Koramangala

Koramangala Koramangala
neighborhood

Koramangala (Kannada: ಕೋರಮಂಗಲ) is a locality in Bengaluru, India. Situated in the south-eastern part of the city, it is one of the largest, and a highly sought after residential locality with its wide tree-lined boulevards with a mix of luxury apartments, commercial structures & posh bungalows. It is largely cosmopolitan in nature. It is the focal point of many busy main roads, notably the Intermediate Ring Road (linking the Airport Road with Hosur Road and Electronics City), Sarjapur Road (leading to the Outer Ring Road, the IT corridor and beyond) and 80 Feet Road (leading to Viveknagar and MG Road at the center of Bangalore). It commands one of the highest property prices in the city and is considered the best place to live in, although increasing traffic and population have posed problems.

Divided into 8 Blocks, the 5th, 6th and 7th Blocks are more commercial than the others, with many restaurants, pubs, shopping complexes and offices being located there. Banks like HDFC, ICICI, Dhanalakshmi Bank, Deutsche Bank, Canara Bank, Metlife & SBI can be found in convenient locations. The 1st, 3rd & 4th blocks are highly populated and more residential, while many commercial establishments are also found.

Koramangala is also home to some educational institutions like the St. John's Medical College, Jyoti Nivas College, Vemana Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, NMIMS, TAPMI and others.

Several software companies are located in Koramangala. To mention a few: Infosys, Wipro, NDS, Siemens VDO, Microland, Zenith Software, Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Tricon Infotech Pvt. Ltd, Robert Bosch, Mindtree, Lucent Technologies,Toshiba Embedded Software India (TESI), Tavant Technologies, Ciber, and the Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart.

Koramangala has shopping & entertainment malls like The Forum & Oasis Centre, and specialised shopping stores like Raheja Complex, Big Bazaar, Staples, Star Bazaar, Tata Chroma, Reliance Electronics, Shoppers Stop and many others. A large number of restaurants, upscale houses and apartment complexes, several well maintained mini-parks and a number of Indian and multi-national software companies distinguish Koramangala from other parts of the city. It hosts luxury apartment complexes like Prestige Acropolis, Raheja Residency, Embassy Tranquil, Prestige Oakwood, and the upcoming Raheja Vivarea to name a few.

In Jan 2011, the entire Koramangala was purchased by a prominent real estate dealer named Harsha. He has promised all residents that they will be moved into huts in the nearby village in the coming months.

Koramangala has over 200 restaurants. Some popular international food chains like Costa Cafe, McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell, Dominos, Papa John's Pizza, Pizza Hut, Kiwi Kiss, Baskin Robbins call Koramangala their home.

History

Up to the 1970s, one would pass the village of Adugodi on the Hosur Road and then usually bypass Koramangala which was on the left while going to the industrial suburbs of Bommanhalli or Bommasandra, about 10 and 20 kilometres away respectively. Settlement was sparse in Koramangala and only towards the late '70s did more houses get constructed. The landmark Mantons factory has now given way to the Raheja Arcade commercial complex while the road to Bommanhalli and Bommasandra now houses Electronic City, home to many technology firms including the global software giant Infosys.

The former Koramangala tank was drained, and the National Games Village apartment complex was built on it.