Gurgaon

Gurgaon Gurgaon गुड़गांव
City
Nickname:  Millenium City
Population  (2009)
• Total	600,000 [7]
Website	http://gurgaon.nic.in/

Gurgaon (Hindi: गुड़गांव) is the sixth largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. An important town in ancient Hindu mythology, Gurgaon is one of Delhi's four major satellite cities and is part of the National Capital Region of India. Gurgaon is regarded as the best city in India to work and the best city in India to live, according to a survey by Business Today magazine.. Gurgaon is also the only Indian city to be able to successfully have distributed electric connections to all households. However, owing to heavy vehicular traffic and inefficient public transportation apart from the Delhi Metro, Gurgaon ranks 11 amongst Indian cities on the "Life after Work" index of Business Today. Gurgaon has the 3rd highest per capita income in India after Chandigarh and Mumbai.

Over the past 10 years the city has undergone rapid development and construction. A wave of multinational companies choose to locate their operations in Gurgaon after GE did so in 1997. This has made Gurgaon the call centre capital of the world, and an important financial center of India.

Etymology

The origin of the city's name is steeped in Hindu mythology. Legend has it that Gurgaon is the ancestral village of Guru Dronacharya, the teacher of the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In Sanskrit, Guru means teacher, which in this case refers to Dronacharya and Gram means village. According to Hindu mythology, the village was gifted by the Pandavas and Kauravas to Dronacharya the son of Rishi Bhardwaj, and was therefore known as guru-gram. Over time the colloquial term gaon (which also means village in Prakrit) was substituted for gram and the name Gurgaon emerged.

History

Gurgaon in Punjab Province in 1903.

It is believed that the city of Gurgaon (literally - "Village of the Guru") was founded as "Guru Gram" by Drona on land given to him by Dhritarashtra, the king of Hastinapur in recognition of his teachings of martial arts to the princes, and the 'Dronacharya Tank', still exists within the Gurgaon city, along with a village called Gurgaon.

Gurgaon has been under the control of a succession of rulers appointed by the ruling power in Delhi,including Yaduvanshi Rajput, Muslims, Marathas in this order and for a few years Farrukhnagar was taken from the Muslim Nawab and Ghasera from the BadGoojar Rajput Rao Bahadur Singh [8] of Ghasera [9] by Raja Surajmal Jat of Bharatpur Kingdom in 1753 and held till 1763. Rewari was under Ahir rulers [10]. During the Medieval period, Gurgaon was ruled by Muslim rulers. Later, the East India Company took over the reins of Gurgaon through a treaty signed by Surji Arjungaon in the end of the year 1803 AD. By the mid 19th century Gurgaon was part of the princely protectorate of Pataudi which is part of Gurgaon district today. During the British rule in India, Gurgaon was integrated into the Punjab Province where it served as district and tehsil headquarters. After India's independence, Gurgaon, rather every part of what today is Haryana was a part of the state of Punjab until the reorganization of Punjab in 1966, when Punjab was divided into Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh thus forming Haryana.

Gurgaon remained a small farming village while neighbouring Delhi emerged as India's political capital. Delhi's economic rise attracted a large influx of laborers from neighboring regions like Rajasthan and Bihar rapidly increasing Delhi's population. By early 1990s, Delhi was one of the most populous and crowded cities in the world and the need for a satellite city became more apparent. Gurgaon seemed like an ideal choice given its vast undeveloped farming lands and proximity to Delhi. Haryana Urban Development Authority bought large areas of land from farmers in Gurgaon and developed residential and commercial sectors.

In the 1990s the Government of Haryana reformed their tax laws, thereby attracting private companies to build world-class buildings in Gurgaon. The close proximity of Delhi International Airport also attracted private firms. The recent completion of the privatized Delhi-Gurgaon expressway provides Gurgaon with world-class connectivity to Delhi International Airport, which has in turn attracted even more firms to locate their offices in Gurgaon.

Ethnicity

Main ethnic group of Gurgaon is of Yadavs/Ahirs, Jats and Meo's and other ethnic groups are of Gujjars,Saini,Punjabis, Rajputs and every village small or big have Dalits community. Gurgaon was home to a significant Muslim population before partition; most were settled here after the bloody 1857 War of Independence from Delhi and Northwestern Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh). They migrated to Pakistan after partition (though some remained in the Patuadi and Firozpur Jhirka states); later on thousands of Punjabis (Hindu immigrants from Pakistan's Punjab) who came here after partition of the country in 1947 made their home here, but today it is populated by people from across the globe.

