The chabutra, the bird feeder, acts as a shelter for birds during the rainy season and gives them a steady source of food and water. Moreover, it also helps in the breeding of the birds.
The nearly 2.5-hour walk from Swaminarayan Temple in Kalupur to Jama Masjid covers several sites of religious and historical significance, besides monuments of old Ahmedabad in the Solanki, Islamic and Jain architectural styles.
Even as the city grew from a population of 11.5 lakh in 1960 to a population of nearly 50 lakh by 2000, the building continued to function as its nerve centre till 2010, with almost the similar number of departments as there are now.