Mehsana is a city and municipality in Mehsana district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Mehsaji Chavda, a Rajput and an heir of Chavda dynasty, established Mehsana. He constructed the Toran (arc gate) of city and a temple dedicated to Goddess Toran in Vikram Samvat 1414, Bhadrapad Sud 10 (1358 AD). It is described by Jaisinh Brahmbhatt in poems of 1932 AD. It is also corroborated by Manilal Nyalchand, an author of Pragat Prabhavi Parshvanath of Samvat 1879. He also refers that Mehsaji built the temple dedicated to Chamunda. It inconclusively establishes that the town was founded during Rajput period. Another legend says that Mehsaji established it in Vikram Samvat 1375 (1319 AD). Gaekwads conquered Baroda and established Baroda State. They expanded their rule in north Gujarat and established Patan as its administrative headquarters. Later the headquarters was moved to Kadi and subsequently to Mehsana in 1902. This northern area under Baroda was divided in 8 mahals. Gaekwad also connected the city by Baroda State railway which was opened on 21 March 1887. Sayajirao Gaekwad III built a palace known as Rajmahal in Vikram Samvat 1956 for his son Fatehsinhrao. It is now used as a district court. Baroda state was merged with India after independence in 1947. It was included in Bombay state. Later became part of Gujarat in 1960 after division of Bombay state into Gujarat and Maharashtra. Now Mehsana is a standalone district in north Gujarat. Boter Kotha ni Vav, a stepwell, is located opposite crematorium in Ambaipara area. Though connected to Lakha Vanzara by folklore, it is constructed of bricks and sandstone during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. It is also known as Interi Vav thus. There is an inscription of Samvat 1731 (1674 CE) in Persian and Devnagari scripts. According to it, it was commissioned by Shah Gokaldas of Shrimali caste and Laghu Shakha and his mother Manabai for public welfare. It is 45 to 50 feet deep. It is eleven floors deep and had unique twin wells. It was repaired during Gaekwad era. It is now neglected and filthy. Simandhar Swami Jain Derasar is located near Modhera cross roads. It is 161 ft (49 m) long, 97 ft (30 m) broad and 107 ft (33 m) high. The central deity (Moolnayak) of the temple is a 145 inches (3.7 m) high white idol of Simandhar Swami in Padmasna.Major Hindu temples include Toranvali Mata temple, Brahmani Mata temple, Hinglaj Mata temple, Bahuchar Mata temple, Kalupur Gadi Swaminarayan temple, BAPS Swaminarayan temple, Gayatri temple, Ambika Mata temple and Somnath Mahadev temple. There is a temple dedicated to Ayyappa established by south Indian community and a Gurdwara Sahib established by Sikh community near Radhanpur cross road on State Highway 41. Christian churches includes Mar Greegorious Orthodox Syrian Church. City bus service was run by municipality connecting nearby villages. Auto rickshaws are available. It is approximately 75 km away from Ahmedabad. It is connected to Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Patan, Unjha and Palanpur via state highways. GSRTC, a state run transport service, provides bus service connecting all major towns of Gujarat. It is also connected by rail to other major cities in India. There are daily trains to and from Delhi and Mumbai, and direct weekly or bi-weekly trains connecting major cities in north and south India including Bangalore. Mahesana railway station, on the Jaipur-Ahmedabad line, has a computerised reservation facility. The nearest airport is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at Ahmedabad. Prepaid taxis are available to Mehsana from the airport. Currently Mehsana Airport is used for non-scheduled operation and as a civil aviation training centre, run by Ahmedabad Aviation and Aeronautics Ltd. It has an area covering 64 acres (260,000 m2).