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Area : 1,96,024 sq
km
Population : 50,671,017
Capital : Gandhinagar
Principal Languages : Gujarati
The history of Gujarat goes
back to 2000 BC. It is believed that Lord
Krishna left Mathura to settle on the west coast
of Saurashtra, which later came to be known as
Dwarka, the gateway. Later, it saw various
kingdoms: Mauryas, Guptas, Pratiharas and
others. It was with Chalukya (Solankis) that
Gujarat witnessed progress and prosperity. In
spite of the plundering of Mahmud Ghazni, the
Chalukya kings were able to maintain general
prosperity and well-being of the State. After
this glorious respite, Gujarat faced troubled
times under the Muslims, Marathas and the
British rule. Before Independence, the present
territories of Gujarat used to be in two parts,
the British and the Princely territories. With
the re-organisation of the States, the Union of
the States of Saurashtra and the Union Territory
of Kachchh along with the former British,
Gujarat became a part of the biggest bilingual
State of Bombay. The present State of Gujarat
came into being on May, 1960. It is situated on
the west coast of India. The state is bounded by
the Arabian Sea on the west, Pakistan and
Rajasthan in the north and north-east
respectively, Madhya Pradesh in the south-east
and Maharashtra in the south.
Gujarat
is the main producer of tobacco, cotton and
groundnut in the country and provides inputs for
important industries like textiles, oil and
soap. Other important cash crops are isabgol
, paddy, wheat and bajra . Forest
species available in Gujarat are teak, khair,
sadad, haldariyo and manual bamboos.
The
industrial structure in the State has been
gradually diversifying with the development of
industries like chemicals, petrochemicals,
fertilizers, engineering, electronics, etc. The
number of registered working factories in the
State were 21,536 (Provisional) at the end of
2004 with the average daily employment to 9.27
lakh. The number of Small-Scale industrial units
in the State was 2.99 lakh at the end of March
2005. Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation
(GIDC) has been assigned the role of developing
industrial estates with infrastructure
facilities. At the end of December 2005 GIDC had
set up 237 industrial estates.
The total irrigation potential
through surface water as well as ground water
has been assessed at 64.88 lakh hectars
including 17.92 lakh hectares through Sardar
Sarovar ( Narmada ) Project. The total
irrigation potential created up to June 2005 is
worked out to 40.34 lakh hectares. The maximum
utilisation has been estimated at 36.33 lakh
hectares up to June 2005
The total installed capacity for the state
including central sector project has increased
to 8763 MW as on 31 March 2005. As per new
difinition of villages, 17,823 villages are
feasible for electrification against the total
number of 18056 inhabited villages in the
State.
Roads :
The
total length of road (except municipal roads) is
around 74,000 km and the length of surfaced
roads is around 70,800 km.
Aviation :
The main airport of Gujarat at Ahmedabad
is connected with Mumbai, Delhi and other cities
by daily services. Ahmedabad airport has now got
the status of an International Airport. Other
airports are Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Surat,
Jamnagar, Kandla, Keshod, Porbandar and Rajkot.
Ports :
Gujarat has 40 ports of which Kandla is a
major port. The intermediate and minor ports of
Gujarat handled a total cargo of 971.28 lakh
tonnes whereas Kandla port handled cargo of
415.51 lakh tonnes during 2004-05.
Tarnetar
fair is held at village Tarnetar in the
honour of Lord Shiva on the 4th, 5th and 6th
days of the bright half of the month of
Bhadrapada (August/September). Madhavrai
fair at Madhavpur near Porbandar is, held
to celebrate the marriage by elopement of Lord
Krishna and Rukmani, on the ninth day of the
bright half of the month of Chaitra
(March/April). Ambaji fair dedicated to Amba,
mother goddness is held in Banaskantha district.
The biggest annual fair, Janmashtami the
birthday of Lord Krishna is celebrated at Dwarka
and Dakor with great enthusiasm. Other festivals
are Makar-Sankranti, Navratri, Dangi darbar,
Shamlaji fair, Bhavnath fair, etc.
Religious spots like Dwarka, Somnath,
Palitana, Pavagadh, Ambaji, Bhadreshwar,
Shamlaji, Taranga and Girnar; Porbandar, birth
place of Mahatma Gandhi, places of memorable
monuments of architectural and, archaeological
surprises like Patan, Siddhpur Ghurnli, Dabhoi,
Vadnagar, Modhera, Lothal and Ahmedabad;
beautiful beaches like Ahmadpur-Mandvi, Chorwad,
Ubharat and Tithal; the hill station Saputara;
lion sanctuary of Gir Forest and wild ass
sanctuary in Kachchh area are major tourist
attractions in the State.
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