Geography and climate

Sarus Crane at Sultanpur National Park

Gurgaon district, comprises four blocks Pataudi, Sohna, Gurgaon and Farrukhnagar.On its north, it is bounded by the district of Jhajjar and the Union Territory of Delhi. Faridabad district lies to its east. On its south, the district shares boundaries with the district of Mewat. To its west lies the district of Rewari and the State of Rajasthan. Gurgaon city is situated at edge of Aravali mountain ranges. Greatest length of district is around 13 miles and the greatest breadth is 17 miles..

The Sultanpur National Park, located exactly at 15.32 km from the centre of the city, is a protected migratory bird sanctuary for the Sarus Crane, Indian Peafowl, Eurasian Wigeon and other birds.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Gurgaon had a population of more than 22,00000. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Gurgaon has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 65.38%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 73%. In Gurgaon, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

District administration

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Delhi and Gurgaon Police are responsible for public safety.

• The Deputy Commissioner, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service, is the overall in-charge of the General Administration in the district. He is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Haryana Civil Service and other Haryana state services.

• Till recently, the Superintendent of Police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service, used to be responsible for maintaining Law & Order and related issues in the district. He was assisted by the officers of the Haryana Police Service and other Haryana Police officials. Since June 2007 the Police System has been converted into Commissioner system of policing like Delhi and Pune have. Gurgaon now has a Police Commissioner and three Assistant Commissioner (ACP) of IPS Cadre.

• The Deputy Conservator of Forests, an officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service, is responsible for the management of the Forests, Environment and Wild-Life in the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Haryana Forest Service and other Haryana Forest officials and Haryana Wild-Life officials.

• Sectoral development is looked after by the district head/officer of each development department such as PWD, Health, Education, Agriculture, Animal husbandry, etc. These officers are from [Haryana] state services.

• Gurgaon has its own member of parliament (even though the city itself makes up only a small portion of the Gurgaon parliamentary Constituency and in state assembly it is represented by Gurgaon and Badshahpur Assembly constituencies). All Indian citizens residing in the city are eligible to vote.

Economy

Further information: List of companies in Gurgaon

A major office complex in Gurgaon. IT services form the largest sector closely followed by retail.

DLF City Phase III, Cyber Greens

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DLF Building

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Maruti Suzuki plant in Gurgaon

Favorable tax policy by the Haryana government, pressure from Rajiv Gandhi to allow private companies to build properties and its proximity to Indira Gandhi International Airport saw the emergence of Gurgaon as one of the most prominent outsourcing and offshoring hubs in the world.

Automobile manufacturing, garment manufacturing, world-class real estate and shopping malls are the other main industries. Gurgaon and Faridabad together generate over 50% of Haryana's income tax revenues.

The distribution of outsourcing companies is skewed towards non-IT services . Gurgaon's outsourcing industry was born in 1997 when GE Capital International Services (GECIS) was set up as the India-based business process services operations of GE Capital [11]. In 2005, GECIS became an independent company - Genpact, which is now headquartered in Gurgaon. This trend continued after several other firms established themselves in the city. Gurgaon also has a major manufacturing industry. Car manufacturing facilities include India's largest passenger car company, Maruti Suzuki. Hero Honda, the world's biggest motor cycle company is based in Gurgaon.

Infrastructure

One of the attractions for international companies to operate factories and offices in Gurgaon is near Delhi Airport. 100% of households have electricity. [12]

Private real-estate giants, such as Emaar Properties, DLF Limited and Unitech Group have built gated communities in Gurgaon, which have 24x7 water and security although electricity is a major concern, owing to 7–8 hours of power cuts. These gated complexes range from apartment complexes to integrated mini-cities such as DLF City, Nirvana Country and Suncity. [13]

In the aftermath of the 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai, private companies are now hiring armed security guards and CISF officers. [14]

Real Estate

Private real estate companies such as DLF Universal, Unitech Group and others constructed build world-class offices in Gurgaon, near Delhi Airport and National Highway 8 and then leased them to Fortune 500 and Indian companies at rates cheaper than Bangalore or Mumbai. [15] The rapid urbanization resulted in some farmers in Gurgaon becoming millionaires when they sold their land to private property developers. [16] The increased Change of Land Use fees and Licence Fees levied by the Haryana government earned thousands of crore Rupees in taxes from property developers. [17] Retail is another big industry in Gurgaon, where there are 43 malls, including the biggest, Mall of India, giving Gurgaon the 3rd highest number of malls in an Indian city.

