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Meri Dilli Meri Shan (My pride, Delhi)...... 
General Information Delhi is the third largest city in India, surpassed in population only by Calcutta and Bombay. New Delhi lies immediately to the the south of what is considered old Delhi (often referred as just "Delhi"). The present day area of New and Old Delhi is located on the west bank of the Yamuna River, a tributary of the Ganges, and is landlocked by Haryana to the North, South, and West and Uttar Pradash to the East. History is alive and throbbing in Delhi, the capital of India. It is often said that the history of India is the history of Delhi. New Delhi, the capital of India, has always occupied a strategic position in the country's history, as Hindu and Islamic dynasties have ruled from here, leaving their imprint in the form of relics, which recapture those bygone times. Delhi, is today, one of the fastest growing cities of India. Here, remnants of the past survive cheek - by - jowl with skyscrapers, residential colonies and bustling commercial complexes. Delhi's history dates back to the first millenium B.C., when it was known as Indraprastha. The Tomar Rajputs built Lal Kot, the core of the first of Delhi's seven cities. It was annexed by Prithviraj Chauhan, who extended it, to create the Qila Rai Pithora. Qutub-ud-Din-Aibak made Delhi his capital in 1206, and built Quwwat ul Islam Mosque, which is a fine example of Indo-Islamic architecture. He also built the towering minaret, the Qutab Minar, one of Delhi's great landmarks. The earliest recorded mention of a settlement at Delhi is found in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, which mentions a city called Indraprastha. Indraprastha was built in 1400 B.C. under the direction of Yudhisthira, a Pandava king, on a huge mound somewhere between the sites where the historic Old Fort (Purana Qilah) and Humayun's Tomb were later to be located. The first reference to the name Delhi seems to have been made in the 1st century BC when Raja Dhilu built the first city of Delhi near the site of the future Qutab Minar. Delhi went through many ups and downs and did not reemerge into prominence until the 12th century A.D., when it was made the capital of the ruler Prthviraja III. After his defeat later that century, the city passed into Muslim hands. Qutb-ud-Din Aybak, builder of the famous tower Qutab Minar (completed in the early 13th century), also chose Delhi as his capital. The second city of Delhi was built by Ala-ud-Din Khalji at Siri, three miles northeast of the Qutab Minar (near what is today Hauz Khaus and the Asian Games Village). The third city of Delhi was built by Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluq (1320-25) at Tughlakabad but had to be abandoned in favor of the old site near Qutab Minar because of a scarcity of water. The ruins of Tughlakabad are located on the present-day Delhi-Haryana border towards Faridabad. His successor, Muhammad ibn Tughluq, extended the city farther northeast and built new forticications around it. It then became the fourth city of Delhi, under the name Jahanpanah. The new settlements were located between the old cities near the Qutab Minar and Siri Fort. Muhammad ibn Tughluq's successor, Firuz Shah Tughluq, abandoned this site altogether and in 1354 moved his capital farther north near the ancient site of Indraprastha. Thus, the fifth city of Delhi, Firuzabad, was founded on what is now the Firoz Shah Kotla area. Delhi was invaded and partially destroyed by Timur at the end of the 14th century, and the last of the sultan kings moved the capital to Agra. Babur, the first Mughal ruler, reestablished Delhi as the seat of his empire in 1526. His son and successor, Humayun, built a new city on the site of the previously demolished Firuzabad and called in Din Panah. Sher Shah, who overthrew Humayun in 1540, razed Din Panah and built his capital, the Sher Shahi (the Old Fort or Purana Qilah), as the sixth city of Delhi. Delhi once again lost importance when the Mughal emperors Akbar (1556-1605) and Jahangir (1605-1627) moved their headquarters to Fatehpur Sikri (near Agra) and Agra, respectively. The city was restored to its glory in 1638 when the son of Jahangir, Shah Jahan, laid the foundations of the seventh city of Delhi, Shahjahanabad. What was Shahjahanabad has come to be known as Old Delhi. The greater part of the city is still confined within the space of Shah Jahan's walls and several gates built during his rule -- the Kashmiri Gate, the Delhi Gate, the Turkman Gate, and the Ajmeri Gate -- still stand. Delhi came under British rule after 1857, and in 1911 they decided to make it their capital. The area south of Shahjahanabad, was chosen as the site for the imperial capital, and was built on a regal scale by January 1931. Lutyens and Baker designed much of the architecture along the stretch between India Gate at one end, and Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's residence) at the other; with the adjoining administrative buildings of North and South Block, Parliament House and Connaught Place nearby. Delhi was made a Union Territory on November 1, 1956. With the 69th Constitutional amendment, Delhi got a Legislative Assembly when the National Capital Territory Act was enacted in 1991. The metropolitan area of Delhi consists of two cities: Delhi (or Old Delhi) which was the capital of Muslim India between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries; and New Delhi, located immediately to the south, the capital city of India since 1911. The sprawling city is situated in the territory of Delhi in the north of India (Latitude 28'35'N, Longitude 77'12'E) 160 km south of the Himalayas at an elevation of 216 m above mean sea level. The River Yamuna, a tributary of the Ganges forms the eastern boundary of the city ( Figure 1 ). Delhi is situated between the Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert) of