Vadodara
Vadodara, formerly also known as Baroda, is the third largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of Vadodara District and is located on the banks of the Vishwamitri river, from the state capital Gandhinagar. The railway line and NH 8 that connect Delhi and Mumbai pass through Vadodara. The city got its name because of the copious amount of Banyan Trees present here. The city is also famous as Sanskari Nagari and Kala Nagari of India.
The city is known for the Lakshmi Vilas Palace, the residence of Baroda State's Maratha royal family, the Gaekwads, of the Gaekwad Dynasty. It is also the home of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
History
Etymology
The city used to be called Chandanavati after the rule of Raja Chandan of the Dodiya Rajputs. The capital was also known as Virakshetra or Viravati. Later on, it was known as Vadpatraka or Vadodará, which according to tradition is a corrupt form of the Sanskrit word vatodar meaning in the belly of the Banyan tree. It is now almost impossible to ascertain when the various changes in the name were made; but early English travellers and merchants mention the town as Brodera, and it is from this that the name Baroda is derived. In 1974, the official name of the city was changed to Vadodara.In 1907, a small village and township in Michigan, United States, were named after Baroda.
Old Ankotakka
It is believed that early man lived on the banks of the Mahi River, which formed the floodplain during that age. The movements of these hunter-gatherers, living on the banks of the river, grubbing the roots and killing animals with crude stone tools made out of the cobbles and pebbles available on the river bank, were necessarily controlled by the availability of convenient raw materials for their tools.Recent history
was a former Indian Princely State. Vadodara's more recent history began when the Maratha general Pilaji Gaekwad conquered Songadh from the Mughals in 1726. Before the Gaekwads captured Baroda, it was ruled by the Babi Nawabs, who were the officers of the Mughal rulers. Most notably, from 1705–1716, Sardar Senapati Khanderao Dabhade led the Maratha Empire forces in Baroda. Except for a short period, Baroda continued to be in the reign of the Gaekwads from 1734 to 1948. Initially detailed to collect revenue on behalf of the Peshwa in Gujarat, Pilaji Gaekwad remained there to carve out a kingdom for himself. Damajirao, who was son and successor of Pilaji Gaekwad, defeated the Mughal armies and conquered Baroda in 1734. His successors consolidated their power over large tracts of Gujarat, becoming easily the most powerful rulers in the region.After the Maratha defeat in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, control of the empire by the Peshwas weakened as it became a loose confederacy, and the Gaekwad Maharajas ruled the kingdom until it acceded to Independent Republic of India in 1949. In 1802, the British intervened to defend a Maharaja that had recently inherited the throne from rival claimants, and Vadodara concluded a subsidiary alliance with the British that recognised the Kingdom as a Princely state and allowed the Maharajas of Baroda internal political sovereignty in return for recognising British 'Paramountcy', a form of suzerainty in which the control of the state's foreign affairs was completely surrendered.
The golden period in the Maratha rule of Vadodara started with the accession of Maharaja Sayajirao III in 1875.
Geography
Vadodara is located at in western India at an elevation of. It is the 18th-largest city in India with an area of and a population of 2.1 million, according to the 2010–11 census. The city sits on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, in central Gujarat. The Vishwamitri frequently dries up in the summer, leaving only a small stream of water. The city is located on the fertile plain between the Mahi and Narmada Rivers. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the cosmopolis falls under seismic zone-III, in a scale of I to V.Climate
Despite the roughly 800 mm of precipitation that the city receives annually, Vadodara features a semi-arid climate under Köppen's Climate classification due to the area's high potential evapotranspiration. There are three main seasons: Summer, Monsoon and Winter. Aside from the monsoon season, the climate is dry. The weather is hot during March to July, when the average maximum is, and the average minimum is. From November to February, the average maximum temperature is, the average minimum is, and the climate is extremely dry. Cold northerly winds are responsible for a mild chilly days in January. The southwest monsoon brings a humid climate from mid-June to mid-September. The average rainfall is, but infrequent heavy torrential rains cause the river to flood like the 2005 Gujarat flood or the 2008 Indian floods which were catastrophic.The highest recorded temperature was on 11 May 1960 crossed with on 19 May 2016, while the lowest recorded temperature was on 15 January 1935.
