Surat

Surat, is a port city previously known as Suryapur. It is the economical capital and former princely state in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the eighth largest city and ninth largest urban agglomeration in India. Surat is the 3rd "cleanest city of India", and 4th fastest growing city of the world. Surat is famous for its food.

It is the administrative capital of the Surat district. The city is located 284 kilometres (176 mi) south of the state capital, Gandhinagar; 265 kilometres (165 mi) south of Ahmedabad; and 289 kilometres (180 mi) north of Mumbai. The city centre is located 22 km (14 mi) south of the Tapti River. A moat divides the older parts of the city, with their narrow streets and historical houses, from the newer suburbs.

Surat had a population of 4.5 million at the 2011 census, making it the second largest city in the state of Gujarat, after Ahmedabad. It is the eighth largest city and ninth largest urban agglomeration of India. Surat is the 34th-largest city by area and 4th-fastest developing cities in a study conducted by the City Mayors Foundation, an international think tank on urban affairs. The city registered an annualised GDP growth rate of 11.5 per cent over the seven fiscal years between 2001 and 2008. Surat was awarded "best city" by the Annual Survey of India's City-Systems (ASICS) in 2013. Surat is selected as the first smart IT city in India which is being constituted by the Microsoft CityNext Initiative tied up with IT services majors Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro. The city has 2.97 million internet users which is about 65% of total population. Surat has been selected as one of twenty Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission.

History

Surat is mentioned in Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata, when Lord Krishna stopped there on his way from Mathura to Dwarka. The Parsis began to settle there in the 8th century.

Local Hindu traditions state that the city was founded in the last years of the fifteenth century A.C.E. by a Brahman named Gopi, who called it Suryapūr (City of the Sun).

In 1512 and again in 1530 Surat was ravaged by the Portuguese Empire. In 1513, the Portuguese traveller Duarte Barbosa described Surat as an important seaport, frequented by many ships from Malabar and various parts of the world. By 1520, the name of the city was Surat.

When the harbour in Cambay (Khambhat) began to silt up toward the end of fifteenth century, Surat eclipsed Cambay as the major port of western India. At the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese were undisputed masters of the Surat sea trade. On the banks of the Tapti River, there is still a picturesque fortress that was built in 1540.

In 1608, ships from the English East India Company started docking in Surat, using it as a trade and transit point. In 1615, following the Battle of Swally, Captain Thomas Best, followed by Captain Nicholas Downton, overcame Portuguese naval supremacy and obtained an imperial firman establishing an English factory at Surat. The city was made the seat of a presidency of the East India Company after the success of the embassy God of Wealth. "Port cities like Surat were dominated by Indian merchant princes, who were held in high esteem in international trading circles. The most prominent Surat merchant in the mid-seventeenth century was Virji Vora, who was reputed to be the richest merchant in the world in his time, and could deploy as much as eight million rupees in trade."

The prosperity of Surat received a blow when Bombay was ceded to the English as part of the dowry for Catherine of Braganza's wedding to Charles II in 1662. Shortly afterwards, in 1668, the East India Company established a factory in Bombay (Mumbai) and Surat began its decline.

In the 1680s the future prominent architect and dramatist John Vanbrugh, then a young man, was for several years employed by the East India Company at their trading post in Surat - where his uncle, Edward Pearce, was the Governor.

By 1687, the English East India Company moved the presidency to Bombay. At its height, Surat's population reached 800,000, but by the middle of the 19th century the number had fallen to 80,000. The British re-took control of Surat in 1759 and assumed all government powers of the city in 1800

In 1730, Baghdadi Jew Joseph Semah arrived in Surat from Baghdad (Iraq) and founded the Surat synagogue and cemetery. The synagogue is now demolished but the cemetery can still be found on the Katargam-Amroli main road.

On 14 June 1733, a Mughal governor of Surat with the style Kiladar establishes it as a princely state, which his dynasty ruled with the style of nawwab. On 4 March 1759 it became a British protectorate. Independence from the Mughal empire was declared on 27 February 1763. On 8 August 1842 it was annexed to British India.

A fire and a flood in 1837 destroyed many of the buildings of Surat. Among the interesting monuments that survived the destruction are the tombs of English and Dutch merchants and their families, dating to the 17th century, including those of the Oxenden brothers.

