Gurgaon's economic growth started in the 1970s whenMaruti Suzuki India Limited established a manufacturing plant and gathered pace afterGeneral Electric established its business outsourcing operations known asGenpact in the city in collaboration with real-estate firmDLF.[11][12]New Gurgaon,Manesar andSohna serve as adjoining manufacturing and upcoming real estate hubs for Gurgaon. Despite rapid economic and population growth, Gurgaon continues to battle issues like high air pollution.[13][14] It also has a flood problem due to the limited drainage capacity and geographic location as with other South Asian as well as South East Asian cities.[15] Gurgaon is infamous for prostitution,erotic spas,sex tourism and high-end escorts in areas like MG Road and Sector 29.[16][17][18][19][20]
The region of Gurgaon originally fell under theKuru kingdom.[30] Early people to inhabit the region were HindusAhirs.[31] In late 4th century BCE, the city was absorbed by theMaurya Empire as part ofChandragupta Maurya's earliest expansions of his kingdom.[32]
Gurgaon may be same as the Gudapura town mentioned in the 12th century textPrithviraja Vijaya. According to the text, Nagarjuna, a cousin of theChahamana kingPrithviraj Chauhan, rebelled against the king and captured the town. Prithviraj crushed the rebellion and recaptured the town.[33][34]
During theMughal and initially during theBritish colonial era, Gurgaon was just a small village inJharsaparagana of Delhisubah. Report of a Tour in Eastern Rajputana in 1882–83 (published in 1885) byAlexander Cunningham, the then Director-General ofArchaeological Survey of India, he mentions a stone pillar at Gurgaon of a local feudal lord"Durgga Naga" with a 3-line inscription"Samvat 729 or 928,Vaisakh badi 4, Durgga Naga lokatari bhuta" dating back to 672 CE or 871 CE. Jharsa paragana passed toBegum Samru in 1776–77 and came under direct British rule in 1836 after her death when her territory was taken over by the British who established a civil lines at Jharsa and a cavalry cantonment at nearby Hiyadatpur. An 1882 land revenue settlement report records that theidol of Sitla Mata was brought to Gurgaon 400 years earlier (15th century). Begum Samru claimed the offering to Sitla Mata temple during theChaitra month and the revenue from the offerings given to the deity for rest of the month was distributed among the localJat families of the area.[35]
The Aliwardi mosque in Gurgaon dates back to the 18th century.
In 1818,Bharawas district was disbanded and Gurgaon was made a new district. In 1821, theBharaswas cantonment was also moved to Hidayatpur in Gurgaon.[36]"Aliwardi mosque" in Gurgaon,"Badshahpur baoli" (1905).[37][38] and"Bhondsi" (16th to 17th century) were built during mughal and British era.[39] The"Church of the Epiphany" and"Kaman Serai" (Corrupted form of the "Command Serai" orOfficer's Mess") was built by the Britishers in 1925 inside the civil lines.[39]
Other British colonial era historic buildings The Gurgaon Club, a 3-room building surrounded by the lawn and currently run by theZila Parishad, the erstwhile Coronation School—now renamed to the Government Boys' Senior Secondary School, one of the 13 school established in India in 1911 to commemorate the coronation of KingGeorge V.[40] During 1980s, theairstrip and hangar, air conditioned yoga ashram and TV studio were built on outskirts of the city by former Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi's yoga mentorDhirendra Brahmachari.[41] The former Prime MinisterChandra Shekhar established his own ashram near this airstrip in 1983 on 600 acre ofpanchayat land, where another godmanChandraswami and notorious Saudi arms dealerAdnan Khashoggi used to visit him.[42][43]
On 12 April 2016,Chief Minister of HaryanaManohar Lal Khattar announced a proposal to officially rename the cityGurugram (Sanskrit: गुरुग्राम, lit.village of theGuru), subject to the approval of theHaryana cabinet and theUnion Government. He argued that the new name would help to preserve the "rich heritage" of the city by emphasising its history and mythological association withDrona.[44][45][46] On 27 September 2016, he officially announced that the Union Government had approved the name change, and thus the city and district would henceforth be known as Gurugram,[47] though the old name "Gurgaon" still lingers in the colloquial usage.[48]
Geography
Gurgaon skyline at dusk
Gurgaon is located inGurgaon district in the Indian state ofHaryana and is situated in the southeastern part of the state, andnorthern part of the country. The city is located on the border with Delhi with New Delhi to its northeast. The city has a total area of 333 square kilometres (129 sq mi).[49]
Topography
The average land elevation is 237 metres (778 ft) above sea level.[50]
Under theKöppen climate classification, the climate of Gurgaon is ahot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh) bordering on amonsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa).[55] The city experiences four distinct seasons – spring (15 February–14 April), summer (15 April–14 September), autumn (15 September–30 November) and winter (1 December–14 February) – along with themonsoon season (July–September) setting in towards the latter half of the summer. Summers, from mid April to September, are typically hot and humid, with an average daily June high temperature of 40 °C (104 °F). The season experiences heat indices often breaking 42 °C (108 °F). Winters are cool and foggy with few sunny days. TheWestern 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 last week of June and continues till September. Thunderstorms are not uncommon during the monsoon. The average annual rainfall is 648.6 millimetres (25.5 in).[56] The highest ever temperature recorded is 49.0 °C (120.2 °F) on 10 May 1966 and the lowest ever is −0.4 °C (31.3 °F) on 5 December 1966. On 15 May 2022 Gurgaon recorded a maximum temperature of 48.1 °C (118.6 °F), the hottest day in May in 56 years.
