Dadar

This article is about the area. For the railway station of the same name, see Dadar railway station. For ritual weapon, see Dadar (ritual tool).
Dadar
दादर
Neighbourhood

Kabooter Khana, Dadar (West)
Dadar
Coordinates: 19°01′05″N 72°50′41″E / 19.01798°N 72.844763°ECoordinates: 19°01′05″N 72°50′41″E / 19.01798°N 72.844763°E
Country India
State Maharashtra
District Mumbai City
Metro Mumbai
Languages
 • Official Marathi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 400014, 400028[1]
Area code(s) 022
Lok Sabha constituency Mumbai South Central
Vidhan Sabha constituency Mahim (covers western part of the suburb)
Wadala (covers eastern part of the suburb)

Dadar is a neighborhood in Mumbai, and is also a railway station on both the Western (Dadar) and Central lines (Dadar T.T.) of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. Dadar is situated in the heart of Mumbai, and Dadar station is the only railway station common to both the Central and Western lines. This makes the station a transit point for thousands of passengers using the Mumbai Suburban Railway and one of the most crowded railway stations on the network.

History

Portuguese Church, Dadar (West)
Chaitya Bhoomi.
Dadar chowpatty(beach)
Shivaji Park Ground

In the 16th century, the area was known as lower Mahim as it was located on the island of Mahim, one of the Seven islands of Mumbai which, after Mumbai Island proper, was the most important during the whole of the Portuguese period.[2] The Portuguese Franciscans built a church here in 1596 called Nossa Senhora de Salvação, which is popularly known today as Portuguese Church and is a familiar Dadar landmark.[3]

The Dadar-Matunga-Wadala-Sion scheme of 1899-1900 was the first planned scheme in Mumbai. The Bombay Improvement Trust devised the plan 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.

Among the institutions moved to Dadar under the CIT plan were Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, now known as Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute and King George school, now known as IES' Raja Shivaji Vidyalaya (now a collection of several schools).

Ramnarain Ruia College in 1937 and Ramniranjan Podar College was founded in 1939, completing Dadar’s transition from residential suburb to diverse neighbourhood. Both colleges are run by SP Mandali. Dr. Antonio Da Silva High School one of the oldest school founded in 1851 during the British India period is located here.

By 1937 Shivaji Park and the surrounding areas were developed. This public space was to become an important stage in the political drama leading up to India's independence. Later political history in Mumbai also unfolded in this park.

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, and Ajit Agarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar have been trained here.

The Sharadashram society as well as school built in 1948-50 are the biggest land marks of Dadar. Sharadashram society is Asia's first registered society as well as first society in Mumbai.

In 1993 Bombay bombings, a defused bomb was discovered in Dadar by Dr. JK Mandot who also provided the Mumbai police their first clue in the 1993 blasts probe, when on March 13, 1993, he alerted them about a dubious-looking Bajaj Chetak scooter (MH-04-Z-261) parked outside his dispensary on Naigaum Cross Road. The scooter, laden with RDX, had failed to explode, and was defused after Mandot's call to the police control room[4]

Description

Dadar has long been a cultural center for Maharashtrians and the Marathi speaking population, and also for the entire Indian diaspora.

Dadar is divided into East and West by the railway line. Dadar East is popularly called Dadar Central or Dadar T.T. because the former Dadar Tram Terminus (which was closed with the closure of the tram network in Mumbai) is located here. Dadar West is sometimes referred to as Dadar B.B. because it lies along the western line, which was once part of the Mumbai & Baroda & Central India (BB&CI) Railway. Dadar West market is a very popular shopping destination for residents of central Mumbai, the suburbs, and distant satellite towns.

Dadar vegetable market was the heart of the city and was responsible for distributing vegetables across all of Mumbai. It is said that one can get all possible things in Dadar. It is also famous for its underworld.

Dadar is home to the famous Shivaji Park, a huge playground that has been home to some of the best cricket players in the world, including Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar. The Shivaji Park Residential area, a predominantly upper middle class residential zone, has also become a highly sought after residential area in Central Bombay because of its proximity to the Dadar Chowpatty, Shivaji Park, Mahatma Gandhi Olympic Swimming Pool and the famous Siddhivinayak temple in Prabhadevi. One of the largest primary and secondary schools in Mumbai, run by the Indian Education Society (IES) and also Balmohan Vidyamandir is located in Dadar. There are both Marathi and English medium schools from standards 1 through 10.

Dadar is home to the Plaza movie theatre, which was damaged during the 1993 bomb-blasts/riots. It has now reopened and remains one of the theaters in Mumbai that show Marathi movies.

Dadar is also home to Chaitya Bhoomi, where the last rites of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar were performed. On December 6 there is a huge ceremony in his memory.

It is also home to the Mumbai Mayor's Bungalow, the official residence of the Mayor of Mumbai and the famous Sena Bhavan, headquarters of the political party Shiv Sena.

Dadar has Lokmanya Tilak Bridge, one of the oldest bridge in Mumbai, built in 1923. This bridge is made of entirely of granite and hard English-made metal. The bridge is an important connection between east and west Dadar. Approximately 10,000 cars use the bridge each day.

Dadar also has the Institute Of Hotel Management - IHM Mumbai.

Dadar is also very famous for Maharashtrian food like Batata Vada, Vada Pav, Thalipith, Sabudana Vada, Misal Pav, Usal Pav, Puri Bhaji, Pithla Bhakri, Piyush (a sweet drink) and Lassi. There are many restaurants that serve Maharashtrian food. These include Prakash Hotel, Aaswad Hotel, Sindhudurg Hotel, Gomantak Hotel and Panshikar for Sweets.

Mumbai's first Titan watches showroom was opened in Dadar in 1989.

Railways Transport

Dadar is a prominent railway terminus in the city of Mumbai and offers various trains for passenger transport. There are two stations, one of the western railway (Churchgate - Dahanu Road) and other for the central railway (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus-Kasara/Khopoli). Both stations are major interchanges. As of now, Dadar station receives more than 500,000 visitors daily[5]

Prominent Residential Neighbourhoods in Dadar

Prominent Entertainment Hubs

Famous Personalities residing in Dadar

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dadar.
  1. ↑ "Pincode Locator Tool". pincode.org.in. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "History of Portuguese Church". Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  3. ↑ Greater Bombay District Gazetteer (Portuguese Period)
  4. ↑ http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/doctor-whose-curiosity-triggered-a-blast-and-saved-lives/1091643/
  5. ↑ Dadar railway station