Dadar

Dadar - the heart of Mumbai all cross-country trains into Mumbai and the slop of the 'flower market" of Mumbai.. call it what you like. With a mix of different socio-cultural backgrounds and urban development, the number of citizens of both suburbs is steadily rising.

The Dadar-Matunga-Wadala-Sion scheme of 1899-1900 was the first planned suburban scheme in Bombay. The City Improvement trust formulated this plan in order to relieve congestion in the center of the town following the plague epidemics in 1870's . According to the survey plan, 60,000 people were to be housed at Dadar-Matunga and an equal number in Sion-Matunga. 85,000 people were to be accommodated in the developments in Sewri-Wadala.

The plans regulated constructions with emphasis on proper sanitation. The land use was planned to be mix of residential, commercial and institutional contractions. Parks and gardens were planned, and streets were well laid out. 440 acres of land was procured and leased to the Government for selling. For the first time, housing cooperation's were formed to take care of newly developed land. The Parsi and Hindu colonies in Dadar and Tamil colony in Matunga were developed in this way.

Dadar was 6 miles away from Crawford market by the newly constructed Mohammad Ali Road, and the tramways were extended to this new suburb. The GIP constructed a bridge, mow the Tilak Bridge. Soon, in February 1925, the GIP Railways opened their suburban lines and started the work of electrifying the railways. Among the institutions which were built here according to the CIT plan were VJTI, Sydenham College of Commerce and King Geroge's School.

While the northern suburbs were bring developed in the 1930's, there was a lot of activity in the Dadar-Matunga Area. The Hindu Colony, north of Tilak Bridge, expanded upto Ambedkar Marg (then Kingsway) and around Khodadad Circle. These developments were completed by 1935. In 1937, Ramnarain Ruia College was founded and in 1939 the Poddar College, thus completing a transition of Dadar from a residential suburb into a rich and vibrant enclave.

By 1937, Shivaji Park and the surrounding areas were developed. This public space was later to become an important stage in the political drama which lead to India's independence. The political history of Mumbai as since unfolded quite often in this park.