Virar

Virar Virar विरार
city
Government
• M.L.A.	Kshitij Thakur
Population  (2001)
• Total	118,945
Website	www.virar.com

Virar (Marathi: विरार) is a city in Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Virar is also a part of Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation in Thane district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

It is an eponymous suburban railway station. Virar is the last station on the Western Suburban local train route of Mumbai. It is around one and a half hours away by train from Churchgate the first station on the Western Railway Line. Virar is a very crowded area, among other adjacent stations like Vasai because it is a major tourist spot of Mumbai. It is the only railway station that connects Mumbai to other northern stations like Saphale, Palghar, Dahanu and distant southern cities of Gujarat like Vapi, Surat, etc. An outpost of Mumbai, Virar is connected with the mainland by electric train since 1925.

Geography

Virar is located at 19.47°N 72.8°E / 19.47; 72.8. It has an average elevation of 11 metres (36 feet). The climate of the city is tropical. During Summer, the humidity level is very high and in winter the climate is almost always dry. Virar falls in a region of high to very high rainfall often experiencing devastating rainfall in the monsoon period of June to September, every year.

History

Main article: Jivdani Mata

The name Virar, as some believe, comes from the Indian philosopher Jeevan Virar. Some however argue that the name actually comes from the Goddess Eka-viraa (एकविरा). Just as Tunga Parvat becomes “Tunga-ar”, similarly “Vira” becomes “Vira-ar”.There is a huge temple of Eka-vira Devi on the banks of Vaitarna River at the foot hills Tunga Parvat, (this is now totally broken by the continuous raids of Mohamedeans and Portuguese in the last 400 years), where people used to conclude their “Shurpaaraka Yatra”, as described in the Puranas and local legends. There is a huge tank here dedicated to Eka veera Devi called “Viraar Tirtha”, i.e. “Eka- Viraa Tirtha”. Even today, on the west banks of Viraar Tirtha, one finds a carved stone about three feet long and nine inches broad. Below that is a group of female figures of the Yoginis of Ekaveera Devi. Nearby one can find a stone with a roughly cut cow and calf (Savatsa Dhenu), a symbol of Govardhana Math which symbolizes eternity or Moksha. Moving ahead near the foot of a knoll of rock are two cow’s feet (Go-Paad) roughly cut in rock.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Virar had a population of 118,945. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Virar has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 74%. In Virar, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Over a period of time Virar has become a cosmopolitan suburb with approximately 70% population being Marathi speaking and the rest a mix of other communities, mainly the Catholics and the Gujaratis. 70% of the population is below 30 years. The slow and gradual adoption of the cosmopolitan nature of the city is the result of migration from the Mumbai mainland to this part due to ever increasing cost of the real estate property.

Education

The city's public school system is managed by the education ministry of the Government of Maharashtra. Hence the syllabus is under the state pattern devised by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. There are also other private schools who offer syllabus under C.B.S.E. and I.C.S.E. guidelines besides the state pattern. The late Shri Vishnu Waman Thakur Charitable trust and the Agashi-Virar-Arnala Education Society are the two most prominent bodies which have opened many institutes offering education ranging from Kindergarten to Ph.D. degrees in Virar. One can get graduate and post graduate degrees in Arts, Commerce, Commerce, Management studies and Technology through these institutes.

The main schools and colleges situated in Virar are:

1. Narsinh Govindrao Vartak English Medium High School
2. Pope John XXIII High School
3. National English High School
4. Annasaheb Vartak Smarak Vidya Mandir
5. M. G. M. High School
6. Nehru Vidyalaya
7. VIVA college
8. Utkarsh Vidyalaya
9. Vidya Vihar English High School[Virar-W]
10. M.M.N. Duggad High School [Virar-W]
11. Dr. N.P. Shah English Medium School, [Virar West]
12. Carmel Convent School, Nandakhal(Virar-W)
13. St. Joseph High School, Nandakhal(Virar-W)
14. Kashidas Ghelabhai Highschool, Chalpeth(Virar-W)
15. St. James Hish School Agashi(Virar-W)
16. Muljibhai Mehta International School (CBSC), Virar (W)

Tourism and places of Attraction

Despite being in close proximity to the ever busy lifestyle of Mumbai, Virar manages to be a well known tourist place for many reasons.

Faith

Jivdani Temple

It is famous throughout the country for its only temple of Goddess Jivdani which is located around 1375 steps above the ground level, atop a hill in the eastern part of the city. People from far away places come to take the blessings of the Goddess. It is too much crowded especially during the Navratri festival. Many people in the region especially the Mangelas, the Kolis and the Bhandaris, worship the goddess as their family deity. The Papadkhandi dam situated at the foothills, was one of the major source of fresh water in the location, but is not enough because of the growing polulation of Virar.

