertiary sector activities like commerce, communication and construction activities. Ahmedabad’s population is growing, which has resulted in an increase in the construction and housing industries.

The Fedara International Airport is also a proposed international airport near Fedara. This airport will be the largest airport in India with a total area of 7,500 hectares.

The Government of Gujarat and Ahmedabad Mahanagar Sevasadan have initiated a feasibility study into the possibility of a mass-transit metro system for the cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. The state government will set up a 2 billion company for the execution of the project. The company is likely to be named the Metro Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA).

The gross domestic product of Ahmedabad was estimated at $59 billion in 2010. The RBI ranked Ahmedabad as the eighth largest deposit centre and seventh largest credit centre nationwide as of June 2012.

The Gujarat High Court is housed in a magnificent structure located at Sola Road, Ahmedabad.

The Gujarat High Court is located in the Ahmedabad, making the city the judicial capital of Gujarat. Law enforcement and public safety is maintained by the Ahmedabad City Police, headed by the Police Commissioner, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. Health services are primarily provided at Ahmedabad civil hospital, the largest civil hospital in Asia. Electricity in the city is generated and distributed by Torrent Power Limited, owned and operated by the Ahmedabad Electricity Company, which was previously a state-run corporation. Ahmedabad is one of the few cities in India, where the power sector is privatised.

The Indian independence movement developed roots in the city when Mahatma Gandhi established two ashrams — the Kochrab Ashram near Paldi in 1915 and the Satyagraha Ashram (now Sabarmati Ashram) on the banks of the Sabarmati in 1917 — which would become centres of nationalist activities. During the mass protests against the Rowlatt Act in 1919, textile workers burned down 51 government buildings across the city in protest at a British attempt to extend wartime regulations after the First World War. In the 1920s, textile workers and teachers went on strike, demanding civil rights and better pay and working conditions. In 1930, Gandhi initiated the Salt Satyagraha from Ahmedabad by embarking from his ashram on the Dandi Salt March. The city’s administration and economic institutions were rendered inoperative in the early 1930s by the large numbers of people who took to the streets in peaceful protests, and again in 1942 during the Quit India movement. Following independence and the partition of India in 1947, the city was scarred by the intense communal violence that broke out between Hindus and Muslims.

The man-made Lake Kankaria, built in 1451 AD, is one of the biggest lakes in Ahmedabad. In earlier days, it used to be known by the name Qutub Hoj or Hauj-e-Kutub. It has an approximate circumference of 1.4 miles (2.3 km) and 34 sides, and is located in the southern part of the city in Maninagar. Vastrapur Lake is in western part of Ahmedabad.