ABOUT CHANDIGARH
Established	1966
Time zone	IST (UTC+6:00)
Area	114 square km
Altitude	304 - 365 m above MSL
Pin Code	160017 GPO
ISD Code	91
STD Code	0172
Languages	Punjabi, Hindi, English
Population	9 Lacs

Chandigarh (Punjabi) also called The City Beautiful , is a city in India that serves as the capital of two states: Punjab and Haryana. However, administratively, the city is not under the jurisdiction of either state, it is administered by the Central government and hence classified as a union territory. The Governor of the Punjab is the Administrator of Chandigarh. The most striking thing about the city is the expanse of resplendent blue sky with the mountains in the backdrop. When you are approaching the city, you would see the jagged skyline of the Shivalik Hills looming large over the city and the faint image of an old temple dedicated to Goddess Chandi,( 15 km form Chandigarh). The city derives its name from a temple of goddess Chandi (the Chandi Mandir) located in nearby Panchkula District of Haryana. The word Chandigarh literally means "the fort of Chandi". The political position of Chandigarh is quite ambiguous for anybody not knowing the city well. It is the capital to two northern Indian states Punjab and Haryana besides being a union territory in itself. The birth of this modern, youngest and happening city was an act of anguish and drama that took place at the time of partition of India and Pakistan. Lahore, the historical capital of Punjab was ceded to Pakistan and Chandigarh was conceived to be a symbol of India's freedom. Chandigarh is known for its high standard of living with highest per capita income in the country and tops the list of Indian States and Union Territories with a Human Development Index of 0.674. Chandigarh has two satellite cities (both of which share a border with it): Panchkula and Mohali. Sometimes, the triangle of these three cities is collectively called as the Chandigarh Tricity. The government of the state decided to build a new city at the foot of the Shivalik hills. Architects Albert Mayer and Mathew Novicki drew the initial plans in New York. When the latter died in an air crash in 1950, the work was entrusted to renowned French architect Edouard 'Le Corbusier' Jeanneret who created Chandigarh as a city of "Sun, Space and Verdure" to fulfil basic functions of working, living, and care of body and spirit. Today, the city is home to more than half a million people living in harmonious conditions that are considered to be the best in the country. One can see architectural genius in the neat geometrical design of residential quarters, reinforced concrete structures and self-contained area layouts. Chandigarh is divided into 47 self-contained sectors. Each sector of the city is designed with its own shops, academic, and health care buildings, and places of worship, open spaces, greenery and the residential areas. The city is divided into four major work areas. In the north, the capital complex, consisting of the Secretariat, Legislative Assembly and High Court, with the hills as a background dominating the city. Sector 17, which is the city and district centre, housing the administrative and state government offices, shopping malls, banks and other offices. The west contains the university, and institutions of engineering, architecture, Asian studies and medicine. Finally the east zone, which is the industrial area of the city. Chandigarh is one of the few planned cities in India, the others being Gandhinagar in Gujarat and Dispur in Assam. In 1966, the Hindi speaking areas were split from the Punjabi speaking areas of the state to form a new state of Haryana. Chandigarh, however, continued to be the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. In a strange anomaly, the city itself was not made part of either state to avoid dispute, but was brought under direct rule by the Cenral Government, as a union territory. It was agreed that in 1986, the city would pass to Punjab. But this has been indefinitely delayed because Haryana insists on getting some territory in return, and the two states have not been able to agree on it.