Jain Temple

For Jain Community (Sthanakwasi jain, Deravasi and Others) all around Mumbai, this Jain Temple located at Agashi, about 5 kilometers from the Station is very famous amongst Jains who visit this place Daily and specially on Saturdays, as it is one of the very old temples in Mumbai and the adjoining region. This 400 year old temple has beautiful old carvings of the Lords of Jain community like Shri Mahavir, Lord Ghantagharan bhagvan and some specially decorated carvings of old times. Agashi temple also has over night staying options for tourists traveling from far distance, especially for commuters coming to visit from all over Mumbai. Also due to people's demand a new Jain temple at Agashi has been developed with beautiful looks and spacious environment. This place is specially crowded during Jain ‘samvatsari’ which is one of the special day when the Jains meet there for saying MICHHAMI DUKKADAM which means Sorry if ever I'd hurt you... lets begin with a new start

Vajreshwari temple

Vajreshwari is famous for its temple and hot water springs. It is mentioned in ancient "Puran" or holy books as a place blessed by the footsteps of Lord Rama and Lord Parashuram. In medieval ages Vajreshwari was known as Vadvali. It was called Vajreshwari after reincarnation of Vajrayogini in the Vajreshwari area. There are 52 steps to climb up to the main temple. It offers a commanding view of surrounding area from the temple. The view is beautiful during monsoon when all the surrounding fields are cultivated with rice fields and all the vegetation is emerald green. There are hot water springs in the Vajreshwari area as well as in Ganeshpuri and in Akoli. The hot water springs are a must bath for Vajreshwari devi devotees. The springs have high sulfur content and is believed to cure many skin ailments.

St. Peters Church

This church was erected in the early part of the 20th century and was one of the first under the Archdiocese of Bombay. Fr. Ismail Da Costa, built a hut chapel in 1919 near Arnala beach. Later with help from local people of all faiths he constructed the Church of St. Peter. Archbishop Joaquim Lima (Archbishop of Bombay) blessed the church on Dec. 27, 1931. Other historical churches in neighbourhood are St. James Church (Agashi) and Church of Holy Spirit (Nandakhal).

St. James Church

Originally built in 1558.The Portuguese were the best known seafarers among the European clans. Where ever they went they made homes near the sea. ‘Agasi’ the then small port village was one such place. Owing to its nearness to the sea and availability of wood from jungles, which the Portuguese needed for boat building and constructions Agashi soon became a permanent settlement for the Portuguese. The St. James Church came into being during this early period. The original church structure was built using stones and bricks hence it withheld during the Muslim attacks of 1594. But during the raids of Marathas (1739) it was mostly destroyed. The Marathas however permitted the Fathers to carry on religious ceremonies in the region and the church was rebuilt by 1760. In the year 1900 the church was renovated The St. James church falls on the road connecting Virar and Arnala.

Beach and Resorts

The famous Arnala beach and Rajori beach is situated just a few km west of the railway station. It is a favourite spot for the teenagers and elderly alike. There are regular State transport buses and autos that carry the tourists to the beaches from the railway station. There are many resorts such as the Arnala Beach Resort, the Green Paradise resort, Swagat resort, etc, that have come up recently owing to the increase in number of people coming from the main city land. The major occupation of farmers near Arnala beach is Floriculture and they cultivate wide variety of flowers. They also cultivate rice and various varied variety of vegetables.

Amusement Parks

Among other amusement parks in Mumbai, Great Escape at Virar is located near the Western Express Highway, off the Vajreshwari-Parol-Bhivandi road area. Its an ideal picnic place for one looking for resort with fun water park rides. Great Escape water park also has clubs which makes this place ideal to stay with a picturesque environment around. Rates for Adults is around INR 350/- per person and for senior citizen there is a discount which cost at about INR 100/- per person. It also has lovely food facilities and cuisine like Gujarati, Chinese and Continental Food.

Sports

Virar is the closest and the best place near Mumbai for paragliding training. Being a coastal area the winds at Virar are laminar, predictable and ideal for aviation sports. Early morning and evening winds are suitable for beginners and mid and early afternoon conditions are perfect for advance flyers. Sydney hill, Black Beauty hill, Twin Rock hill, Jivdani hill, Kaner hills are a few locations for hill flying. Virar is the only place near Mumbai with so many choices all in a radius of about 6 km. Virar has hundreds of acres of open land where winch based training is conducted. Vasai-Virar Kala Krida Mahotsav is an annual sports event for the sportspersons of Virar and the neighbouring localities. The event has been a great success for the last 17 years, with participation coming from regional schools, colleges and grampanchayats. Other games like Karate and Kho-Kho have created state level players. Every year this event is conducted at the year end precisely from the 26th of Dec. to the new years night at the Chimajiappa Playground and the New English School, Vasai.