Upcoming areas in gurgaon developed by HUDA and Private developers are , Sohna Road, Pataudi road, Badshahpur,Dharuhera and Manesar etc.

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (DMICDC), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) floated by the government of India for implementing the DMIC projects, had appointed the consultant for undertaking a study on the master plan for the Manesar-Bawal Investment Region (MBIR) and undertaking pre-feasibility studies for two early bird projects.Haryana government had identified four Early Bird Projects to be implemented as a pilot initiative within the DMIC region, which includes Mass Rapid Transportation System between Gurgaon-Manesar-Bawal, exhibition-cum-convention centre, integrated multi-modal logistics hub and new passenger rail link. The first phase of the project is likely to be completed by 2012 with an estimated $90 billion ( Rs 4,23,000 crore) to be invested to develop infrastructure in the investment regions.

Urbanism

File:Unitech Gurgaon.jpg

Most of the residents in Gurgaon work in the city's booming BPO and KPO industries.

Initially a small farming village located southwest of Delhi, Gurgaon saw a massive increase in its population and economy after the real estate developer, DLF Group, bought farms owned by local people and started developing housing societies. Many residential parts of Gurgaon are located within a numbered DLF "Phase".

In Hindu and Mughal times the city was largely made up of the temples and forts which were used as a barrier to secure Delhi. The present city of Gurgaon can be considered the metropolitan area encompassing every settlement around the original city, and expanding even further with the establishment of new neighbourhoods and districts.

Transportation

Eight lane expressway between Gurgaon and Delhi

The 32 lane toll gate at National Highway 8 is the largest in Asia and third largest in the world

Air

Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi is 15 km from the city center.

Road

An eight lane expressway runs between Delhi and Gurgaon and connects to NH8 (Delhi-Jaipur-Mumbai national highway). The expresswayconnects to Dhaula Kuan in Delhi over a distance of 28 km. Buses connect Gurgaon bus station to Delhi and to cities and towns in Haryana and neighboring states.

The expressway is being extended to Jaipur (225.6 km) and will be completed in June 2011. On an average seven persons lose their lives daily trying to negotiate the high-density Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, built as part of the Golden Quadrilateral project to connect the capital to Mumbai.In a shocking revelation made by the first analysis of public-private partnership in the implementation of NHAI’s road projects, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings has said no road safety audit was ever conducted in respect of the Delhi-Gurgaon project either at the planning or the Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage..The corridor has no provision for road-warning signs where high-tension power lines are crossing the Expressway, removal of rings from drainage covers or training and deployment of marshals at the entry points for restricting two-wheelers from entering the high-traffic danger zone. Infrastructure major Reliance Infra has taken up a project to widen and upgrade the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road link, which is due to be completed by May 2011 and includes 4-laning of the road which is 2-laned at present. Source [18]

Train

The Gurgaon railway station located at western end of the original city connects to Rewari towards the south and Delhi.

Radio taxi

Soon to come Delhi Metro

Buses

The main bus depot of the city connects to neighboring towns including Delhi, Jaipur, Alwar and Chandigarh.There are also buses to Uttar Pradesh, Jammu, Faridabad, Dharuhera and others.Recently, the Gurgaon administration and Haryana Roadways have bought a number of Ashok Leyland low floor bus and started some new city bus service routes in New Gurgaon that connect MG Road to the many business parks like DLF City and Unitech International Business Park.. The Delhi Transport Corporation also runs buses on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. To improve the public transport system in the Millennium City, the state government has finally decided to start a city bus service in Gurgaon on public-private-partnership (PPP) mode.To facilitate the move, the state transport department has decided to purchase 450 new buses which will hit the streets by August-end in 2010. There will be an inter as well as intra-city service. Buses will ply from Gurgaon to Faridabad and Delhi.[19]

Metro

Main article: Gurgaon Metro

Two Metro projects are under way in Gurgaon. The Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro is being extended into Gurgaon, with five stations along MG Road. The line is expected to be completed by June 2010.

In addition, the privately owned and operated DLF-financed Gurgaon Metro Rail Link is planned to connect the Delhi Metro's Sikanderpur Station to NH-8, with six stations on a 6-km elevated link.

Life in Gurgaon

Education

Further information: List of schools in Gurgaon

Schools and higher educational institutions in Gurgaon are administered either by the Directorate of Education, the NCT government, or private organizations.