By the early 20th century, the city's population had climbed to 119,000, and Surat was again a centre of trade and manufacturing although some of its former industries, such as shipbuilding, no longer existed. There were cotton mills, factories for ginning and pressing cotton, rice-cleaning mills, and paper mills. Fine cotton goods were woven on hand looms, and there were manufactures of silk brocade and gold embroidery (known as Jari). The chief trades were organised in guilds.

In 1994, a combination of heavy rains and blocked drains led to flooding in the city. Dead street animals and public waste were not removed in time and a plague epidemic spread through the city, which caused a number of countries to impose travel restrictions on people travelling from India, especially those heading to the Persian Gulf. The municipal commissioner during that time, S. R. Rao, and the people of Surat worked hard in the late 1990s to clean up the city and now Surat is third cleanest city of India.

Geography

Surat is a port city situated on the banks of the Tapi river. Damming of the Tapi caused the original port facilities to close; the nearest port is now in the Magadalla and Hazira area of Surat Metropolitan Region. The city is located at 21°10′N 72°50′E / 21.17°N 72.83°E / 21.17; 72.83. It has an average elevation of 13 meters. The Surat district is surrounded by the Bharuch, Narmada, Navsari, to the west is the Gulf of Cambay and the surrounding districts. The climate is tropical and monsoon rainfall is abundant (about 2,500 mm a year). According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls under seismic zone-III, in a scale of I to V (in order of increasing vulnerability to earthquakes)

Surat has grown in area since the early 1700s. The oldest part of the city developed in the area between the train station and the area known as Athwalines. Since the 1970s most of the new development, including the most desirable location for the city's burgeoning middle and upper class, is the area between Athwalines and the coast at Dumas.

Finance and economy

Surat ranked 8th in India with a GDP of $40 billion in fiscal year 2011–2012 ($14 billion in 2010). Surat GDP in 2020 will be around $57 billion estimated by The City Mayors Foundation, an international think tank on urban affairs The per capita GDP was $8,000 in 2010. Surat is known for diamonds, textiles, and for diamond-studded gold jewellery manufacturing. Surat registered a GDP growth of 11.5% for the seven fiscal years 2001–2008, the fastest growing GDP in India. The city accounts for:

• 90% of the world's total rough diamond cutting and polishing;
• 99.99% of the nation's total rough diamond cutting and polishing;
• 90% of the nation's total diamond exports;
• 40% of the nation's total man made fabric production;
• 28% of the nation's total man made fibre production;
• 18% of the nation's total man made fibre export; and
• 12% of the nation's total fabric production.

Diamond polishing

Surat is a major hub of diamond cutting and polishing. Gujarati diamond cutters, emigrating from East Africa, established the industry in 1901 and, by the 1970s, Surat-based diamond cutters began exporting stones to the US for the first time. Surat is known as diamond heart of the world.

Textiles

Since it is known for producing textiles, including silk, Surat is known as the textile hub of the nation or the Silk City of India. It is very famous for its cotton mills and Surat Zari Craft. Surat is the biggest centre of MMF (man-made fibre) in India. It has a total of 381 dyeing and printing mills and 41,100 powerloom units. There are over a hundred thousand units and mills in total. The overall annual turnover is around 5 billion rupees. There are over 800 cloth wholesalers in Surat. It is the largest manufacturer of clothes in India, and Surti dress material can be found in any state of India. Surat produces 9 million metres of fabric annually, which accounts for 60% of the total polyester cloth production in India. Now the city is focusing on increasing the exports of its textile.

Corporate industries

Along with Textile and Diamond, there are other sectors in city like Petroleum, Oil & Gas, Shipping, Cement, Metallurgy, Paper, Chemical, Fertiliser etc. Hazira INA, Magadalla, Ichchhapore, Olpad near Surat city are having giant industries like ONGC, GAIL, ABG Shipyard, Narmada Cement, Ambuja Cement, Ultratech Cement, NTPC-KGPP Power Plant, ESSAR group of Industries(Steel/Power/Chemical/Oil/Shipping), L&T, Reliance Industries

Information technology

There are many SME Domestic IT Companies present in Surat. MNC IT companies like IBM, TCS, HCL, Wipro have satellite or virtual branches in Surat. On 14 February 2014 Govt of Gujarat DST had handover STPI Surat at Bhestan-Jiav Road, Bhestan Near Udhana-Sachin BRTS Route.

