Chandigarh General Knowledge
Chandigarh General Knowledge
Chandigarh is a city located in northern part of India and it is a Union Territory.
The name is made of two words – ‘Chandi’ and ‘Garh’. The word Chandi refers to a Hindu goddess of power and Garh means fortress. So the literal meaning of word Chandigarh is fortress of goddess Chandi.
The foundation stone of the city was laid in 1952. This new city was planned to serve as the capital of Punjab. After the partition of India in 1947, the capital of undivided Punjab ‘Lahore’ was left in Pakistan and a new capital was required for the state of Punjab in India.
The city serves as a joint capital of two states – Punjab and Haryana.
The city is known with the nick name ‘City Beautiful’. It is aptly called as city beautiful due to wide roads having tress on both sides, roundabouts with decorative plants and fountains, many lush green parks and gardens.
It is one of the planned cities in India and is internationally known for its architecture and urban design. The master plan of the city was prepared by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier.
Chandigarh’s Capitol Complex was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2016.
Sukhna lake is one of the major tourist attractions of the city. It is an artificial lake created by damming the Sukhna Choe and is fed by rain water.
Rock Garden is famous for its sculptures made from waste materials like broken bangles, ceramic tiles, electrical waste etc. Nek Chand was the man behind this unique concept.
Rose Garden is a huge botanical garden where you will find thousands of rose bushes belonging to 100s of different species. Spread over an area of 30 acres, it has the distinction of being Asia’s largest rose garden.
Leisure Valley, Bougainvillea Park, Shanti Kunj, Hibiscus Garden, Garden of Fragrance, Topiary
Garden and Terraced Garden are some of the famous parks of Chandigarh.
The city is spread over an area of 114 square kilometers. The city is picturesquely located at the foothills of Shivaliks.
The geographical coordinates of Chandigarh are – Latitude: 30.74°N, Longitude: 76.79°E.
According to 2011 census, the total population of the city is 10.6 lakhs. With a population density of 9258, it is one of the densely populated cities.
The literacy rate in Chandigarh is 86%, having male literacy rate of 91% and female literacy of 81%.
The sex ratio in Chandigarh is 818 females over every 1000 males. This is one of the lowest in the country.
Chandigarh falls under Koeppen’s CWG category i.e. it has cold dry winter, hot summer and sub tropical monsoon. Evaporation usually exceeds precipitation and the weather is generally dry.
The monsoon season is Chandigarh is from July to September. On an average, city receives around 900mm of rainfall annually.
The administrative head of the Chandigarh union territory is Administrator of U.T. Chandigarh. The Governor of Punjab is usually given the charge of Administrator.
The current Administrator of Chandigarh U.T. is V.P. Singh Badnore. He is a senior BJP leader from Rajasthan.
There is one seat of Member of Parliament (M.P.) here which is currently represented by Kirron Kher, a leader of Bhartiya Janta Party. It is her second consecutive term as M.P. from Chandigarh, who won from here during the last two general elections held in 2014 and 2019.
The city has a Municipal Corporation and the current mayor of the city is Raj Bala Malik. Ravi Kant Sharma is the senior deputy mayor.
Chandi Mandir Cantonment situated on the outskirts of the city is a military cantonment of the Indian Army. It is the headquarters of the Western Command of the Indian Army.
The city has two Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) located in Sectors 17 and 43. The distance of Chandigarh from the national capital New Delhi is around 250km.
Hinduism is the predominant religion of the people, which is followed by more than 80% of the population. Sikhs constitute around 13% of the population.
Mansa Devi Mandir is the most famous Hindu temple here, which sees a huge rush of pilgrims during the auspicious Navratri days.
Nada Sahib, a historical gurdwara located in the vicinity of the city, is most famous place of worship for Sikhs in and around Chandigarh.
The city is bordered by two major cities Mohali (Punjab) and Panchkula (Haryana). These three cities are jointly called as Chandigarh Tricity or simply Tricity.
During the past decade, many shopping malls have come up. Elante Mall is one of the biggest and most famous shopping mall and multiplex here, which sees a large number of footfalls every day.
Some other famous malls in the city are – Wave City Emporium, DT City Center Mall and Centra Mall.
