Chandigarh, the Union Territory that tops the list of Indian States and Union Territories with a Human Development Index of 0.67, is not without its share of satellite towns and suburbs. Chandigarh, the town itself, is only one part of the Tricity, a name given collectively to the town and the two satellite towns of Mohali (SAS Nagar) and Panchkula. The total number of residents of the Tricity as per the 2001 census is 1165111. As for the origin of the name Tricity, not much is known. So noone can be credited with the origin of this term.

The two satellite towns are more or less extensions of the main city and help in keeping the vast population well spread out apart from helping in the development of Chandigarh as the next metro. For more information about the satellite towns and the suburbs, read on….

Mohali (SAS Nagar)
Earlier part of the Ropar district of Punjab, the town is now a district headquarters in itself (of District Mohali). The name SAS Nagar was given to it as a tribute to Sahibzada Ajit Singh, the eldest son of the tenth Sikh Guru Shree Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It is now the 18th district of the state of Punjab.

Mohali is located to the West of Chandigarh. It is almost a continuation of the actual Chandigarh. To its north is the Rupnagar district. To its south are the religiously significant Fatehgarh Sahib and the princely town of Patiala.

With a separate bus stand and a soon-to-be-built Railway Station, the town is well on its way to becoming a separate entity with a population of 2,00,000 as per the 2006 census and a booming IT industry. Fore more on the town of Mohali Click here

Panchkula
On similar lines as Mohali, Panchkula is a district headquarters of the greater Panchkula District of the state of Haryana. The name Panchkula was given to it as five kuls (irrigation canals) flow through it. The kuls take water from the Ghaggar and irrigate the land between Nada Sahib and Mansa Devi.

Panchkula is in good company as far as the geography is concerned as it is surrounded by Himachal Pradesh in the north and east, Punjab and the UT of Chandigarh in the west and by Ambala district in the south as well as some part of the east.

 This town also has its own Bus stand and Railway facilities are also easily accessible due to the proximity of the Chandigarh Railway Station and the railway station has an exit towards Panchkula as well. The manufacturing sector and the IT industry are also looking up and contributing to the town’s progress. The city is similar to Mohali in the demographical measures too, with a population of 2,00,000 (as per the census of 2006).
For more on the town of Panchkula, Click Here

The Suburbs
Apart from the three towns, there are various areas that complete this definition of the Ticity. These are the suburbs spread in all directions of the prosperous Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula trio. The suburbs, spread over the three neighboring states, are a very important part of this urban conglomerate. These are listed below, state-wise:
Punjab
• Dera Bassi (Patiala District) – An industrial hub
• Kharar (Mohali District)- A housing and real estate paradise
• Zirakpur (Mohali District) – The connecting point on the strategic Kalka National Highway

Haryana
• Kalka (Panchkula District) – The starting point of the heritage rail-line of Kalka-Simla
• Pinjore (Panchkula District) – Famous for the Yadavindara Gardens.

Himachal Pradesh
• Baddi (Solan District) – A big industrial hot-spot
• Parwanoo (Solan District)- Beautiful rapidly developing hilly town
What more is in store !?

Chandigarh and the contiguous townships of Mohali and Panchkula plus the suburbs are laid out in a grid, resembling the orderly arrangement of an enlarged computer chip. The great man, Le Corbusier, was always ahead of his own times and today, this “Greater Chandigarh” Tricity area is emerging as a new destination for information technology and IT-enabled services as well as for the Manufacturing sector.

With the expansion of this Greater Chandigarh expected to take Ambala district, Ropar and substantial parts of the three neighboring states in its fold, perhaps we’d need a newer name for the area ( and for this website too!), but it is only getting better and, by the way, who’s complainin’?!