Rajasthan to the west, the central hot plains to the south, and the cooler, hilly region to the north and east. UN estimates indicate that Delhi's population has more than doubled between 1970 (3.53 million) and 1990 (8.62 million) and is projected to increase to 12.77 million by the year 2000 (UN, 1989). In 1981 the city covered an area of 591.9 km2 with a population density of 9,647 persons per km2. Overcrowding is not as great a problem as in Calcutta or Bombay but the encroachment of the city into rural areas is of great concern. Rural-urban and inter-urban migration are the main reasons for Delhi's population growth. Employment opportunities in government offices, business and commerce and, more recently, industry all influence population growth. In the past there seems to have been a lack of co-ordination in discouraging employment opportunities in Delhi. For example, there has been no major decentralisation of government. Population ('000s in 1991) 9,421
Area ('000 sq. km) 1.485
Females per 1000 males (1991) 827
Literacy rate (1991) 75.3
Ratio of urban population (1991) 89.9
Net Domestic Product 112,010
(Rs. million at current prices in 1992-93)
Per Capita Income 11,650
(Rs. at current prices)
Principal Languages Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi
The region has a tropical steppe climate. The general prevalence of Continental air leads to relatively dry conditions with extremely hot summers. Monthly mean temperatures range from 14.3'C in January (minimum 3'C) to 34.5'C in June (maximum 47'C). The annual mean temperature is 25.3'C (WMO, 1971). The main seasonal climatic influence is the monsoon, typically from June to October. The mean annual rainfall total is 71.5 mm. Maximum rainfall occurs in July (211. mm). The heavy rains of the monsoon act as a "scrubber". North-westerly winds usually prevail; however, in June and July south-easterly predominate. Wind speeds are typically higher in the summer and monsoon periods; in winter, calms are frequent (20 per cent of the time). A regular pre-monsoon feature is the Andhi(dust storm) where westerly winds from the Great Indian Desert deposit large concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) into Delhi's atmosphere. Alliteratively, pre-monsoon calms often lead to increased pollution loads due to lack of mixing/dilution. Ground-based temperature inversions are a regular feature. These restrict mixing height to low levels thus limiting pollutant dispersal. As lndia's capital city Delhi has become a nucleus of trade, commerce and industry in the northern region. Government office complexes are a major source of employment and the city is also home to important medical, agricultural and educational institutions. Delhi is often categorised as a "service town"; however, industry is rapidly expanding. There was a 57 per cent increase in industrial units from 26,000 in 1971 to 41,000 in 1981, despite the introduction of planning restrictions on large industry. Engineering, clothing and chemicals predominate, although electronics and electrical goods are gaining in importance. Most industries are located in the west south and Southeast of the city. North-westerly winds often drag pollution from western industrial areas across the city. It has been recommended that all future industrial development is limited to the south-east to avoid such problems (Murty and Tangirala, 1990) and the Okhla industrial estate has recently been built in this area. Increasing industrial productivity combined with rapid urbanisation mean that there is a greater demand for energy in Delhi than can be supplied; therefore, industry cannot generate at full capacity. Delhi has two major thermal power plants (Baderpur and Indraprastha). Trade, banking and commerce are also assuming increasing importance, although not on the scale of Bombay. This change from 'service town' commercial centre will continue to have an important influence over land-use changes and population. Delhi has long been the goods distribution centre of India because of its position at the communications/transport hub of the subcontinent. Modal split studies reveal that in the 1980s the bus was the dominant form of Transport in Delhi (Faiz et al., 1990). Motor vehicle registrations between 1971-81 rose by 142 per cent compared with a population growth rate of 57 per cent over the same period. It is estimated that in 1989 there were currently 1.66 million vehicles registered in Delhi (10 per cent of the national total) and between 170,000 new ones are registered each year (500 per day). It is also estimated that 70,000 vehicles enter Delhi from neighbouring states every day. Figure 2 shows that scooters and motor cycles are the most common form of motorised vehicle; in 1981 they accounted for 11 per cent of all trips and were the third most used mode of Transport after buses and bicycles. It is estimated that in 1989-90 two-wheelers represented 76 per cent (1,115,000) of motor vehicles in Delhi and were responsible for a large proportion of motor vehicle emissions. With an annual growth rate of 13 per cent the number of two-wheelers is projected to rise to approximately 300,000 by 2000-2001 (85 per cent of total motor vehicles). Cars and jeeps will more than double in numbers over the same period from an estimated 207,405 in 1989-90 to approximately 535,000 in 2000-2001. The city road system consists of old, convoluted roads in the old city and of modern, diagonal roads in New Delhi. The traffic problem is also compounded by poor traffic planning and a disregard for regulations. Low driving speeds, poor engine maintenance and the great age of the motor vehicle fleet result in high pollutant emissions. Mass Transport facilities are inadequate although the establishment of a ring railway and ring bus service have helped to mitigate part of the overall problem. |
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