Dadar (Marathi: दादर) is a central suburb of the city of Mumbai, and has a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway on both the Western Railway line (Dadar) and the Central Railway line (Dadar T.T.). Dadar has the only railway station common to both the Central line and the Western line; this makes it a transit point and the most crowded railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway.
Overview edit
Dadar is divided into East and West by the railway line. Dadar East is colloquially called Dadar T.T. because it housed the Dadar Tram Terminus which was closed with the closure of the tram network. It is also called Dadar Central as it lies along the Central Line. Dadar West is (not so commonly) referred to as Dadar B.B. as it lies along the western line, earlier a part of the Bombay & Baroda Railroad.
Dadar is home to the famous Shivaji Park, a huge playground which has been home to some of the best cricket players in the world, including Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar. The Shivaji Park Residential area, has become a highly sought after residential area in South Mumbai because of its proximity to the Dadar Beach, Shivaji Park, Mahatma Gandhi Olympic Swimming Pool and other amenities apart from being close educational institutions such as Bombay Scottish School and Hinduja Hospital in Mahim and Siddhivinayak temple in Prabhadevi. Property rates in this area usually vary from Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 20,000 per square foot, depending on the type of establishment. One of the largest primary and secondary schools in Mumbai, the Indian Education Society (IES) School is in Dadar (East). There are English, Marathi and Gujarati medium schools from 1st grade till the 10th grade.
History edit
The Dadar-Matunga-Wadala-Sion scheme of 1899-1900 was the first planned suburban scheme in Mumbai. The Bombay City Improvement Trust formulated this plan in order to relieve congestion in the centre of the town, following the plague epidemics of the 1890s. According to the survey plan, 60,000 people were to be housed at Dadar-Matunga and an equal number in Sion-Matunga. 85,000 people were to be accommodated in the developments in Sewri-Wadala.
The plans regulated constructions with emphasis on proper sanitation. No building was to be more than three storeys high, and the buildings were to have open spaces between them. The land-use was planned to be a mix of residential, commercial and institutional constructions. Parks and gardens were planned, and the streets were well laid out.
440 acres (1.8 km²) of land was procured and leased to the Government for selling. For the first time housing cooperatives were formed to take advantage of newly developed land. The Parsi and Hindu colonies in Dadar and the Tamil colony in Matunga were developed in this way.
Dadar was 6 miles away from Crawford Market, traveling by the newly constructed Mohammedali Road. The tramways were extended to this new suburb. The GIP constructed a bridge, now the Tilak Bridge, connecting the two suburban railways. In February 1925, the GIP (Great Indian Peninsular) Railways opened their suburban line, and started the work of electrifying the railways.
Among the institutions moved to Dadar according to the CIT plan were Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute and King George School, now called the Indian Education Society's Raja Shivaji High School.
Hand-in-hand with the development of the northern suburbs in the 1930s there was a lot of activity in the Dadar-Matunga area. The Hindu colony, north of Tilak Bridge, expanded up to Ambedkar Marg (then Kingsway) and around the Khodadad Circle. These developments were completed by 1935. In 1937 Ramnarain Ruia College was founded and in 1939 the Ramniranjan Podar College(both run by SP Mandali), thus completing a transition of Dadar from a residential suburb into a variegated enclave.
By 1937 Shivaji Park and the surrounding areas were developed. This public space was to become an important stage in the political drama which led up to India's independence, and later political history of Bombay unfolded in the same park.
Landmarks and architecture edit
Dadar is home to the Plaza movie theatre which was damaged during the 1993 bomb-blasts/riots. It has since re-opened. Dadar is also home to Chaitya Bhoomi where the last rites of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar were performed. It is also home to the Mayor's Bungalow, the official residence of the Mayor of Mumbai and the Sena Bhavan.
Hindu colony is located in the heart of the bustling city of Mumbai, two blocks north of the Dadar train station, and near the Lokmanya Tilak Bridge. Tilak bridge is the oldest bridge in Mumbai, it was built in 1923. It is built of hard granite rock and English made metal. The bridge is very important as it connects the east side to the west side.
Shivaji Park ground is famous as the Cricket Education ground. Many cricketers like Ashok Mankad, Vinoo Mankad, Vijay Hazare, Salim Durani, Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandip Patil, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Ajit Agarkar have trained here.
Prominent Residential Neighbourhoods in Dadar edit
Hindu colony
Shivaji Park Residential Zone
Dadar Parsi Colony