Surat city administration will demand for setting up of an Information Technology (IT) hub and an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) on the outskirts of the city.

Microsoft CityNext initiative has tied up with IT services majors Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro to leverage technology for sustainable growth of cities in India. The first smart IT city in India is being constituted by the Microsoft CityNext Initiative in Surat, Gujarat. In 2011 Surat hosted India's first Microsoft DreamSpark Yatra (a tech event) with speakers from Microsoft Headquarters at Redmond, USA The event was organised by Ex-Microsoft Student Partner Samarth Zankharia.

In May, 2015 Tech giant IBM has chosen Surat among 16 global locations for its smart cities programme to help them address challenges like waste management, disaster management and citizen services. Under the programme, IBM will send a team of experts to each of the chosen cities where they will spend three weeks working closely with city staff analysing data about critical issues faced by its local bodies.

Diamond Research And Mercantile City (DREAM)

The government of Gujarat plans another project near Surat similar to Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT). The Chief Minister has suggested that the government wishes to develop DREAM to have a five-seven star hotel, bank, IT, corporate trading house, entertainment zone and other facilities while the Surat Diamond Bourse (SBD) will be based there. Allotment of Khajod land for the project is convenient for the state government because they have 2,000 acres (810 ha) of available land. The Trade Centre, located near Sarsana village, will have a 100,160-square-metre (1,078,100 sq ft) pillar-less air-conditioned hall with a 90-by-35-metre (295 by 115 ft) pillar-less dome.

Municipal institutions

The Surat Municipal Corporation is responsible for the maintaining city's civic infrastructure as well as carrying out associated administrative duties. At present, BJP is the ruling party with a majority.

The Surat Municipal Corporation, under the Provisions of Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, Section – 4, the powers have been vested in three Distinct Statutory Authorities: the General Board, the Standing Committee, and the Municipal Commissioner.

The Surat Municipal Corporation ranked 7th out of 21 Cities for best administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 3.5 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3. It is the only city in India to disclose municipal budgets on a weekly basis.

Surat Urban Development Authority(SUDA) is also one governing body led by SMC Commissioner as a Chairman of SUDA. SUDA basically deals with outskirts area or neighbour towns/villages around Surat.

General Board: The General Board is the supreme body of the Corporation constituted by elected members from each wards. Three members are elected from each ward, hence, the 38 wards are represented by a total of 114 councillors. One third of the seats are reserved for women. The term is for a five-year duration after which elections are held once again.

Standing Committee: The Standing Committee is one of the twelve statutory committees and is one of the most powerful committees. It has the power to sanction and award major works of cost over Rs. Five lacs. It is also vested with financial powers.

Public safety

Surat began the 'Safe City Project' in 2011 aimed at keeping the city safe using surveillance cameras. The project was headed by Mr. Sanjay Srivastava (IPS) who was the Joint-Commissioner of Surat Police at that time. The 280-square-foot video wall, claimed to be the largest surveillance screen in the country, is being installed at the control room of Police Commissioner Mr. Rakesh Asthana (IPS). This will help the police view the entire city live through 10,000 CCTV cameras across the city. Surat police have decided to install 5,000 CCTV cameras at sensitive points across the city. While 1,000 cameras will be night vision cameras, 4,000 others will be simple CCTV cameras. This has been installed on PPP base with the help of city's businessmen, city's social persons, Surat Municipal Corporation & Surat City Police.

Transport

Air

Surat Airport has direct air connectivity with Delhi and Mumbai. Airlines companies such as Air India operate daily 2 flights per day from Surat to Delhi and one flight from Surat to Mumbai. Ventura air operates daily flight from Surat to Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Bhuj Ahmedabad, Amreli.

Rail

Surat railway station is under the administrative control of the Mumbai Division, Western Railway zone of the Indian Railways. The erection of Surat Railway Station began in 1860. It was selected as the Cleanest Railway station by the Indian Railways in 2016. and it is also selected for smart railway stations for India. Important trains those Origin/Terminate here :

• Flying Ranee
• Bandra Terminus–Surat Intercity Express
• 12945/Surat - Mahuva SF Express
• Puri-Surat Express

Water

Surat has a port near Magdalla with good facilities for industrial purposes.