Heritage sites

Arnala Fort is located on a small island off the Arnala port. Since the fort is built on an island and surrounded on all sides by water it is also known as "Jaldurg" or "Janjire Arnala". The Portuguese called the island "Ilha das vacas" which means 'Island of the cows' in Portuguese. Before the Portuguese control of the island, the island was controlled by the Muslim rulers of Gujarat. The island is near the mouth of Vaitarna river and the Portuguese used it to observe and control shipping and navigation along the western coast. The Portuguese captain of Bassein donated the island to a Portuguese nobleman. The nobleman tore down the old fort and began construction of 700 foot by 700 foot fort. The fort was never completed by the nobleman but remained under Portuguese control. Vasai fort (Bassein fort) is also located nearby. The Portuguese established a fort in Bassein, present day Vasai, on the mainland just north of the Bombay archipelago. The fort was fronted by a harbour. With this as the main base, they built other smaller forts, and strong houses in many of the islands. In the 18th century the fort was attacked by the Marathas under Baji Rao Peshwa, and fell in 1739 after a three year long campaign. The remains of the fort can be reached by bus or taxi from the Vasai railway station. The ramparts overlook Vasai creek and are almost complete, though overgrown. Several watch-towers still stand, with safe staircases leading up.

Bollywood Connection

Govinda, a leading Bollywood superstar of one time, voted as the tenth greatest star of stage or screen of the last thousand years by BBC News Online users and also an ex Member of Parliament used to stay in Virar in his school days. He passed out from Annasaheb Vartak Smarak Vidyamandir in Virar East.

Infrastructure

The growth of Virar is yet to be seen in full as the quadrupling of the railway line between Borivali and Virar has just taken place in 2007. The railways are still pleading the lack of sufficient number of rakes to take full advantage of the quadrupling.
But the city has seen a lot of development in the past 5 years. The Municipal Council was upgraded to Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation in may 2009. There are various housing and road transport development projects initiated by the corporation with the help of MMRDA, Mumbai. The skywalk in the west section of the city was one of the first amongst the many skywalks that were built near all the railway stations of Mumbai. It was the seventh skywalk in the city and it cost INR 9.15 crore. Virar-West skywalk is 589 meters long with four meters wide walkway. The skywalk was found to be the busiest amongst the others built by the MMRDA by recording a footfall of 58,038 commuters during peak hours. It was followed by Santa Cruz skywalk with a figure of 37,546. The Virar East skywalk is uniquely built as it goes right over the Totale lake, situated in the backdrop of the huge VVMC corporation building. A viewing tourist gallery is built in the middle of the 285 m long skywalk, for people to have a look that the scenic beauty just above the lake. It was opened to the public on

Virar-Alibaug Corridor Project is an ambitious project undertaken by the MMRDA which is looked upon as a major developmental milestone in the history of Virar. The Rs 10,000-crore project is expected to provide seamless connectivity by the metro as well as by road from Alibaug to Virar. The corridor will bypass the western and eastern suburbs and also the routes which will witness growth in the future. The proposed alignment will connect four crucial national highways, NH8 (Mumbai-Ahmedabad), NH3 (Mumbai-Agra-Delhi), NH4 (Mumbai-Chennai) and NH17 (Goa-Mangalore-Kerala. The MMRDA has claimed that the 140-km corridor will reduce the long commute to barely an hour. Phase-I of the corridor will be of 90 km from Virar to Panvel. Phase-II will be of 50 km from Panvel to Alibaug.

Churchgate - Virar corridor Elevated Rail Project

Western Railway is working out the funding model for elevated Churchgate-Virar corridor which recently received a pre-feasibility nod from the Planning Commission and the state government. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 15,000 crore at the moment could vary in future because of delays or inflationary pressures.

The Railways may also approach the World Bank to partly fund the elevated track project or request the state government to share the cost.

The entire stretch of the 60-km additional route will not be elevated. The track will run underground between Churchgate and Mahalaxmi and then again be elevated up to Santa Cruz station. Between Vile Parle and Andheri, the track will be at ground level alongside the existing track since this area falls in the funnel area of aircraft -both the domestic and international and airports are located a few kilometres away from the railway tracks. The track will be elevated beyond Andheri and Dahisar and later run at ground level at Mira Road, but will again be elevated just before Bhayander.

