Francais | English | Espanõl

Gurgaon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Image:Apartmentingurgaon.JPG
Image:Commercialbldgsingurgaon.JPG

Gurgaon pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: गुड़गांव) is a city in the northern Indian state of Haryana, and has a population of about 1,000,000 according to the 2001 national census. Gurgaon is one of Delhi's four major satellite cities and is therefore considered to be a part of the National Capital Region, although it is not situated in the National Capital Territory.

Contents

[edit] History

The origins of the city's name are 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, Mahabharata. In the ancient times, the name Gurgaon was originally said to be "Guru-Gram". In the original Sanskrit language, Guru means "teacher", which in this case refers to (Guru Dronacharya) and Gram means a (village). The village was gifted by the Pandavas and Kauravas to their Guru (Dronacharya), and was therefore known as Guru - Gram, (Village of the Guru). The sanskriticised "gram" was over a period of time rounded off to a colloquial "gaon" and hence the name to Gurgaon. It is also said that the name is derived from the Hindi words Gur(Jaggery) and Gaon(Village).

Until very recently, Gurgaon was a sleepy town on the outskirts of New Delhi. Its potential was quickly recognized after the liberalisation of the Indian economy, in the 1990's, because of its proximity to New Delhi, and the smart policy initiatives of the Haryana government. Today, skyscrapers and modern shopping malls dot this suburb, which has seen a major real estate boom since the late 1990s.

[edit] Economy

Gurgaon is one of India's major outsourcing hubs, housing major multinationals such as Accenture, Orange Business Services, Evalueserve, Sapient, Agilent, Jinvani Systech, HCL Technologies, Polaris Software Labs, TCS, Genpact, Migital, Polaris, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Oracle Corporation, ITC, Ranbaxy, Adidas, Nokia, Pepsi, RBS,Alcatel, American Express, British Airways, Convergys, eFunds, NexTag, Ericsson, Fidelity Investments, Flextronics Software Systems,General Electric, HCL Technologies, Hewitt, Hindustan Lever Limited (the Indian division of Unilever), IBM Daksh, Keane, Niksun Incorporated, Siemens, Vertex, and Xchanging. Other well known multinationals such as Aviva, Citibank, Coca-Cola, GSK, General Motors, Gillette, HP, Hitachi Metals, Nestle, New York Life, Receivable Management Services Corp, WNS Global Services, Xerox,Tata Consultancy Services etc. have made Gurgaon their corporate headquarters. The biggest car manufacturer in India, Maruti Udyog, and Hero Honda also have plants in Gurgaon. Honda's own two-wheeler plant is located 8 kilometers down Indian National Highway 8 from Gurgaon.

[edit] Quality of life

Thousands of professionals have recently made their home in Gurgaon, living in apartments in newly constructed colonies and condominiums with world-class facilities. Among the most high-profile residential addresses in Gurgaon are ITC Laburnum, Central Park, Essel Towers' Pearl Court, Orchid Petals, Silveroak Apartments, Malibu Town , Heritage and DLF Beverly Park. The mushrooming shopping malls of Gurgaon, like the MGF Metropolitan Mall, DLF City Centre and Sahara Mall, are also indicative of the recognition by retailers of the far-reaching aspirations, and deep pockets, of the residents of the city. By 2010, the state government also hopes to complete a world class Golden Triangle City Centre (GTCC) in Sector 29 with as many as four tallest buildings in the world. Some experts are worried about the project because Gurgaon lies in an earthquake prone area.[1] The fast growing population, with increasing purchasing power, has created a huge demand for housing, resulting in escalating property prices in recent years.

Quality of life in the privately managed residential estates in Gurgaon remains relatively good due to high standards of security, private parking, common area maintenance and sanitation being the norm. The city still faces problems with interruptions of electricity and water supply.

[edit] Transportation

Gurgaon's roads are its Achilles heel. While the road layout in the city is well-planned, there are constant complaints about their upkeep and quality of maintenance. Drives to improve the condition of non-arterial roads continue to be infrequent and roads tend to disintegrate almost as soon as they are 'repaired'.

Besides roads, the main problem of the city is the availability of public transport.

The Main Bus Depot of the city is the oldest and most used. It connects not just to the neighbouring Delhi but all neighbouring towns. The buses to Delhi are the most frequent and have a choice of routes between AIIMS (via Mehrauli) and Dhuala Kuan. It also connects to Rohtak (2h15"), Jammu (12h), Faridabad (45min") to name a few. The bus service has remarkably improved after the construction of Golden Quadrilateral — a four lane highway passing through the city.

Gurgaon has its railway station located at the extreme corner of the city. The rails connect to both Rewari on one side and Delhi Cantt on other. One of the two rails till February, 2006 were still old, but very active, narrow gauge. It has now been converted to the regular broad gauge. Daily commuters using the trains either come using two wheelers and buy a monthly parking ticket or use the shared auto rickshaws that do trips between the station and the main bus depot. Car parking space is extremely limited at the station.

