An ancient town is getting a new set of wheels — literally. Vadnagar, the storied Mehsana district town in Gujarat whose layered history stretches back millennia, has launched a striking cultural initiative: auto-rickshaws themed around the town's historical identity, now rolling through its streets as moving monuments to a civilisation hiding in plain sight.

The Chief Minister's Office of Gujarat announced on Tuesday, 11 August 2026 that the Vadnagar Heritage Auto Project — operating under the theme 'Anant Anadi Vadnagar' ('Eternal, Timeless Vadnagar') — has been activated, with the town's auto-rickshaws given new, historically themed liveries that offer passengers a glimpse into Vadnagar's ancient past. The post credited the initiative to the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

Vadnagar's layered past, now on every street corner

Vadnagar is no ordinary small town. Archaeological Survey of India excavations since the mid-2010s have peeled back layer after layer of continuous settlement — Buddhist, Hindu, and beyond — making it one of Gujarat's most significant heritage sites. It also carries a more contemporary distinction: it is the birthplace of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a fact that has brought it sustained political and infrastructural attention from both the state and central governments.

The themed rickshaws are designed to do something simple but effective — turn an everyday commute into a cultural encounter. Tourists arriving in Vadnagar now board vehicles that carry the visual language of the town's antiquity, making the ride itself part of the heritage experience. It is soft infrastructure for tourism: low-cost, high-visibility, and immediate.

Tourism push with a local employment dividend

The CMO's announcement explicitly frames the project's twin goals: accelerating tourism and generating local employment. Auto-rickshaw drivers — among the most economically vulnerable segments of urban transport workers — stand to benefit directly if the theming draws more visitors and more rides. Gujarat has pursued similar heritage-economy linkages in smaller historic towns, aiming to spread tourism revenue beyond the gravitational pull of Ahmedabad.

The real test will be footfall. Vadnagar has the archaeological credentials and the political spotlight; what it needs is sustained visitor traffic to translate cultural investment into livelihoods. If the heritage autos become a social-media moment — and visually distinctive vehicles in a historic town have every reason to be — the project could punch well above its budget.

A town that has waited centuries to be rediscovered is now sending its history out into the streets to meet you.