The tracks will come down to road level between Naigaon and Vasai and again be elevated from Vasai Road till Virar. There are a total of 83 foot over bridges and 25 road-overbridges on Western Railway but none of these will have to be demolished to build the elevated corridor, as the height of the corridor will vary between 15 metres and 20 metres. The elevated track will come up on piers that will be constructed between existing tracks. For underground routes, the Railways may use cut-and-cover technology or build an underground tunnel. The engineering decisions will be taken after soil testing and taking into account the cost factor.

The number of stations and their locations are yet to be finalised, as factors like connectivity with other modes of transport, land availability and commuter load will have to be considered," the official said. http://www.newsonprojects.com/story.asp?news_code=12735

• 3)WR to extend Harbour line to Goregaon

(Please search in www.google.com for more information)

• Extension of Harbour line from Andheri to Goregaon, a project under Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) Phase II. ” The Government of Maharashtra (GoM)

• Work on taking harbour line to Goregaon begins

Direct rail connectivity between CST and Goregaon got a boost this week with the state government initiating the process of land acquisition for new rail lines.

The Konkan divisional commissioner has begun the process in Mogra and Bandivli villages of Andheri to facilitate the extension of the Harbour line from CST to Goregaon.

A senior official said 18 plots in about 716.90 sqm has been earmarked in Bandivli village and 12 plots of 270.35 sqm in Mogra village to build the two rail lines. The total land that will be acquired under both these villages is about 987.25 sqm.

The Rs100-crore extension of the harbour line project is part of the Rs5,300-crore MUTP-II that is expected to be complete by 2014. Right now, Harbour line trains from CST terminate at Andheri station and there are plans to take them till Borivli. The first part of the project is to extend it till Goregaon. The new lines will have upgraded infrastructure and new platforms with plans to construct new station buildings on the west side of both Jogeshwari and Goregaon stations. The project is expected to take a few years because there are many structures at Jogeshwari (West) which would have to be removed to create space. This would require rehabilitation and acquisition of land, the process of which begun this week. At Goregaon station too, the structures on the west would have to be shifted.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_work-on-taking-harbour-line-to-goregaon-begins_1607152

The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has begun groundwork for the extension of Harbour line from Andheri to Goregaon, a project under Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) Phase II. ” The Government of Maharashtra (GoM), Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Railways have asked MRVC to develop a good, contemporary- looking station. After two years of detailed planning, we have come up with plans of modelling the 3 stations – Andheri, Jogeshwari and Goregaon – on the lines of the Delhi Metro,” managing director of MRVC, Dr P C Sehgal said.

Sehgal said the tenders had been finalised and the designs, ready. All buildings on the westside of the three stations will have to be razed for the extension of the Harbour tracks further down beyond Andheri, upto Goregaon, with a new station building planned at each of the 3 stations. An NGO, Sparc, has been roped in by MRVC to do the Resettlement & Rehabilitation (R&R) works in those areas, he added.

A major overhaul will be seen at Andheri station, the plan of which is to extend Harbour Line platforms 6 & 7 at Andheri till Goregaon.

Explaining that this would require shifting some of the utilities to the new building on the East temporarily, for which MRVC has already spent Rs 10 crore, Sehgal said, “Platform 1 will become an island platform sharing space with platform 7 and the circulating area will be gone, making way for the Up and Dn Harbour lines and a new platform 6. Hence, with no ground level space available for a new two- storeyed station building and circulating area, it will be built on an elevation. Around 8 escalators and two lifts will be provided for the elevated station building.” At Goregaon, work similar to that at Andheri has been planned – an elevated two- storey building with 6 escalators and 2 lifts. The colour scheme of the domeshaped buildings is yet to be finalised. ” Being a ‘ Green Building’ structure, it will have skylight sheets overhead, allowing natural light to flood into the booking counter and circulating areas,” Sehgal said.

However, the Jogeshwari station building plan is different with a single- storey structure. Although it entails a similar design, it is a staggered plan. Now at the south- end, the new building will come up at the northend. Also, while Andheri and Goregaon station buildings will accommodate commercial spaces, there will be no such allotment in the Jogeshwari station building.

While the cost of project at Andheri is Rs 20 crore, Jogeshwari and Goregaon works are budgeted at Rs 12 crore and Rs 16 crore respectively. Tender has already been finalised and 20 per cent of the works have been completed as of date. “Pre- engineered building (PEB) material will be used to construct the new structures, a first of its kind at any suburban railway station.

• Harbour line to reach Goregaon

Commuters using the harbour line can finally expect an extension of the line from Andheri till Goregaon.