Economy
In Vadodara various large-scale industries such as Indian Oil Corporation, Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals, Vadodara Manufacturing Division of Reliance Industries Limited, Linde Engineering India, L&T and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited have come up in the vicinity of Gujarat Refinery and all of them are dependent on it for their fuel and feedstock. Other large-scale public sector units are Heavy Water Project, Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation & Gas Authority of India Limited. In addition to these public sector enterprises, a number of other large-scale enterprises have come up in the private sector such as Avalanch Global Solutions, Bombardier Transportation.Located in Vadodara are over 35% India's power transmission and distribution equipment manufacturers and an estimated 800 ancillaries supporting the big players in Power Sector equipment manufacturing and engineering industry.
great city
Vadodara is also home to the Vadodara Stock Exchange.
Civic administration
The two main institutions involved in planning and development in Vadodara are VMSS and the VUDA. The jurisdiction of both these agencies is demarcated clearly not only physically but also functionally. The governing acts for both the institutions differ. The principal responsibility of VUDA is to ensure a holistic development of the Vadodara agglomeration covering an area of, whereas VMSS is involved in the development of area of.Three corporators are elected from each ward, who in turn elect a mayor. Executive powers are vested in the municipal commissioner, who is an IAS officer appointed by the Gujarat state government. The mayor is responsible for the day-to-day running of the city services, municipal school board, the city bus service, the municipal hospital and the city library. The Vadodara City Police is headed by a Police Commissioner, an IPS officer.
The City elects 1 member to the Lok Sabha and 5 to the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha All of the 5 assembly seats of Vadodara were won by the BJP during the legislative elections in 2002. In the 2006 VMSS elections, the BJP won 74 seats, 6 seats went to the Congress.
- Election Wards: 38
- Seats : 114
- Population per ward: 31,122
- Seats reserved for women: 38
- Total voters : 1,638,321
Transport
The city is on the major rail and road arteries joining Mumbai with Delhi and Mumbai with Ahmedabad.Air
is located north-east of the city. Vadodara has flight connections with Mumbai,New Delhi and Bangalore. Air India and IndiGo are currently operating their services from the airport. A new integrated international terminal has been constructed at the Vadodara airport and was inaugurated in October 2016. Vadodara is the first Green Airport in Gujarat and Second Green Airport in India after Kochi.Railway
Vadodara was part of the historic Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway, which arrived in the city in January 1861. On 5 November 1951 the BBCI Railway was merged with the Saurashtra, Rajputana and Jaipur railways to create the Western Railway. Vadodara Railway Station now belongs to the Western Railway zone of Indian Railways and is a major junction on the Western Railway Main Line.The under-construction Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor, India's first High-speed rail line will have a stop at the existing Vadodara Junction railway station. The station is planned for renovation to accommodate the new line.
Demographics
According to the 2011 India census, Vadodara metropolitan area had a population of. In Vadodara, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Gujarati, Urdu, Marathi, Hindi and English are the languages spoken in the city. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%.Religions and festivals
The most followed religion in the city is Hinduism, practiced by 85% of the population. The second most followed religion is Islam, followed by 11% of the population. All other religious groups make up the remaining 4% of the population.
Sports
Vadodara has a professional cricket team, the Baroda cricket team, as well as the oldest cricket ground in Asia, called Moti Baug. The team has won the Ranji Trophy six times. Reliance Stadium, a private cricket ground owned by Reliance Industries, hosts ODIs. Some of the notable cricketer's from Baroda are Kiran More, Nayan Mongia, Atul Bedade, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda.Media
The city has five local FM stations: Radio City, Radio Mirchi, Red FM, Big FM, and All India Radio, Vividh Bharti. Radio City is known all over Vadodara for its Rag Rag Ma Vadodara City profile. All India Radio is broadcast on the AM band. Satellite radio was launched in nearby city of Ahmedabad by WorldSpace in 2005. Vadodara News Magazine is a local news TV channel that covers events in the city.is a local news TV channel.
Temple
A non-sectarian Temple inspired by Akram Vignani, Dada Bhagwan located near Babaria college, NH 48.An Located in Fatehgunj