Mahatma Mandir

Mahatma Mandir

Mahatma Mandir

Convention centre during VGGIS 2011
Address Sector 13
Location Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Coordinates 23°13′50″N 72°38′3″E / 23.23056°N 72.63417°E / 23.23056; 72.63417Coordinates: 23°13′50″N 72°38′3″E / 23.23056°N 72.63417°E / 23.23056; 72.63417
Owner Government of Gujarat
Built May 1, 2011 - 2013
Inaugurated 2011
Construction cost
 Rs 215 crore
Meeting-room seating
 2500 (4 Seminar Halls)
Theatre seating
 5000
Enclosed space

Mahatma Mandir is a convention centre and a memorial located at sector 13, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. It is inspired from life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. It is one of the biggest convention centre of India spread over 34 acres (14 ha; 0.053 sq mi).[1]

It was developed by Government of Gujarat.[2] Business meets like Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit 2011, 2013 and 2015 were organised here.[3]

History

Government of Gujarat wanted to develop Mahatma Mandir as a place of unity and development. Sand was brought in urns by representatives of all 18,066 villages of Gujarat and emptied it in the foundation of the Mahatma Mandir.[1] A time capsule was buried under Mahatma Mandir containing history of state in 2010 at the ground breaking ceremony.[4]

It was built by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Shapoorji Pallonji And Company Limited in two phases. Its planning and design is environment friendly.[5]

Phase 1 of Mahatma Mandir was constructed in nine months starting from May 2010 to January 2011 at cost of Rs 135 crore. It includes a convention centre, three big exhibition halls and small halls having conferencing facility.[1][5][6]

Phase 2 includes construction of salt mound memorial, a garden, a suspension bridge, wind mills and development of parking space at cost of Rs 80 crore.[7]

Structures

Convention centre

A convention centre has column free air conditioned halls with capacity to accommodate over 15,000 people at a time. Its theatre style main hall have capacity of 5000 people. Exhibition halls are built over 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) area. It has four seminar halls (three having seating capacity of 500 and one with capacity of 1000), seven high tech conference halls and a meeting room.[6][8]

Memorial

A memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi was constructed by Shapoorji Pallonji And Company Limited. A suspension bridge is built in memory of the Dandi March. A concrete dome structure is constructed representing salt mound houses a museum, library and research center. A sculpture garden with stone murals depicting the life of Mahatma Gandhi is also developed. A grand spinning wheel, Charkha, is installed also.[6]

Central vista

The 162 metre wide and 3 km long road connecting Mahatma Mandir and Gujarat Legislative Assembly building was constructed. It has three lanes on both side with gardens between them. It is a broadest avenue in Gujarat.[9][10]

Controversies

356 families of slum dwellers were displaced by project resulted in controversy which later got new facility.[11]

Some Gandhians were protested against its construction by arguing that it did not befit philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Shah, Rajiv (April 9, 2010). "Modi wants 'kar seva' for Mahatma Mandir". The Times of India. TNN. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Gandhians protest against building of Mahatma Mandir". The Indian Express. Ahmedabad. May 25, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Vibrant Gujarat Summit starts today". Business Standard. Ahmedabad. January 11, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ "State's time capsule to be installed at Mahatma Mandir today". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. June 7, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Gujarat govt to develop Mahatma Mandir as iconic tourist spot". Daily News and Analysis. Ahmedabad. PTI. April 5, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "Gandhi memorial with water, sand from world over". The Times of India. PTI. April 25, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Rs 220 crore earmarked for Mahatama Mandir, Sachivalaya". The Times of India. March 26, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Mahatma Mandir". Government of Gujarat. indextb. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Govt buildings to be razed to make way for Central Vista". The Times of India. March 6, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Gujarat's Rajpath to come up in Gandhinagar". The Times of India. TNN. Nov 13, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Mahatma Mandir: Evicted slum dwellers to get help". The Times of India. TNN. December 10, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
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