Worli

Worli (Marathi:वरळी) is a locality in Mumbai, the largest city in India.

Geography

Worli is a part of South Mumbai which extends from Haji Ali to Prabhadevi. It is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west and the neighbourhoods of Haji Ali, Mahalaxmi, and Prabhadevi to the north.The nearest railway station to the neighborhood is Mahalaxmi.Now a days even the area of Lower Parel is referred to as Upper Worli due to a massive construction boom in the area.

History

Worli was one of the original seven islands that constituted the city of Mumbai. Although primarily a fishing village, the Worli Fort, a British fort, was located there.

It also has a mosque, the Haji Ali Dargah, on a rock in the sea, which was connected at low-tide to the island by a natural causeway. The island of Worli was connected to the main island of Mumbai in 1784, with the completion of the Hornby Vellard.The Hornby Vellard is now known as Lala Lajpat Rai Road.

In 1842, the Love Grove sewage pumping station was completed. It has special mitre gates opening to the sea, which are opened during periods of low tide.The pumping station is built on Dr.Annie Besant road which was formerly known as the Love Grove Road.

The British had built four bungalows for its administrative heads on the stretch ahead of the Love Grove Pumping station back in the 1930's. These bungalows are now replaced by ATRIA Mall.

Commercial development

Worli has been one of the busiest office areas in Mumbai since the late 70's.The first major development was the Shivsagar Estate located on Dr. Annie Besant road. The major companies having properties here are GSK Pharma, TATA,Novartis,HDFC Bank,and many more.

Till September 1997 Poonam Chambers had the offices of companies like ESAB,US Vitamins But after the building collapsed they had to shift. The latest developments are happening in the old Mill lands with many television stations having their studios in them.Even multinational companies like Deloitte have set their base in Worli. Even malls have emerged with Launch of Atria on 20th May 2006.

The PIN Codes (Postal codes) for Worli are 400018 and 400030. The known MTNL Telephone prefixes are 2421, 2422, 2437, 2490, 2491, 2492, 2493, 2494, 2495, 2496, 2497, and 2498.

Residential areas

Although primarily Worli is a commericial district , it has seen residential developments from very early days of Mumbai. Worli was a mill land and many mill workers resided in the chawls near Worli Naka.

The BDD (British Development Department) chawls in Worli are the earliest and the largest of the current residential areas in worli. The BDD chawls provide the middle and the lower middle class of Mumbai a better means of living due its central location.

The Worli Seaface is also a major residential area mostly resided by the Rich and Famous people of Mumbai.Worli Seaface has been a very pretty landmark for Mumbai and can be seen in many Bollywood movies from the early 50's till today.The Promenade at the Seaface is one of the busiest in the city of Mumbai with thousdands of Mumbaikars coming here for their Morning or Evening walks. It is also famous for the giant waves during the monsoons.

Other big residential areas are the Adarsh Nagar located near Prabhadevi and Narayan Pujari Nagar,better known as "Colony" located east of Worli Seaface.

Some of the famous residential landmarks of Worli include Samudra Mahal,Eden Hall,Poonam Apartments,Venus Apartments,Avarsekar Heights.

Currently major residential developments are going on along the stretch or Dr.E.Moses Road leading towards Lower Parel.

ee also

* Worli Fort
* Mumbai