Surat

Surat was sacked again by Shivaji in 1670 when it was under Mughal Empire. By 1687, the English East India Company had moved the presidency to Bombay. At its height, Surat’s population reached an estimated 800,000, but by the middle of the 19th century the number had fallen to 80,000. The British took control of Surat again in 1759, and assumed all government powers of the city in 1800.

Surat was the primary port of India during the Mughal period, a distinction it lost to Bombay during the late 17th century as the East India Company grew.

The 280 square feet 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 100 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.

The 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.

The city and the surrounding district remained comparatively tranquil during British rule. Even during the Revolt of 1857 (also known as the first struggle for India’s independence), peace was not disturbed, owing to the largely mercantile interests of the local population. In the 19th century the Bawamia family was the wealthiest and most powerful family in the city of Surat, they were also heavily involved in the development of the city by focusing on maximising exports to increase revenue and hence increase savings which led to investment in the diamond industry.

The city has two medical colleges – “Government Medical College and New Civil Hospital” and “SMIMER”, both awarding the degrees of MBBS and MD, MS. The city also holds one Ayurvedic college namely “Shri O.H.Nazar Ayurvedic College and Hospital”, awarding BAMS degree, affiliated to Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. C. D. Pachchigar Homoeopathic (Homeopathic) Medical College and The Sarvajanik College of Physiotherapy at Rampura offer courses in Homoeopathy and Physiotherapy respectively.

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.

The Golden Quadrilateral highway system passes through Surat. The city is connected to the National Highway 8 through a 16 km connector highway. National highway 6, also known as Surat – Kolkata Highway, starts from Hazira and passes through Surat city and connects the city to Dhule, Amravati, Nagpur, Raipur, Sambalpur, Kharagpur and Calcutta. The National Highway 228, also known as Dandi Heritage highway, starts from Sabarmati in Ahmedabad and passes through Anand, Kheda, Ankleshwar and passes through Surat city to Navsari and ends up in Dandi. Many important State Highways are passing by Surat.

The IDI-Indian Diamond Institute established in 1978 is the most coveted institute in the field of diamonds, gems and jewellery in India is a state-of-art school of learning, everything within the campus, under one roof. The IDI is ISO 9001:2008 certified for Design Development and provision of Training, Consultancy and Certification services related to diamonds, colored stones and jewellery.

The prosperity of Surat received a fatal blow when Surat 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 relative decline concurrent with the rise of British interests in Bombay.

The Sardar Patel Museum – Established in 1898, 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 Center campus on Citylight road.

The Surat Fort – The Old Fort was built by Britishers in the 1616 to fortify the defence against the Bhils. It is now used for municipal offices.

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 majority. Surat Municipal Corporation is considered to be one of the wealthiest municipal corporations in India.

There are a few other engineering colleges in Surat, namely Dr. S. & S. S. Ghandhy Government Engineering College, Surat (GEC)- Dr. S. & S. S. Ghandhy College of Engineering & Technology Campus(Estd. 1955-Diploma wing), Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology (SCET), C K Pithawala College of Engineering and Technology (CKPCET), Bhagwan Mahavir College of Engineering and Technology. These colleges teaching Diploma, Degree, PG courses in various fields of Engineering.

Thirty-nine kilometres south of Surat, Navsari- The Twin city of Surat has been a headquarters for the Parsi community since the earliest days of their settlement in India. Udvada, only 10 km north of Vapi, the station for Daman, has the oldest Parsi sacred fire in India. It is said that the fire was brought from Persia to Diu, on the opposite coast of the Gulf of Cambay, in AD 700. Sanjan, in the extreme south of the state, is the small port where the Parsis first landed; a pillar marks the spot.

Under the 10+2+3 format, students attend primary and secondary schooling during the first ten years and then may complete two years of higher secondary education, followed by three years at college for commerce, arts or science degrees. Generally, engineering degree courses take four years, while medicine takes about five and half years or more. Most colleges in the city are affiliated with the Veer Narmad South Gujarat University. SVNIT is Deemed University, Auro University has also started to provide education in Surat. Uka Tarsadia University is providing Engineering, Pharmacy, Education, Medical in neighbor town Bardoli.

Vansda National Park – It is situated in the Navsari district and is home to leopards, tigers, panthers, pythons and wild boars. The best time to visit is between July and January. Beaches – There are a number of beaches near Surat. Only 16 km away, Dumas Beach is a popular resort with locals. Suvali is 28 km from the city and Ubhrat is 42 km out, while Tithal is 108 km away and only five km from Valsad on the Mumbai to Vadodara railway line. Suvali has two wells with water rich in iron and sulphur. Suvali beach is fringed by feathery casurina trees. Ring Road, Surat

Very often heavy monsoon rain brings floods in the Tapi basin area. In last two decades, the city has witnessed major floods every four years, the worst being the flood of August 2006, perhaps the costliest in the city’s history. In the second week of August 2006, a massive flood caused severe damage to the city of Surat. According to a report released by Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad (IIM-A), massive flood after release of water from Ukai Dam had caused major human tragedy and property damage estimated at Rs 220 billion on that day. In less than three days, at least 150 people died directly due to flood and many other due to water-borne diseases that followed. More than 1500 animal carcasses were later hauled out of the mud.

Wilson Hills, Gujarat is a hill station in the Sahyadri ranges of Valsad district near Dharampur at an altitude of 850 meters (2700 feet) above sea level. The nearest hill station of Surat. It enjoys a cool and a serene climate throughout the year. It is only 120 km from Surat.