Bhuj

Bhuj: Prag Mahal

Bhuj, city, northwestern Gujarat state, west-central India. It is situated in the lowlands between the Rann (marsh) and the Gulf of Kachchh (Kutch).

The Aina Mahal, a palace built by Rao Lakhpatji in the 18th century and now a museum, is one of Bhuj’s major tourist destinations. The city is a commercial centre for wheat, barley, cattle, cotton, and salt produced in the hinterland. Handicrafts include the manufacture of cotton cloth and silver items. Bhuj is the site of the country’s first large-scale experiment with solar pond technology (a means of collecting solar energy using brine ponds), and it has several colleges. It is the junction of several state highways and the terminus of a railroad, and it has an airport. Bhuj was devastated by a massive earthquake in 2001, which badly damaged the Aina Mahal and the nearby Prag Mahal; both structures subsequently were restored. Pop. (2001) town, 98,528; urban agglom., 136,429; (2011) city, 143,286; urban agglom., 188,236.