New Delhi is celebrating 2011 as centenary year of its formation . The foundation of the city was laid on December 15, 1911. It was planned by two leading 20th century British architects namely Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker. The new Capital was christened "New Delhi" in 1927 and subsequently inaugurated on February 13, 1931, by the then Governor General Lord Irwin . New Delhi is home to three Unesco world heritage sites Humayun's Tomb , the Qutb Complex and the Jantar Mantar . Delhi was laid out to the south of the Old city which was constructed by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan . Earlier Calcutta was the capital of India until December 1911 during British Period . On December 12, 1911 during the Delhi Durbar the then Emperor of India king George V along with Queen Mary made the announcement that the capital of the Raj was to be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi while laying the foundation stone for the Viceroy's residence in the Coronation Park in kingsway camp. In fact it was the foundation stone of the new Capital . With a total area of 42.7 km2 New Delhi forms a small part of the Delhi metropolitan area and is located in the Indo - Gangetic plain because of which there is little difference in the city's altitude. New Delhi and surrounding areas were once a part of the Aravalli Range but all that is left now is the Delhi Ridge which is also called the Lungs of Delhi . The second feature is the Yamuna floodplains . New Delhi lies west of the Yamuna river, although for the most part , New Delhi is a landlocked city . New Delhi falls under the seismic zone IV making it vulnerable to earthquakes .
The climate of New Delhi is a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate . The temperature varies from 40 °C in summers to around 7 °C in winters and even goes beyond that to arond 3 degree celsius in case of snowfalls in Himalayan regions . Summers are long from early April to October with the monsoon season in between . Winter starts in November and peaks up in January. The average annual rainfall is 714 millimetres most of which is during the monsoons in July and August. Duststorm is a normal feature in mid summer month of May-June .
At the heart of the city is the magnificent Rashtrapati Bhavan (formerly known as Viceroy's House) which sits atop Raisina Hills. The Secretariat, which houses various ministries of the Government of India, flanks out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan . The Parliament House, designed by Herbert Baker, is located at the Sansad Marg, which runs parallel to the Rajpath. The Connaught Place is a large, circular commercial area in New Delhi, modelled after the Royal Crescent in England . Twelve separate roads lead out of the outer ring of Connaught Place, one of them being the Janpath .
The city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha , legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian Epic Mahabharata .
- SUDHANSHU KUMAR
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