Transport

Owing to heavy traffic congestion on major highways passing through Surat city, the BRTS (Bus rapid transit in Surat) system work has been completed in most of the area. Surat Municipal Corporation tries to improve road infrastructure of the city. The major highways passing through Surat are the Udhana-Mumbai Highway also known as Udhana-Navsari Highway, Surat-Ahmedabad Highway also known as Varachha Main Road. Due to rapid urbanisation and to reduce fatal accidents Surat Municipal Corporation and Surat Urban Development Authority has planned to develop an Outer Ring Road and Middle Ring Road which are under construction to decongest the traffic from the major highways passing through the city.

The city has seen the completion of road projects, particularly elevated roads. One of the very few multi-layer flyovers in India is now in Surat over Majura Gate. The Eastern expressway also known as Varachha Flyway is one of India's longest flyovers under city municipal limits in the four lane category. Surat Municipal Corporation has decided to construct one of the biggest structures in the state at a cost Rs 1.90 billion. A multi-level flyover bridge over Tapi river, it would connect Rander-Adajan to Katargam, which lies on the other side of the river.In addition to flyovers Surat is also getting its first cable stayed bridge connecting Adajan to Parle point near Athwalines.

The Golden Quadrilateral highway system passes through Surat. The city is connected to the National Highway 8 through a 16 km connector highway.

Local transport

Surat City Bus – In August 2008, the CNG-fuelled bus service was opened by the city Mayor Dr. Kanubhai Mavani. Frequency of buses is sparse, making shared auto rickshaws a main mode of local travel.

BRTS – Bus Rapid Transit System has been completed in most areas of surat city and the work in some areas is still in progress . The first route for BRTS was started from 26 January 2014 on Udhana-Sachin route with AC buses.

Metro train – The twin cities of Surat and Navsari will be connected by metro railway under this project. Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) is confident of making the metro rail project a reality in the city by 2017–18.In August 2012, plans for an intracity metro train service were approved by Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The plan includes the construction of underground and overground metro trains and monorails.

• Udhna Magdalla Road

• Aerial view of Surat's Hazira area

Culture, food and festivals

Food

Surat is known for its relaxed lifestyle and its cuisine. An old saying in Gujarati, "Surat nu Jaman ane Kashi nu Maran", means "Eat in Surat and Die in Kashi" to have the best for one's soul. Popular dishes include Locho (a favourties of the local, steamed snack made of gram flour and lenties, steamed to be eaten immediately. Locho is only available in Surat.)

Other are perennial favourites such as "ghari" (a type of sweet), petis, undhiyu, rasaawala khaman, Surati Khaman (spicy), Sarasiya Khaja, Sosyo (soda) and surati Chinese. Unlike cuisines in other parts of Gujarat, Surti cuisine is quite spicy. Roadside kiosks, called "laaris" or "rekdis", are quite popular in Surat. Ponk is a roasted cereal that is available only in this part of the world [clarification needed]

• Khaman

• Surat has its own pani poori variety

• Surti Locho

Festivals

The major Hindu festivals are celebrated in Surat. Navratri, Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi are celebrated with great enthusiasm. The kite-flying festival of Uttarayan, which falls on Makar Sankranti – 14 or 15 January, or 'Vaasi Uttarayan', celebrated with great enthusiasm by flying kites and shouting 'Kai Po Che' (I have cut) – is very popular in the city. It is also well known for the celebration of Chandi Padvo which usually occurs in October and is a holiday unique to Surat. This day[clarification needed] comes after one of the two biggest full moon days of the Hindu calendar year, Sharad Purnima[clarification needed] , when residents of Surat have 'Ghari' and 'Bhusu' (Surti snacks)[clarification needed] .

Points of interest

Jagdishchandra Bose Aquarium or Surat Aquarium at Pal, Adajan at Jagdishchandra Bose Udyan is also one of the good Aquairum in India and place to visit in Surat.

Blues Adventures - a recreational and adventure project aimed to offer water-sports Activities, Amusement Park and Restaurants. It is located at the basin of River Tapti (Tapi) on the Singanpore side of Weir-cum-Causeway in the city of Surat, India. It was inaugurated in January 2013 by the Hon. ex.Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Narendra Modi.

Science Centre – Developed by the Surat Municipal Corporation in City Light area, Science Centre currently comprises a dedicated section for science exhibits, planetarium, art gallery and a museum dedicated to the history of Surat. It also has an auditorium with a seating capacity of 240 and an amphitheatre with seating capacity of 200.