Plans to extend the Delhi Metro to Gurgaon have now been formally approved by both Delhi and Haryana governments, both having reached a cost sharing arrangement. Hence, Delhi Metro to Gurgaon can now be expected by year 2010. There are a few local buses on limited routes, more in the nature of shared auto rickshaws, whch are overcrowded and cycle rickshaws charge extortionist rates. There is as of now no individual auto rickshaw facility in the town. In addition, scant regard is paid to commuter and pedestrian safety.

An eight lane toll expressway between Gurgaon and New Delhi, scheduled to become operational in Apr 2007 (delayed by 2 years) will provide non-stop connectivity to the International Airport and Dhaula Kuan in Delhi over a distance of 28 kilometers (18 miles), and includes 7 flyovers and 5 underpasses along the stretch.

Gurgaon is a city trying hard to shake off its small-town past and embrace modernity and a globalized economy. In the process of building a world-class city, it has become imperative to address the infrastructure issues that plague it. The sustainability of Gurgaon's growth depends on it.

Recently, it all came to a boil. A case came into spotlight where a gang of criminals in Gurgaon, all taxi drivers, murdered passengers and hitch-hikers for money. The criminals allegedly offered to drop a person home, strangled him in the vehicle, robbed them and dumped the body in a drain or a manhole.

The five criminals from the Bhora Kalan village have now surrendered to the police saying they had murdered and robbed people but their village has disowned them. The ease with which the gang operated on the highway, undetected for months despite discovery of bodies and missing person reports, has led to an upsurge of anger in Gurgaon at the Police.The criminals will likely face the death penalty.

[edit] Notable buildings in Gurgaon

Image:Gurgaon Panorama.JPG
Image:NESTLE.JPG

Below is a list of various 5-star hotels and shopping malls in Gurgaon:

[edit] Hotels

  • Park Plaza 5*
  • The Bristol 5*
  • Trident Hilton 5*
  • Lemon Tree 4*
  • Today's 7 Star (under-construction) 7* Deluxe
  • Vipul (under-construction) 5* Deluxe
  • Vatikas Westin (under-construction) 5* Deluxe
  • Fortune Select Global 5* Deluxe
  • The Heritage Village, Manesar 5* Deluxe
  • The Palms Town & Country Club , Gurgaon 3*

[edit] Shopping Mall

[edit] Major companies

[edit] Some prime residential properties under construction

  • Raheja Atlantis
  • Ansal's Valley View Estate
  • AWHO, Sujjan Vihar
  • Vipul Orchid Greens
  • Orchid Petals
  • OMAXE Nile
  • Park View 2
  • Orchid Belmonte
  • Parvsnath Greenville
  • Eldeco Mansionz
  • Central Park
  • Vatika City
  • Wembley Estate
  • Sahara Grace
  • Vasant Apartments, Old Delhi Road
  • See also: List of leading shopping streets and districts by city

[edit] Educational institutes

[edit] Business schools

[edit] District Administration

  • The Superintendent of Police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service, is responsible for maintaining Law & Order and related issues in the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Haryana Police Service and other Haryana Police officials.
  • 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 various Haryana state services.

[edit] External links


The National Capital Territory of Delhi Image:Flag of India.svg
New Delhi | Old Delhi | Delhi Cantonment
Satellite cities: Gurgaon | NOIDA | Faridabad | Ghaziabad


Image:Haryana.png State of Haryana
</b> Haryana Topics | History | Politics
Capital Chandigarh
Districts Ambala | Bhiwani | Faridabad | Fatehabad | Gurgaon | Hisar | Jhajjar | Jind | Kaithal | Karnal | Kurukshetra | Mahendragarh | Mewat | Panchkula | Panipat | Rewari | Rohtak | Sirsa | Sonipat | Yamuna Nagar
Tourist Places Agroha | Badkhal Lake | Kalka | Karna Lake | Kurukshetra | Morni Hills | Pinjore | Sultanpur Lake Bird Sanctuary | Surajkund | Tilyar Lake
Famous People Kalpana Chawla | Kapil Dev | Lala Lajpat Rai | Seth Chhaju Ram | Sir Chhotu Ram | Rao Tula Ram | Mallika Sherawat | Colonel Hoshiar Singh
Chief Ministers Om Prakash Chautala | Banarsi Das Gupta | Bhupinder Singh Hooda | Bansi Lal | Bhajan Lal | Devi Lal | Birender Singh | Hukam Singh
hi:गुङगांव जिला

ro:Gurgaon sv:Gurgaon

Retrieved from "http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/Gurgaon"
Personal tools