Chandigarh, a name synonymous with the dream city, clean city and the city beautiful. This baby city whose idea came into existence in 1952, took 14 more years for establishing itself as a union territory after the states of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were reorganised. And this was the time when Chandigarh stood up as the capital city of both the states of Haryana and Punjab. Since its inception, Chandigarh has seen a steady growth in all the sectors.
Finally, the day arrived when it was 50 years old on November 1, 2016.
Let us now detour into knowing Chandigarh more.
How It All Started:
After partition of Punjab into East Punjab and West Punjab back in 1947, there was a new capital city needed for the East Punjab since West Punjab fell in Pakistan. This was the time when the dream city of our first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru was thought of to be made existential. The work was then assigned to American planner and architect Albert Meyer in 1949 who designed the master plan but somehow the concept was left incomplete because of the demise of his architect partner. After Meyer, the work was finally completed and was designed solely by Swiss-French Architect Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier conceptualised the master plan of Chandigarh and the design of the buildings and housing was done by his team along with Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry. Chandigarh got its name from an ancient temple of Goddess ‘Chandi’ (warrior form of goddess Parvati) located on the foothills of shivalik range of Himalayas.
Achieving Ever Since:
Let us look at some highlights of Chandigarh’s performance:
- Chandigarh is one of the first planned cities since post independence era.
- Named as one of the perfect cities of the world by BBC in terms of architecture, cultural growth & modernisation in 2015.
- Chandigarh is mentioned as first Smoke-free city in India.
- Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex is declared as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in July, 2016.
- Chandigarh was declared as the ‘Happiest City‘ according to LG Electronics survey in 2015.
- According to National Government study in 2010, Chandigarh has been announced as the cleanest city in 2016 and as the second cleanest city under Swachh Bharat Survekshan.
Well, these are just to name a few MAJOR ONES in its domain as it would add on to a whole amount of thesis if we write every thing about achievements of Chandigarh.
The Way In Front:
Chandigarh has always been known for its vibrancy & ethnicity and has a rich cultural heritage to be proud of. Chandigarh Metro takes this opportunity to express the love for the same. It’s a celebrating moment to see Chandigarh grow so much in a little time. From sports to eminent Bollywood personalities, Chandigarh has always been embarking its name and we wish it touches new horizons each day.
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