Ashok Nagar at kandivali (East) in Mumbai

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Ashok Nagar is situated on the eastern side of Kandivali, which is a suburb on the western side of Mumbai. It is about 10 minutes walk from Kandivali station.

Ashok Nagar is known to be a very peaceful area with lots of trees.The area is also referred to as Chakravarti Ashok Road.

Contents

[edit] History

Artifacts found near Kandivali indicate that the region around Kandivali was inhabited since the Stone Age but Ashok Nagar mainly was a jungle with very few inhabitants. The area had some new residential constructions in late 60's and early 70's.The construction boom actually started around 1980 in Ashok Nagar which still has not ceased yet.

[edit] Demographics

Most of the residents in this locality belong to the Gujarati and Marwari families but there are also many Maharashtrian families residing here. There are couple of Derashars for Jain, one in Damodarwadi and another opposite Children Academy School. This area also has a famous Swayambhoo Ganesh Mandir.

[edit] Divisions

Ashok Nagar is divided into four cross roads or bylanes apart from the main road. These cross roads actually have residential buildings in place.

[edit] About Ashok Nagar

Ashok Nagar is one of the oldest residential areas in Kandivali(East) but its developing rapidly. Since year 2005, there is a new addition to the locality and i.e. Kalpataru Gardens. It has a swimming pool and health club. The flyover (still under construction as of March 04, 2008) connecting East to West will land at Shopper Stop in West and Near Kalpataru in East.

Ashok Nagar is hardly 10-15 mins walking distance from Kandivali station, however there are also shared Auto Rikshaws from station which takes visitors to Ashok Nagar for Rs 4/- per head.

This locality has developed rapidly over the last decade and although this locality was known for middle class residents, a lot of rich and upwardly mobile people are now buying property in this area. The Ashok Nagar skyline has now changed a lot in the last few years with many of the old residential buildings demolished and re-constructed with high rises. The crime rate in the area is almost 0% and people in the locality are generally very professional and helpful. Being close to Kandivali station is another added advantage for residents staying in this locality. Growel's 101 - Big Bazaar retail mall along with Cinemax theatre is hardly 10 mins walk from this area. Besides, the Western Express highway is just 1.5 km away, the Domestic and International airports are hardly 20-22 km away from Ashok Nagar.

Although, there are many good quality food stalls (for Dosas, Bhelpuri,PaniPuri etc..) in this locality, the area has only one Restaurant and Bar, namely - Temptations Restaurant and Bar situated just at the entrance of the Ashok Nagar Main Road.

There was a bus service allocated to Ashok Nagar in 1980s but it ran into losses since very few people were using it. Also, the area is relatively close to station, so the bus authoroties decided not to have any service on this route. However, there are autorickshaws available which can be hired to go outside of the area. The Ashok Nagar main road travels in about 2 km inside and terminates into a popular area called Damodar Wadi which has a 100% Gujarati Jain population. In fact, non Jains are not allowed to reside in Damodar Wadi. Just opposite to Damodar Wadi is the slum area popularly known as 'Ban Dongri' which has quite a few short-cuts leading to the Western Express Highway between Malad and Kandivali. The road which goes to 'Childrens Academy' school also terminates into Ban Dongri and subsequently has a short route from slums to Western Express Highway. There are 4 Ashok Nagar cross roads or bylanes apart from the main road which mainly have middle-class residential buildings. Clsoe to Ashok Nagar cross road no 1 lies the famous ESIS hospital also known as 'Kamgaar Hospital' which has quite a no of residential quarters for families who work with this hospital. The road inside the hospital compound also leads to Akurli road at the other end of the ESIS hospital. Families residing in this hospital quarters are mostly middle-class maharashtrians. There is also a small slum in Ashok Nagar which runs parallel to the road adjascent to the ESIS hospital and extends up to Ashok Nagar Main Road(opp Ganesh Stores). This road at the other end joins the Ram Nagar slum area which is near to kandivali station. There is also an access roads which leads to the Kandivali(E) bus depot and Akurli Road.

Ashok Nagar has now got a very much modern lift with new swanky buildings coming up in the locality. Now, there are more and more Ice-Cream parlours, automobile shops coming up in this area, especially on the Ashok Nagar Main Road. There is also a state-of-the-art Gymnasium in Little Captains Nursery school just opposite to ESIS hospital which is open for both men and women. Milk Centers are a plenty in Ashok Nagar locality.

Ashok Nagar main road will see a lot of traffic once the flyover connecting the east and west side (still under construction as of today March 04, 2008) is completed, since the traffic will be mostly diverted through Ashok Nagar and the level crossing (also known as 'Phatak', near station) will be closed down permanently.

There is a proposed road which will route opposite to Sweetland Nursery school road and travel through Goushala and lead to Western Express Highway opposite Big Bazaar shopping mall. (These things are approved by the Brinhanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) and are expected to complete in about 3-4 years time. It is expected that this will add value to Kandivali's and especially Ashok Nagar's infrastructure.

The famous schools in Ashok Nagar are :-

SweetLand Nursery school, specially for nursery kids.

Eurokids also has its branch here.

Children's Academy High School.

C.U.Shah Sarvajanik High School

Some of the festivals celebrated in this locality are Holi, Ganesh festival, Navratri festival and Mahavir Jayanti.

[edit] Swayambho Ganesh Temple

Ashok Nagar has a Swayambho Ganesh Temple located at one end of the locality which was founded about 15 years back. The temple actually hosts a swayambho Ganesh Idol along with other Hindu Gods. The temple is well maintained by priests and temple trustees which witnesses a steady stream of worshippers every Tuesday. The prayers or aarti happens in the temple everyday at 07:30 PM in the evening which is attended by a lot of devotees. Along with the Swayambho Ganesh idol, the temple complex also houses Idols of Vitthal Rakhumai, Lord Shiva and Lord Hanuman. This temple is visited by people of all ages and is a good visiting place especially for elders and senior citizens in Ashok Nagar to have a stroll in the evening.

Immediately adjascent to the Swayambho Ganesh Temple, there is a big garden with a passage that goes around the circumference of the garden and is a very popular spot for morning walks and also for after dinner stroll.The ground is quite big and provides a noise free and pollution free environment for the people. Also, since being most adjascent to the temple makes this ground a very special place to visit. The kids often play in the middle of the ground in the evenings while elderly have a stroll around the garden.

[edit] Ashok Nagar as a Commercial Hub

Ashok Nagar is also now a fast growing hub for commercial activities. It now contains several commercial multinational organisations as well as customer care centers. One of the leading technological consulting firm, Tech-Mahindra consulting now has one of its office in Ashok Nagar in kandivali(e), Mumbai.Also, there is a very old factory known as Bonanza industrial estate at the far end of this locality. Additionally, there is an HDFC bank with ATM facility. There was also an Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) office in this locality but that has now shifted to another place near kandivali station.

At the entrance of Ashok Nagar just opposite to Temptations Restaurant, there is a new Mall coming up. The Mall will be first of its kind in this locality. The construction of this glass building is almost complete and the mall will be thrown open to patrons.



[edit] Accessibility to Ashok Nagar

[edit] Major housing complexes

  • Kalpataru Gardens
  • Sahakar Gram
  • Zalawad in Damodar Wadi

[edit] Major banks in Ashok Nagar

[edit] ATMs in Ashok Nagar

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