Dhoraji () is a town situated on the banks of the River Safura, a tributary of the River Bhadar. It is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Rajkot district Rajkot district is one of the 33 districts of the Indian state of Gujarat. Located in Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra peninsula, Rajkot city is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is the third-most advanced and the fourth-most po ...

in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

History

Dhoraji was acquired by Kumbhaji II of Gondal State from

Junagadh State The State of Junagadh or Junagarh was a princely state located in Gujarat, It was ruled by the Muslim Babi dynasty since 1654 by first Nawab of Junagarh, Nawab of Junagadh even within the Maratha Confederacy and later British India. which, aft ...

about the middle of the eighteenth century. Bhagwatsinhji, the noble ruler of Gondal State, was born at Dhoraji Darbargadh. In the late 19th century, he introduced town planning principles to regularize and monitor the growth of the town and established a town planning department. The new neighbourhoods between the railway station and the old town are an example of

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

during the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. After the arrival of railway in the town, the new town was designed with axial planning, road circles, parks, public amenities, markets and broad avenues.

Attractions

Dhoraji Fort was completed in 1755 AD. The massive fort wall has several bastions, 4 main gates and 3 smaller gates, known as baris. The four main gates are Kathiawadi Darwaja in the East,

Porbandar Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It was the former capital of the Porbandar State, Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and Chhaya, ...

Gate in the West,

Halar Halar (Haalaar) is a historical region of western India, located by the Gulf of Kutch coast on the northwestern area of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, in Gujarat State, on Saurashtra peninsula, roughly corresponding to the present Jamnagar District ...

Gate in the North and

Junagadh Junagadh () is the city and headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. It i ...

Gate in the South. Next to the temples of Shri Panchnath Mahadev, Rushiwadi Bileshwar Mahadev and Shri Chetaniya Hanuman, the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir is also a popular spiritual centre in the old town. Murli Manohar Temple is older than 350 years, bearing various architectural styles like Gujarati ornamental, Rajasthani and Indo-mughal styles.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Dhoraji had a population of 80,807. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Dhoraji has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78% and, female literacy is 65%. In Dhoraji, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Environmental Issues

Major pollution is caused by Jetpur cotton industries.

Economy

The area's economy was long centered around sugar and tile production. Today, it relies on agriculture, specifically cotton, groundnuts, peanut, sugar cane, corn, vegetables, as well as edible oil production. However, Dhoraji is also developing into a hub for the

plastics industry The plastics industry manufactures polymer materials—commonly called plastics—and offers services in plastics important to a range of industries, including packaging, building and construction, electronics, aerospace, manufacturing and transpo ...

. Dhoraji also famous for its own food items (like garlic potatoes, bread pakoda, and besan gathiya, king ice gola, pau bhaji)

Transport

Air

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

and

are the nearest

airports An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such ...

. Keshod and

Jamnagar Jamnagar () is a city and the headquarters of Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch, some west of the state capital, Gandhinagar. The city was the capital of Nawanagar State, Na ...

are also nearby airports.

Road

Dhoraji is on National Highway 27. NH27 connects Dhoraji with Upleta,

, Gondal and Jetpur. National Highway 927D connects Dhoraji to

via Kalavad.

Railway

Dhoraji railway station lies on the Wansjaliya-Jetalsar railway line that connects with

, the nearest large city. Wansjaliya railway junction is west of Dhoraji and connects with

. Dhoraji railway station and Jetalsar railway junction are east of Dhoraji and connect with

References

{{Rajkot district Cities and towns in Rajkot district