| In
the past decade, the town has seen some major industrial
growth in terms of clock manufacturing. It boasts
of one of the largest clock manufacturing factories
in Asia in terms of production units. Some of the
famous names are Ajanta, Sonam, Samay among others.
The town is also a magnet for ceramics and roofing
titles. However, by the turn of the century, the new
trend that is becoming evident suggests that while
the brand name is being retained, the production units
are being outsourced to China.
Most recently lot of damage
was sustained by the town during the 2001 Gujarat
Earthquake. Famous monuments such as Darbargarh, Nagar
Darwaja, Mani Mandir were damaged.
Morbi was the capital of the former princely State
of Morbi,ruled by the Jadeja Rajput clan. The house
of Morbi claimed seniority over the Jadejas of Jamnagar
and Kutch. The beautiful town of Morbi is located
on the banks of the Machchu dam burst during heavy
rains. The folk song, which predicted this tragedy,
years before it happenned, is still sung by the bards
of the region.
The prosperous city state of Morbi and much of the
built heritage and town planning is attributed to
the efficient adminstration of Sir Waghji, who came
to the throne in 1879 AD and ruled till 1948 AD. Sir
Waghji acted as a ruler, manager, patron and policemen
of the state with great authority, always keeping
the citizens' interests in mind. Sir Waghji, like
other contemporary rulers of Saurashtra, built roads,
Railway Network of seventy miles connecting Wadhvan
and Morbi and two small ports of Navlakhi and vavania
for exporting the state's production of salt and cloth.
The railway station of Morbi is a beautiful example
of Railway architecture, combining Indian and European
architectural elements.
The most important buildings at Morbi
are: Darbargadh, Mani Mandir, Wellingdon Secretariat,
Suspension Bridge, Art Deco Palace and Lakhdhirji
Engineering College.
Mani Mandir is a temple situated in the
courtyard of Wellingdon Secretariat. The images of
Laxmi Narayan, Mahakali, Ramchandraji, Radha- Krishna
and Shiva are worshiped in this temple. Mani Mandir
is made out of Jaipur stone with excellent workmanship
and exquisitely carved elements-arches, brackets,
jalis,chhatris and shikhara. Wellingdon Secretariat
is an excellent example of the application of principles
of Rajput architecture by master craftsmen, at the
turn of the century. The Suspension Bridge, an engineeiring
marvel built at the turn of the century, reflects
the progressive and scientific nature of the rulers
of Morbi. This was built to give a unque identity
to Morbi using the latest technology available in
those days in Europe. It is 1.25 m wide and spans
233 m on the Machchhu river connecting Darbargadh
Palace and Lakhdhirji Engineering College. Green Chowk
is a town square approached by series of three gates.
European town planning principles inspired the creation
of these gates as landmarks in the town. The Nehru
Gate is made out of stone using elements of Rajput
architecture with central clock tower, while another
one uses elements of western architecture and is capped
by a three-storyed cast iron frame structure with
a dome. |
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