Tughlakabad Fort

The 3rd town of Delhi, Tughlakabad was founded by Giyasuddin Tughlak between 1321-25, 15 km away from the city, 8 km from the Qutab. The Tughlakabad Fort, where the capital of the city was located, was named after the dynasty and was as immense as it was fortified. After 15 years it was abandoned probably because of water scarcity. After the death of- Giyasuddin, his son Muhammad-bin-Tughlak built the Adilabad Fort anew and transferred the capital from Delhi to Devgiri in the south. The 1120 km journey caused various losses, particularly an enormous number of lives. However, both the adjoining sights are in ruins today. Legend says, the empire was destroyed owing to the curse of Nijamuddin, a religious leader. Tughlakabad is like a haunted place today, inhabited by gypsies. But the beautiful tomb of Giyasuddin (1325) in the artificial lake at the southern gate of the fort, on the Meherauli-Badarpur highway is a mediaeval relic reminds back to the past.

Tughlaqabad Fort, perched on a rocky hill, constitutes one third of the capital city of India. The fort is located on the Qutab-Badarpur Road and was built by Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq,the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. The Tuglaqabad Fort seems to be more or less octagonal, with a border of approximately 6.5-km. The ramparts of the fort, now in ruins, are between 10m to 15m high with fortresses and gateways at intervals. The Tughlakhabad at Delhi was built to serve a dual purpose, one of providing a defensive structure to the ruler and the second, to serve as his imposing capital.

Tughlaqabad stands divided into three segments. The eastern segment is entered through from the Qutub-Badarpur road. It is a rectangular area enclosed within high walls and bastions and used to serve as the citadel. On the west side of the Tughlaqabad Fort is a wider area that once contained the palaces and is surrounded by walls and bastions. A huge reservoir stands on the southern side of the Tughlaqabad Fort at Delhi. Bunds were put up between hills to the east to create the reservoir, which is linked with Ghiyas-ud-Din's tomb through a causeway.

There is a wide mound near the south eastern-corner of the Fort Tughlakhabad of Delhi that leads to the fortress of Adilabad. The sluice gates near the mound were used for controlling water for irrigation purposes. There is also a tower, known as the Bijai-Mandal, inside the fort, along with remains of several halls, and also a long underground passageway. To the north of the fort, lies the city of Tughlaqabad, which is now mostly in ruins.

On my personal visit to this place,i realized that it can be turned out to one of the tourist destination in new delhi,after the famous historical tourist destinations like Qutab Minar,Humayun Tomb and Red Fort.But for that government should start taking care of this historical place before it get totally lost in ruins.

As right now this fort has lost its glory completely and hardly anybody wants to visit this place due to lack of easy access to this place and even many of us doesnt know about this fort.

Compiled By: Saurav Chakraborty
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Tata Motors unveils NANO @ 1Lakh

Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Motors, unveiled the people's car Nano at the New Delhi, 9th Auto Expo today.

The car would be commercially launched in the second half of 2008,expected to come in market by September, and would be produced at the Singur plant in West Bengal.

Speaking at the launch, Ratan Tata, said: "The car is powered by a 624cc, 30 bhp engine and will deliver mileage of about 20 kpl."

The standard variant (without AC) of Nano is priced at Rs 1 lakh($2500) for dealers excluding VAT and transportation. There will be two deluxe variants with AC and other luxurious features.Tata Motors has also planned to launch NANO's diesel variant in coming future.

"The car has already undergone full frontal collision tests and will soon be undergoing side impact tests this year. It will be Euro-IV compliant and will meet all emission norms till 2010", Tata said.

The car is 8% smaller in terms of length than the Maruti 800, but has
21% more room internally.

"A team of 500 designers and engineers worked for four years on the development of the car. Since we started the project four years back, there has been a steep increase in input cost, but a promise is a promise," Tata said after unveiling his pet project.

Besides India, the company plans to sell the car in Africa, Latin America and South East Asia.But Tata said it would focus on the home market for 2-3 years before considering exporting the Nano to countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

The compact but curvy Nano stands in sharp contrast to the luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands that Tata is negotiating to acquire from Ford Motor Co.

Global car makers -- initially skeptical that Tata could produce such a low-cost car -- are now scurrying to make their own versions to meet the needs of cost-conscious consumers in emerging economies such as China, India and Russia.

Ford this week said it would build a small car in India within two years, and the alliance of Nissan Motor and Renault, which has made a big success of its no-frills Logan sedan, plans a $3,000 car with Bajaj Auto.

Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda Motor and Fiat have also said they are looking at small cars for emerging markets where strong economic growth has made car ownership a reality for millions.

Compiled By: Saurav Chakraborty
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