Sheetla Mata Mandir, located at the heart of Gurgaon,[60] is a temple dedicated to the wife ofGuru Dronacharya, Kripi.[61] The temple hosts fairs and people come to seek blessings of Sheetla Mata, earlier known as Kripi. Sai Ka Aangan temple, spread over an area of 36,000 square feet, is dedicated toShirdi Sai Baba and has a life size idol of him.[62]
Gurgaon has architecturally noteworthy buildings in a wide range of styles and from distinct time periods. Gurgaon's skyline with its many skyscrapers is nationally recognised, and the city has been home to several tall buildings with modern planning. Gurgaon has an estimated 1,892 high-rises.[64][65]
Neighbourhoods
Gateway Towers, Gurgaon
Gurgaon is divided into 36 wards, with each ward further divided into blocks. Gurgaon is also divided into 115 sectors similar to other new Indian cities likeNoida andChandigarh.[66] The housing type in the city consists largely of attached housing, though many attachedmulti-dwelling units, includingapartments, condominiums andhigh rise residential towers are getting popular.
Parks
Gurgaon has a complex park system, with various lands operated by the Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority. The key parks are Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29, which is over 15 hectares (36 acres); Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Botanical Garden in Sector 52; Navisha Park in Malibu Towne, Sector-47; Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Park in Sector 14, popularly known as HUDA Garden; Tau Devi Lal park in Sector 23; andAravali Biodiversity Park on MG Road.[67] There are local parks in almost all sectors in Old Gurgaon.[68]
The lingua franca spoken in Gurgaon isHindi, though a segment of the population understands and speaks English. The local dialect spoken in the region is known asAhirwati. 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 andPunjab adds an accent to the language. English is spoken with an Indian accent, with a primarily North Indian influence. Since Gurgaon has many internationalcall centres, the employees are usually given formal training in neutral pronunciation in order to be understandable to native English speakers.Haryanvi andPunjabi are other popular languages spoken in the city.
Sports
The city has two major sports stadiums:Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 38, which has facilities forcricket,football,basketball andathletics as well as a sports hostel, andNehru Stadium which is designed for football and athletics.Amity United FC is a tenant of Tau Devi Lal Stadium. Gurgaon district has nine golf courses and is described as the "heart of India's golfing country".[70]
Joginder Rao, a domestic cricket player, was from Gurgaon.
Gurgaon has the third highest per-capita income in India and is the site of Indian offices for half ofFortune 500 companies.[71] The city benefits from its close proximity to Delhi.
Maruti Suzuki Private Limited was the first company that set up a manufacturing unit in the city in the 1970s, making cars.[11] Eventually,DLF Limited, areal estate company, acquired large amounts of land in the city. The first major American brand to set up a unit in Gurgaon wasGeneral Electric (GE) in 1997. GE's setup in Gurgaon prompted other companies, both international and domestic, to follow suit,[72] providing outsourcing solutions in software, IT, service and sales through delivery facilities andcall centres.
Due to unreliable power, water supply, most major companies in the city have their own backup.[72] Due to the lack of public transport and the inability of most employees to afford a personal vehicle,Genpact provides taxis for transporting its 10,000 employees to and from their offices.[72]
Retail is an important industry in Gurgaon, with the presence of 26 shopping malls.[80]
Law and government
Gurgaon is governed by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, which follows a mayor-council system.[81] In 2017, the GMDA (Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority) was formed, which looks after the city's infrastructure.
