As Gandhinagar celebrated its 45th foundation day, Narendra Modi did not miss the opportunity to criticise the central government for not including the city under JNNURM.
As Gandhinagar celebrated its 45th foundation day on Sunday, chief minister Narendra Modi did not miss the opportunity to criticise the central government for not including the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
Modi said that all state capitals have been covered under the JNNURM, expect for Gandhinagar. “The central government has neither included Gandhinagar under the JNNURM, nor has given any reason for leaving it out,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state capital celebrated in its own style on Sunday, as around 10,000 children and youngsters participated in a cycle rally in the city. Modi, who flagged off the rally, called the participants ‘warriors in the war against global warming’.
The chief minister also dedicated the city bus service to the people of the city and laid the foundation stone of the district collectorate, which will be built at a cost of Rs12.16 crore. As part of the celebration, Modi lit a lamp at the thermal power station where the first stone was laid in 1965.
The cycle rally was organised by the Gandhinagar district unit of the BJP to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the foundation stone being laid for the city which was made the state capital in 1971. The cyclists participating in the rally began gathering near gate no. 7 of the secretariat right from 6 am. Also, around one lakh saplings were distributed on Sunday with the aim of making Gandhinagar a green city.
Modi, while addressing the rally, said that Gujarat has declared war on global warming on the basis of the strength of the community. It is necessary for the younger generation to become aware of the benefits of saving energy, water, time and the environment, he said, while praising the newspapers for promoting tree plantation and promising that Gandhinagar will become part of this movement.
Modi said that the central government should declare Gandhinagar a ‘solar city’ and ‘green city’, and become a stakeholder in the development of Gujarat’s capital, asking that the central government under the leadership of the UPA remove its negative approach towards the state.
The chief minister also suggested that horticulture be included in the schools’ curriculum and asked that the residents of the city avoid fuel-driven cars to cover short distances and to use cycles on Sunday as part of the Golden Gujarat Celebration. He also dedicated 15 CNG buses to the people of Gandhinagar for the city bus services that will also cover the villages surrounding the state capital.
Story of GandhinagarThe city of Gandhinagar was to be constructed on the lines of Chandigadh and Bhubaneshwar, and designed by American architect Louis Kahn. However, the initial plan was cancelled because of pressure to make the new city an ‘Indian enterprise’. Indian architects HK Mewada and Prakash Apte were entrusted with the job of planning the state’s new capital, which was named after the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The foundation stone for the city was laid on August 2, 1965, while the state capital was shifted there, from Ahmedabad, in 1971. Gandhinagar is spread on the banks of the river Sabarmati and was once the greenest capital in the world. The Akshardham temple is one of the main tourist attractions of Gandhinagar as well as of Gujarat. The city is also home to the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG).
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