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Whitefield, Bangalore

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Whitefield, Bangalore
Neighbourhood
A view of EPIP Zone, Whitefield
A view of EPIP Zone, Whitefield
CountryIndia
StateKarnataka
MetroBengaluru
Government
 • BodyBBMP
Languages
 • OfficialKannada
English (Secondary)
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Postal Index Number
560066
Vehicle registrationKA-53

Whitefield is a neighbourhood of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka, India. Established in the late 1800s as a settlement for the Eurasians and Anglo Indians of Bangalore, Whitefield remained a quaint little settlement to the east of Bangalore city till the late 1990s when the IT boom of Bangalore turned it as a major suburb, and it is now a major part of Greater Bangalore.[1] It is also renowned for Sathya Sai Baba's ashram called Brindavan and as a haven for a number of multinational information technology companies. [2]

History

On 27 April 1882, His Highness, Chamaraja Wodeyar IX, the Maharaja of Mysore, granted 3,900 acres (16 km2) of land to the Eurasian and Anglo-Indian Association, Mysore and Coorg (E&AI) for the establishment of agricultural Settlements at Whitefield (then Mysore state). The Association was then about 170 strong with a Committee of 30 Members. They were part of the formation of the only settlement in India that European and Eurasians could call their own. Mr. David Emmanuel Starkenburgh White, the then President of the E & AI Association, South India Ltd., also took a lively interest in it and helped in its advancement which at the beginning was very uphill work.

In the first decade of the 1900s there were about 45 houses of which 18 were on the village Site and the remainder were on farms scattered throughout the Settlement and contained about 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of land fit for cultivation. The number of residents in 1907 was 130. H.E. Lord Connemara, the then Governor of Madras (1890) and General Sir Harry Prendergast, a British Resident in Mysore, visited the settlement and lent support to the development of Whitefield, subsequently there were regular visits to Whitefield by the Bangalore District Officials and high dignitaries from the Madras Presidency.[3]

The settlement was 3 km south of the Bangalore-Madras (Now Chennai) line and a station was built. It led to the influx of residents and their families who worked at KGF (Kolar Gold Fields) which is about 50 km (by train) to the east. It became convenient for those working at KGF to hop on to a train (running 3 to 4 times a day) and return to their families. There were frequent trains running to Bangalore which is 20 km west (by train). Reaching the settlement from the railway station was possible only by writing a letter to Mrs. Hamilton (wife of a Mr. James Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton was the keeper of the Waverly Inn) who would arrange for a bullock cart trip for 8 annas.[3]

Winston Churchill, two time Prime Minister of the UK, is said to have paid frequent visits to the Waverly Inn while in India.[4][5] Legend has it that Winston Churchill courted the daughter of the inn keepers, Rose Hamilton.[6][7]

Until the late 1990s, Whitefield was a small village. It has since become a major hub for the Indian technology industry. The Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) at Whitefield of one of the country's first information technology parks - International Tech Park, Bangalore (ITPB) which houses offices of many IT and ITES companies.[8]

Whitefield is now officially part of Bangalore city which is a Part of the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike).

Panoramic View of Whitefield

Infrastructure

Whitefield has started seeing a boom in residential construction since the latter half of 1990s and especially during 2002 and onwards. There are 2 major 4-lane roads connecting Bangalore city with Whitefield namely Whitefield road via Mahadevapura and Varthur road(HAL Old Airport Road) via Marathahalli. Both roads intersect with Karnataka State highway 35 (SH 35) which runs in the North-South direction (Siddlaghatta in the north to Anekal in the south).

The Whitefield railway station is about 3 km north of the Whitefield Bus stop and lies on the Bangalore - Chennai route and is double and electrified, the Krishnarajapuram-Whitefield section is slated to be converted to a quadruple line.[9] The station is slated to become a junction with a new Whitefield - Kolar (53 km i.e. 33 miles) line being laid.[10] The Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) has a large Inland container Depot located just off Whitefield road near ITPB.

Various shopping malls like The Forum Value, Phoenix Market City, Park square mall and Inorbit Mall resides in Whitefield area.[11] It also houses the renowned super specialty hospital, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Whitefield, inaugurated by Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 19 January 2001, which offers all the medical services totally free of cost.[12][13] Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre is the other major super-speciality hospital in Whitefield.

Whitefield also has extensive city bus connectivity with a wide range of services offered by BMTC. A Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC) in EPIP is now functional with schedules connecting it with most areas of the city.[14]

The much anticipated Namma Metro project is expected to cater to Whitefield under Phase 2. The Purple line will be extended from Byappanahalli to Whitefield covering 13 stations in between.[15][16]

However, Whitefield suffers from water shortage especially during summer months as the whole region relies almost entirely on groundwater. With increase in housing and office space, the demand has been multiplying over the years and groundwater depletion has been worsening alarmingly. BWSSB is now supplying the region with water under the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stage IV, Phase II. BWSSB has been granted Rs.1000 crore for various water projects in 2012 including supplying water to areas of Greater Bangalore which includes Whitefield.[17]

Geographic location

There are two main roads serving this area namely Whitefield road from Krishnarajapura and Whitefield Main Road from Varthur. They both intersect at hope farm junction. Reserve forests of eucalyptus trees can be found in many places throughout whitefield.

References

  1. ^ TNN Dec 26, 2011, 03.42AM IST (2011-12-26). "From a sleepy settlement to a happening hub - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2013-03-02.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Whitefield Bangalore PinCode". citypincode.in. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  3. ^ a b Whitefield, the last of the Settlements, ... near Bangalore
  4. ^ Bangalore:Karnataka,India, Some Places in Bangalore that refused to die
  5. ^ Of a circle within a circle
  6. ^ Heritage In Our Backyard - Voice | Gopalan International School Online Campus Newspaper|KALEIDOSCOPE - PapyrusClubs
  7. ^ Whitefield remembered- Guest Photographer series | a turquoise cloud
  8. ^ "The Times of India: Latest News India, World & Business News, Cricket & Sports, Bollywood". The Times Of India.
  9. ^ http://idd.kar.nic.in/docs/Annexure%202-%20Railways.pdf
  10. ^ "WFD/Whitefield (4) Railway Station Satellite Map - India Rail Info - A Busy Junction for Travellers & Rail Enthusiasts". India Rail Info. 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
  11. ^ "List Of Shopping Malls in Whitefield, Bangalore". asklaila. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
  12. ^ Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital#cite note-heartvalve1-8
  13. ^ http://wfd.sssihms.org.in/index.asp
  14. ^ Bangalore, Jan 11, DHNS. "Whitefield TTMC opened for public". Deccanherald.com. Retrieved 2013-03-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Namma Metro: Centre to grant Rs25,000 crore for Phase II - Bangalore - DNA". Dnaindia.com. 2011-10-21. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
  16. ^ "Welcome to the land of the gated communities". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  17. ^ TNN Mar 22, 2012, 06.45AM IST (2012-03-22). "Taps will flow in the outskirts - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2013-03-02.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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