Chandigarh is a city and a union territory of India, situated between two hilly areas and the flowing Patiali Rivers. The drive from north of New Delhi is around 265km, and from the south-east of Amritsar is 229 km in total.
History[edit | edit source]
With India's partition in 1947, the old British province of Punjab was divided into two parts. The larger western region, including the capital of Punjab- Lahore went to Pakistan. And the eastern part was granted to India. But it was without any government, administrative or cultural center. Consequently, soon after partition, it was planned to find a suitable site for the new Indian Punjab's capital.
Indian government considered several options, such as Amritsar, Jalandhar, Phillaur, Ludhiana, Shimla, Ambala, and Karnal— and in 1948 selected the present site of Chandigarh. In 1949 the Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier, assisted by Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, was tasked to design a new city called "Chandigarh." Constructions started in the 1950s and completed in the early 1960s.
Location[edit | edit source]
Chandigarh has spread in an area of approx. 114km. And the border of this union territory touches both the states of Haryana and Punjab. The Geographic coordinates of the UT are 30.74 degrees north & 76.79 degrees east. And with having an average elevation of 321m, which is 1053 in terms of feet. This city is a massive part of the Northern plans having a spacious area for fertile and smooth land.
Climate[edit | edit source]
If we are talking about the climate, this city has a humid subtropical climate because it lies 337m above sea level. Here the atmosphere is characterized by a seasonal rhythm:
Spring season: During the spring season, from February to mid-march & mid-September to October, the climate remains quite pleasant. The temperature varies between 16 °C to 25 °C maximum and 9°C to 18 °C minimum.
Autumn: The Autumn season in Chandigarh begins from the end of September to mid-November). During this season, here temperature remains (min) 10°C to 22°C and max 30 °C.
Monsoon: During the Monsoon season, from July to the mid of September, Chandigarh receives moderate to heavy rainfall. And the temperature ranges from 13°C to 36°C.
Summer: In summer, the climate here is hot and dry, extended from March to the mid of June. During the period, the temperature fluctuates between 25 ºC to 37ºC. Also, it could be as high as 44 ºC.
Winter: In Chandigarh, the winter season begins in the mid of November to the March-end. Considerably temperature lower and ranges between 20°C to 3.6°C.
Population: As per details from the Census, Chandigarh's approx population in 2001 was 9.01 Lakh and was increased to 10.55 Lakh in 2011. In which the male population was 580,663, and the female population was 474,787. With regards to the Sex Ratio in Chandigarh, it stood at 829 per 1000 males.
But, now the population of Chandigarh from 2011 to 2021 is 11 Lakhs. A few of the figures are considered below:
Total population: 970,602 (Male: 531,051 & Female: 439,551) City Population: 961,587 Children (0-6): 105,520 (Boys: 56,287 & girls: 49,233) Average Literacy (%): 86.42% Sex Ratio: 829 Child Sex Ratio: 875
Language[edit | edit source]
Talking about the language of Chandigarh, English is the only official language. As this city can attract people from different parts of different countries, you will hear people speaking several languages. People usually talk in Hindi or Punjabi language, which the Hindi speaking population is around 73%, while Punjabi is only spoken by 22%.
Industries[edit | edit source]
Chamber of Chandigarh industries, including all-rounds industries and commercial development, is supervised by the Home Secretary. They provide direct assistance, regulation, and coordination of sector promoting activities. In this city, there are 2950 small scale, and 15 large and medium units exist.
As this city is not an industry lead city, industries' growth from the last few years has been limited. The main reason is that the limited space projected for the industry at the time of city development.
According to the facts, a limited area of 1450 acres was planned for industry development. And it is only for developing small scale and population free industries.
Out of all about 2950 industries, 49% are ancillary units that only produce tractor parts. The rest of the industries manufactured electrical items, machinery tools, pharmaceuticals, plastic goods, sanitary fittings, steel / wooden furniture, food products, etc. From these industries, the total estimation of annual output is 650crores.
The availability of land for industries is a constraint. Apart from the existing industrial zones Phase-I and Phase-II, there is hardly any scope for further expanding the industry. That's why the Chandigarh administration focused on promoting IT Park. It is because they require less space and also non-polluting. The best part of promoting IT industries is that it provides job opportunities to hundreds of people in the field of marketing, software, human resourcing etc.