Crime
As per the authorities, the following is the key crime data of Gurgaon for 2022:[82]
The police department in Gurgaon is headed by the Commissioner of Police - Gurgaon Police, which forms a part of theHaryana Police[83] and reports to the Haryana state government. Gurgaon Police has a separate traffic police department headquartered in sector 51.[84] 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.[85]
In 2018, the first cyber police station was inaugurated in the city. As per the authorities, around 1,500 complaints related to cybercrime, including cyber fraud, online banking fraud, cheating through bank cards, social media complaints & data theft, are received every month. Due to a shortage of in-house cyber experts, the police largely outsource such cases to external organisations.[86]
The major highway that links Gurgaon isNational Highway 48, the road that runs from Delhi to Mumbai. While the 27.7-kilometre (17.2 mi) Delhi-Gurgaon border-Kherki Dhaula stretch has been developed as theDelhi–Gurgaon Expressway, the rest is expanded to six lanes.[88]
There are plans to extend metro coverage in the future.[89]
Rapid Metro
TheRapid Metro has eleven stations in Gurgaon, with an interchange withYellow Line ofDelhi Metro atSikanderpur metro station. The Rapid Metro became operational in November 2013 and currently covers a distance of 11.7 kilometres (7.3 mi).[90] One more phase of the project is in the pipeline and would take the total number of subway stations in the city to 16. An estimated 33,000 people ride the Rapid Metro every day, which provides an exclusive elevated transit service with three coach trains that run in a loop.[91]
In November 2013, Gurgaon launched anCiclovia-inspired initiative known asRaahgiri Day—in which a corridor of streets is closed to motor vehicle traffic on Sunday mornings to encourage the use of non-motorized transport and participation in outdoor leisure activities. Gurgaon was the first city in India to implement such a program, followed by New Delhi, and later Noida.[93][94][95]
Gurgaon is also expected to get India's firstpod taxis.[96]
Haryana Roadways operates buses on intercity routes in the city.
Utilities
Electricity in Gurgaon is provided by the government-ownedDakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam. Gurgaon has a power consumer base of 360,000 with an average power load of 700-800 MW.[97] 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 are either old or overburdened.[98]
Issues
Urban Flooding
Gurgaon is notorious for its urban floods every monsoon.[99] The areas on NH-8 around Hero Honda Chowk, Basai, Dhankot, sector 37 etc. see massive urban floods and headlines grabbing traffic jams reported widely in news media. A recent research report puts the blame on the broken natural water body linkage and obstructions in the flow in the city due to frantic construction during the last decades.[53] TheHUDA master drainage lines get choked or burst at the seams. Disruptions in the hydrological flow of natural drains and limited drainage capacity are all primary reasons for the floods.[15] Gurgaon's Ghata Jheel, Badshahpur Jheel, Khandsa Talab were linked toNajafgarh drain which links toYamuna river, via natural water channels and drains.[53] As per the ground reports and research, the three natural water bodies are struggling for their existence with encroachments on their lands and natural channels. Agencies responsible have tried to create artificial water bodies to compensate, but the efforts fail due to unpredictable rain and water flow patterns leading to deployment of water pumps to fight the situation.[100] In 2012, Punjab & Haryana High court banned ground water usage for construction activity,[101] and NGT has recently reprimanded authorities for drain concretisation.[102]
^"Corporate Information". Air India. Retrieved30 July 2024.Registered Office Address: Block-4, Vatika One on One, Sector-16, NH-48 Industrial Estate, Gurugram HR 122007 INDIA
^"Contact Us".IndiGo. Retrieved30 July 2024.Third floor, Emaar Capital Tower 2, Mehrauli - Gurgaon Road, Gurugram, Haryana – 122002
^"Contact Us".SpiceJet. Retrieved30 July 2024.[bottom of the page] Registered Office: SpiceJet Ltd, 319, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon, Haryana - 122016
^"Gurgaon in crime: The year that was". No. New Delhi. The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Express News Service. 31 December 2022.Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved12 March 2023.
^"Gurgaon Police". Gurgaon Police, Govt. of Haryana.Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved24 October 2013.
^"Gurgaon police". Gurgaon Police, Govt. of Haryana.Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved24 October 2013.
Narain, Vishal (2009), "Growing city, shrinking hinterland: land acquisition, transition and conflict in peri-urban Gurgaon, India",Environment and Urbanization,21 (2):501–512,Bibcode:2009EnUrb..21..501N,doi:10.1177/0956247809339660
.jpg)
_taking_off_at_Sultanpur_I_Picture_1070.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
