Mundra

For the Romanian commune called Mundra in Hungarian, see Mândra.

Mundra मुन्द्रा મુન્દ્રા
city
Glass studded roof of Bukhari Pir Dargah
Mundra Location in Gujarat, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Gujarat
District	Kutch
Elevation	14 m (46 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	20,338
Languages
• Official	Gujarati, Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	370421
Vehicle registration	starting with GJ 12

Mundra is a census town in Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Mundra Port is the largest private port in India.

History

Mundra Fort

Old Mundra town was walled and fortified with the masonry from the ruins of ancient town of Bhadresar, twenty seven kilometre to the north-east. The town was associated with Cutch State. Fortified in 1728 by Devkaran Seth, Mundra was in 1755 held and defended by Godji II when in revolt from his father. In 1801 it was given by Fateh Muhammad to Dosal Ven, and in 1815, when held by Muhammad Sota, was unsuccessfully attacked by Rao Bharmalji II. In 1818 it is said to had a population of 1200 souls and to have yielded a revenue of £3000 (Rs 30,000). In 1855 it was in good repair and contained 1500 houses. In 1861, it was noted for petty carpets of stamped cotton. In 1879, there was a considerable trade with Kathiawar, Khambhat, Surat, and Bombay, the chief exports being cotton, castor seed, pulse, wool and dyed cloth and the chief imports were metals, timber, grain, dates, grocery, and piece goods. In 1872, it had population of 7952.

After independence of India in 1947, Cutch State acceded unto the dominion of India and was constituted an independent commissionaire, Kutch State. In 1956, Kutch State was merged with Bombay state, which in 1960 was divided into the new linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, with Kutch becoming part of Gujarat state. Mundra now falls under Kutch district of Gujarat.

In 1994, the Mundra Port was announced at Mundra. The operation started in October 1998. In subsequent years, the port expanded rapidly resulting in rapid expansion of town and population. During the January 2001 Gujarat earthquake, Mundra was the only place in the district of Kutch which was not affected by this devastation. Following earthquake, the tax incentives were granted for setting up new industries in this district which led to the rapid industrialisation of this region. In 2014, Mundra Port surpassed Kandla in cargo handling and became the largest private port of India.

Places of Interest

Bukhari Pir Dargah

Stone carving on gate of Bukhari Pir Dargah

Shantinath Mahadev Temple near Shantivan Colony

• The Mahadev temple has memorials to some sailors of town, including some who advised the Sultan of Zanzibar and guided Vasco da Gama to India.
• Dariyalal, the patron saint of Kutchi fisher-people has a dedicated temple.
• Bukhari Pir Dargah: Hazrat Shah Murad Bukhari arrived Mundra from Bukhara (now in Uzbekistan) in 1660. He was welcomed by the locals, introduced them to Islam, and they built the shrine dedicated to him when he died. This shrine receives visitors of many religious backgrounds seeking blessings such as Theba community. The Mughal Emperor built a gate in his honor, which still stands and is known today as the Mughal Gate. The shrine receives large number of devotees returning from pilgrimage to Hajipir in March-April.
• Fortification : The walls of the old city fortifications have a religious origin, as they were dragged from the ruins of the ancient city of Bhadravati (now Bhadresar).
• Navlakha Palace: a very large and handsome two-storied rest-house built by a Khoja of Bhadresar
• A canopy, chhatra raised over the footprints, padukas of a Jain high priest of the Anchal Gaccha, 13​¹⁄₂ feet square inside, with a small spire over the marble slab on which the footprints arc engraved. The inside of the dome is neatly carved with a row of standing musicians. The outside of the dome is modern, but the screen wall, pillars, and interior are all old in thirteenth or fourteenth century style. As the inscription round the footprints is dated 1744, this shrine is probably the hall, mandap of an old temple. The front of the spire, shikhar over the marble slab boars the footprints of the Guru Hanssagar, the disciple of the Guru Jivaji, who died in Margashirsha Vad 10th of Samvat 1797 (1740 AD). Near this tomb is a memorial stone, palia, apparently, from the figure of a ship carved on it, raised to some seafarer.
• Shantinath Mahadev Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located near Shantivan Colony, a township for employees of Adani Port, near Nana Kapaya village. The temple is surrounded by a garden.
• There are four Jain temples in town; Shitalnath temple of Anchal Gaccha, Parshwanath temple of Tapa Gaccha, Mahavira temple of Kharatara Gaccha and Amizara Parshwanath temple of Gorji Trust.
• At Baroi, about a mile from Mundra, enclosed in a small court, is a temple of Nilkanth Mahadev, or the blue -necked Shiv, with, at the right side of the shrine door, an inscription dated 1667 (Samvat 1724). The ling is overshadowed by a large seven -headed brass snake. It is said to have been brought from the Shiva temple of Duda at Bhadresar.

Geography and environment

The town has flat terrain. The quality of water in this region is very poor and has a high fluoride content.

Amenities and culture

Khoja Lalji Sumar Primary School

Gaddhasar or Shastri Ground is major playground in town. The transportation and medical facilities are available. Maharaoshri Khengarji Library in old town is public library run by local administration.

In 1905, Aga Khan III started the Aga Khan School in Mundra, the first school what later became a large network of schools, Aga Khan Education Service. Other major schools are Government Primary School (Darbari), R. D. Highschool, Saint Xavier's School, Calorx Public School. Khoja Lalji Sumar Primary School was founded in 1871.

There are commerce, arts and PTC colleges in the town.

Dabeli and Kadak are popular snacks of town.

Nani Ravadi and Moti Ravadi are local dance and procession festivals celebrated in Shravan month of Hindu calendar by seafaring communities of Kharva. Nava Naroj is celebrated as a starting day of new seafaring season. All other major Hindu and Muslim religious festivals are celebrated in the town including Diwali, Holi, Uttarayan, Muharram and Eids.

Economy

Main articles: Mundra Port, Mundra Ultra Mega Power Plant, and Mundra Thermal Power Station

Mundra Port

Mundra thermal power station

Mundra was well known for salt and spice trading in the past and now for tie-dye and block-printed textiles. The old harbor is virtually unusable today, and only small local fishing craft navigate its silted waterways up the river.

The main source of income for the local people is agriculture, horticulture and wage labour. Mundra has a Date Palm Research Station operated by Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University. Several people are employed inmanufacturing companies, port and power stations.

Mundra Port is the largest private port with multiproduct special economic zone owned and operated by Adani Ports & SEZ Limited.

There are two thermal power stations adjacent to Mundra, Mundra Ultra Mega Power Plant operated by Tata Power and Mundra Thermal Power Station operated by Adani Power. These power station generates over 8,600 MW of electricity. The coal for the power plant is imported primarily from Indonesia. Source of water for the power plant is sea water from the Gulf of Kutch.