Vidyavihar
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ValsonVihar विद्याविहार વિદ્યાવિહાર |
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|---|---|
| suburb | |
 ValsonVihar
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| Coordinates: 19°04′48″N 72°53′46″E / 19.080°N 72.896°ECoordinates: 19°04′48″N 72°53′46″E / 19.080°N 72.896°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| District | Mumbai Suburban |
| Metro | Mumbai |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Marathi |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Ghatkopar |
Vidyavihar (Marathi: विद्याविहार) is a suburb of Mumbai. It has a railway station with the same name on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Central Railway line.
Vidyavihar (Abode of Education in Marathi Vidya means Knowledge and Vihar means place or location) is named after the Somaiya Vidyavihar campus, one of the largest education campuses in Mumbai and a landmark. The railway station was established to facilitate travel for students of Somaiya Vidyavihar. Vidyavihar station is about 2 km from Kurla Terminus, and an easy transfer point (however, it does not have a connecting railway).
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Railways lost their land on both sides of the Vidyavihar station tracks due to the illegal encroachments along both the suburban lines. A vast stretch of their land on the eastern side of Vidyavihar Station was in a vulnerable state waiting to be encroached. The Railways came up with a plan to save this land from encroachment by utilizing it. The railway administration divided this stretch into 2 parts. On the first part they constructed a hostel for their technical apprentices and several railway quarters for their staff. This hostel has been demolished as two additional rail tracks are being laid.
The second stretch was developed into a plant nursery. A small rivulet (called the nullah) ran right through this stretch of land. It was decided to convert the remaining portion of the land into a plant nursery, which takes advantage of the water supply from the rivulet. The work on this nursery commenced some time in the mid-1980s. As of 2008, the Nursery was a vast green and symmetrical expanse. The smaller plants are sent regularly in pots to the administrative offices of the railway stations on the Central Railway for aesthetic purposes. The nursery might give way to setting up of two additional rail tracks.
Geographically, the area around the Vidyavihar railway station can be divided into 2 parts namely
Rajawadi is located on the eastern side of Vidyavihar railway station which came into existence in 1963. Before that, the nearest station was Ghatkopar which was 20 minutes walking distance from Rajawadi. In the early 1950s till the early 1960s the main mode of transport to Rajawadi was Tongas and Taxis (available in few numbers at Ghatkopar railway station). Bus No 381 from Ghatkopar to Refineries ( Chembur ) was also available which halted at Rajawadi bus stop at Ghatkopar Mahul Road. Somaiya College ( set up by the K J Somaiya Trust in the early 1960s) was a major step in giving recognizion to Rajawadi / Vidyavihar as a major education centre which it is today. The other most famous landmark is the Rajawadi Municipal General Hospital. The green and well maintained Rajawadi Municipal Garden is close by.
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Wikipedia