Under this project, two lines will be extended till Goregaon from platform six and seven of Andheri station. These are expected to be ready within the next three years as part of the Rs5,300 crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project phase–II (MUTP-II).

The two lines will cost Rs103 crore and the work will be carried out by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC). It will benefit around two lakh commuters who travel daily on the Harbour line. It will also ease overcrowding on the Western line, as commuters who want to alight at Goregaon will be able to board a train at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) instead of Churchgate.

If the demand for services on the two lines is found to be high, the number of CST-Goregaon trains will be augmented in the future.

In order to extend the lines till Goregaon, platforms six and seven at Andheri station will be extended after demolishing part of platform one, the ticket booking counter near the two platforms, the staircase of the foot overbridge (FOB) and railway offices.

A wall would be constructed, as the track would otherwise pass too close to a mosque near Andheri station. Platform one at Jogeshwari station, which falls on the west side, will then be demolished. “We will shift the tracks to the slow corridor on the east end to create more room for the Harbour line,” said a Western Railway official on condition of anonymity.

Once all the tracks are shifted, they will construct new platforms for the Harbour line on the north end of the Jogeshwari station.

"All the offices, ticket counters and other structures obstructing the two new lines at Andheri, Jogeshwari and Goregaon stations will be shifted and raised to an elevated level," said PK Sharma, managing director, MRVC.

Meanwhile, MRVC has already cleared land on the Jogeshwari-Goregaon stretch, where the Rs20 crore Oshiwara station will be built. They are also building pillars over a creek running between the two stations to accommodate the new tracks. The MRVC will also construct a new platform on the west side of Goregaon station to accommodate the Harbour line.

Source;http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/741702.aspx

* Tracks being laid for extension of Harbour line

The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has laid the first set of tracks on a small stretch between Jogeshwari and Goregaon. This laying of tracks between Andheri and Goregaon is being undertaken as part of the extension of Harbour line. Trains on the Harbour line currently terminate at

Andheri. These tracks are now being placed as part of the phase-II of the Rs5,300 crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). At Oshiwara station, the ground has been levelled. This would be extended after the alignment has been decided.

“Laying of tracks is done once the entire alignment is set and minutest of details such as installation of signals and columns for erecting overhead cables is known,” said a senior official from MRVC. It’s been more than a year since groundwork on the Rs130-crore Andheri-Goregaon Harbour line extension began.

As per the plan, platform number 6 and 7 will be further extended towards Goregaon. This would require demolishing several structures coming on their way such as foot overbridges, food stalls, rail booking counters, Government Railway Police (GRP) building, parking stand at Jogeshwari and cutting trees. “We are in talks with the civic body to hand over the space where vehicle parking stand exists. In return, we would be providing the plot on the east side of Jogeshwari to them,” said Prakashrao Vazalwar, chief operating manager and spokesperson, MRVC.

They are also building pillars over a creek on the Jogeshwari-Goregaon stretch, over which two new tracks would be laid. Work on construction next to the creek is complete while work on demolishing the ticket booking office, creating path for extending lines and other work is now underway at Andheri.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Tracks-being-laid-for-extension-of-Harbour-line/Article1-685890.aspx

Private Hospitals Virar Mumbai.

• Sanjivani Hospital,
• Ashwini Hospital,
• Desai Maternity Hospital
• Joshi Children hospital close to the station.
• Dalvi Hospital

medical stores located

• Sanjivani medical store day and night chemist / Virar West,
• Dipti Chemist Virar East.

Governance

Virar falls under the jurisdiction of the newly created Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation(VVMC). It primarily comes in the Nalla Sopara comstituency for the Maharashtra Legislative Aaembly elections and in the Palghar constituency for the Lok Sabha elections. For all the three seats, the ruling party, Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi(BVA) has showed its dominance. The BVA has won 55 seats out of the 89 in the VVMC. Thus Virar elected its first Mayor in the form of Shri. Rajeev Patil who was also the ex-President of the preceding Virar Municipal Council. For the Legislative Assembly seat, Kshitij Thakur, a BVA candidate and the son of ex-MLA of the region, Hitendra Thakur, won the seat in 2009, defeating Shirish Chavan of the Shiv Sena by more than 40,000 votes. He is just 26 years of age. Earlier in the 15th Lok Sabha elections, people voted for Baliram Sukur Jadhav, also a BVA candidate, from the Palghar constituency, who went on to become the Member of Parliament representing the region, defeated BJP rival, advocate Chintaman Vanga, by 12,358 votes.

External links

• Local Yellow Pages of Virar with Google Maps, Driving directions, Classifieds, Address, Phone and Fax numbers
• www.virar.com