Gurgaon is home to the Management Development Institute, ITM, Gurgaon Institute of Technology and Management, Institute of Law & Management Studies (ILMS), IILM Institute for Higher Education, Ansal Institute of Technology, JK Business School, KIIT College of Engineering, Dronacharya College of Engineering, and Gurgaon Institute of Technology.JK Business School is one of the premier business schools in the country has been awarded the “Best Business School from Haryana” for imparting quality education in the field of management.

The city also has prestigious primary, middle, secondary and high schools, such as Pathways world school,The Shri Ram School, Delhi Public School and G D Goenka Public School.

National defence university to be built in gurgaon.The university will be built on 200 acres of land at Binola in Gurgaon district at a cost of Rs 395 crore.

Trident Hotel Gurgaon

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Sports and recreation

As a hub of multinational companies in the country, Gurgaon has a large golfing population. Gurgaon has two 18-hole golf courses, including the 142-acre DLF Golf and Country Club, regarded as the best golf course in India as well as the subcontinent. Gurgaon is also home to two sports stadiums - Tau Devi Lal Stadium has facilities for cricket, football, athletics as well as a sports hostel, while Nehru stadium has facilities for football (soccer) and athletics.Nehru Stadium has Hockey turf for matches.

Shopping

Ambience Mall, Gurgaon

See also: List of shopping malls in Gurgaon

Gurgaon is home to over 40 malls including the one of the biggest Mall of India and Ambience Mall in Gurgaon has one kilometer of shopping area on each floor, and has outlets of several luxury brands, such as Esprit and Guess. Ambience Mall also has outlets by Marks & Spencers and Debenhams, a car showroom by BMW, as well as a 24-lane bowling lane. MG Road in Gurgaon has a layout similar to Orchard Road in Singapore, with six shopping malls and several smaller market complexes located on the road. The road is accessible from Delhi via the Delhi Metro.

In March 2008, a state officials mandated a law requiring all malls and shopping centers to be closed one day per week in order to conserve electricity and help traffic flow. As a consequence, all malls and shopping centers are closed on Tuesday.

Restaurants and Pubs

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MG Road, the Mall Mile

With a growing working population and increasing disposable income, Gurgaon has seen rapid growth in the restaurant industry. Fast food joints such as KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut, as well as premium restaurants such as Haldiram's, Pind Balouchi, Coriander Leaf, Diya, China Club, Mainland China and Punjabi by Nature, have seen great public response. Food Courts with multiple outlets are a common feature of shopping malls in the city. Local dhabas are also popular.

As Haryana state laws apply in Gurgaon, the legal age for alcohol consumption is 18 years, which has also resulted in the sprouting up of several nightclubs and wine bars in the city. A significant percentage of visitors to these outlets are from Delhi, where state laws enforce a comparatively high legal drinking age of 25 years. Some of the popular pubs & discotheques in Gurgaon are The Deck - Sahara Mall, Last Chance,Crave, Hunter's Bar, Mojo, Odyssey, Fireball, addiction, F-bar and lounge, The Bar - Cilantro 443, Club 18, Remixx Lounge & Bar, Peppers and Club Saffire etc. Less expensive local drinking place inlcludes the popular Machan and Zaika.

Local Cuisine

Haryana is popular for its cattle wealth.There is no dearth of milk as well as milk products in the cuisine of Haryana. People prepare ghee and butter at home and you can see a liberal usage of ghee in their regular diet. The Home made butter is called tindi or nooni ghee and in most homes daily they churn fresh ghee. It is habitual for people to give gifts prepared from ghee to a girl’s family. Buttermilk and tea is a common drink. Lassi is prepared from yoghurt. One of the significant loves for lassi can be measured from Haryani’s Thandai; milk based sweet drink called Kachi lassi in Haryana.

Favorites

Fresh vegetables are taken daily. Pethe ki subji is made on special occasions. The most relished dishes are Raabri and Bajre ki khichri with lassi. Teet ka achar is a pickle made of Kair tree. Some of the popular Haryana cuisines are Singri ki sabzi, Kachri ki Sabzi, Methi Gajar, Mixed Dal, Hara Dhania Cholia, Kadhi Pakora, Tamatar Chutney, Bathua Raita, Khichri, Mithe Chawal, Besan Masala Roti Makhan, Bhura Roti Ghee, Bajra Aloo Roti Makhan, Churma, Kheer and Malpuas.

See also

• 2010 Commonwealth Games
• Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway
• Manesar
• Rewari
• Faridabad

External links

• Gurgaon administration web site
• Template:Wikitravel
• VPRO's Backlight documentary: I am Gurgaon
• Gurgaon local information site