The Sardar Patel Museum – Established in 1998, and originally called the Winchester Museum, this museum has a collection of over 10,000 specimens of arts and crafts, now in the new Science Centre campus on Citylight road.

Kavi Narmad Central Library - Kavi Narmad Central Library is a public library in Surat built by the Surat Municipal Corporation in 1991 at Ghod Dod Road.The library is the largest in the city with 2,26,391 books and a membership of 46,855.

Gopi Talav- project of Surat Municipal Corporation. It will be great place for hangout. It will be site of interest for archaeologist.

Clock Tower This is a historical landmark of the city, the Clock Tower was erected in 1871 at the expenditure of Rs.14,000 by Khan Bahadur Burjorjee Hormusjee Fraser.

Surat Castle also knwon as the Old Fort of Surat or Surat Fort.This historical castle which was planned and built between 1540 and 1546 by Khudawand Khan, is one of the chief ancient monuments of Surat. It will be site of interest for archaeologist.

Heritage Square is a Heritage Square park located at Chowk Bazar area in Surat.

Mughal Sarai is one of the ancient monuments of Surat city and was built originally as a 'Sarai' or Musafarkhana (travellers' inn). It was built during the period of Mugal Emperor Shah Jahan in the year 1644 A.D. and was popularly known as 'Mugal Sarai'. During 18th century the same building was used as jail, curruntly use as Headquarters of Surat Municipal Corporation

Tomb of Khudawand Khan is located at Variyavi Bazar,Muglisara, it is historical place.

The Dutch Cemetery – Located near Kataragam Gate, this impressive mausoleum is that of Baron Hendrik Adriaan Van Rheede tot Drakenstein, who died in 1691. A massive dome, beautiful pillars and the huge gallery make it an outstanding monument.

Chintamani Jain Temple – The exquisite wooden carvings and paintings are the major attractions of the temple. The temple, actively maintained and visited by the city's Jains, is situated in the Shahpor area and dates back to the 15th century. It houses some extremely rare paintings of the Jain monk Acharya Hemachandra, and of the Solanki King Kumarpal.

Navinchandra Mafatlal Garden in Bhestan near BRTS Udhana Road is having largest Ground Clock in Garden in India.

Tapi Riverfront at Adajan is good place on Bank of River Tapi.

Shaniwari Bazaar a very old market at Chwok Bazar

Sneh Rashmi Botanical Garden situated near Ugat is having huge wealth of Nature and Tress. One of the beautiful park in City.

Sarthana Nature Park or Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukharjee Surat Municipal Zoo in Sarthana is one of the biggest Nature Park & Zoo in State.

Dutch Garden – The ancient Dutch gardens, the Dutch cemetery and Makaipul, the ancient original port from where the ships sailed to other parts of the world are other attractions.

Jawaharlal Nehru Garden – Colloquially known as Chowpaty, this is the largest and one of the oldest gardens in the city. It houses a musical fountain as well.

Dumas Beach is a beach located along the Arabian Sea around 21 km South west of the City centre.

Suvali Beach is 25 km from the city. Suvali has two wells with water rich in iron and sulphur. Suvali beach is fringed by feathery casurina trees.

Umbharat Beach Ubhrat is 42 km out from the city.

Gavier Lake - A wetland conserved by Nature Club Surat is located near airport. It attracts various migratory birds. It is place worth visiting for the nature lovers visiting Surat.

U Turn Surat is road show that happens every Sunday which has DJ,Yoga,Street Games,etc.

Ambika Niketan Temple in Athwalines area,Surat.

Ambaji-Balaji Temple in old city area

Sai Baba Temple' at Gaviyar/Saroli/Chautabazar/Shahpore

Bada Ganesh Temple at Katargam

Kantareshwar Temple at Katargam

Khsetrapal Temple at Sagrampura

Lakshmi Narayan Temple at BRC on Udhana Road

Radhakrishna Temple at Athwalines

Swaminarayan Temple at Adajan & Udhana Road, etc. are place of pilgrim interest for Hindus.

Hazrat Khwaja Dana Dargah is one of the most biggest devotee place in Surat for Muslims.

Al Jamea tus Saifiyah Arabic University and whole Zampa Bazar, Rander Mosque are place to visit for Muslims.

Beside that many good Parsi Fire Temples"Agyari", Churches, "Gurudwara", temples are in city.