Western Suburbs Of Mumbai

The Western Suburbs is the western precinct of the city of Mumbai, India. The Western Suburbs consist of Andheri, Bandra, Borivali, Dahisar, Goregaon, Jogeshwari, Juhu, Kandivali, Khar,Malad, Santacruz and Vile Parle. Geographically, the Western Suburbs lie at the western part ofSalsette Island.The Western Suburbs are some of the oldest suburbs of the city. In particular, Bandra has existed as a separate town almost as long as Mumbai. The area started its history as a bunch of fishing villages. Mumbai's only river, the Mithi, flows through this area and also serves as a sewage line. In the 80s, a well-intentioned attempt to set up a new downtown away from Nariman Point resulted in the establishment of the Bandra Kurla Complex. Most of the larger financial banks and companies moved to this place.Apart from the usual suburban sprawl, this area has some nice beaches, especially near Malad. Jogeshwari has hot springs which are reputed to have medicinal properties. Borivali is the entry point for the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which is why the wildlife reserve is more popularly known as Borivali National Park.Many software and BPO companies have their offices in and around SEEPZ in Andheri. The western suburbs also boast of the Juhu Beach which was cleaned and cleared of hawkers in 2006. These suburbs can get extremely crowded in the evenings, with very severe traffic jams

Division

The city of Mumbai lies on Salsette Island. Administratively it has two official divisions: Mumbai City district and Mumbai Suburban district. Mumbai City district consists of the southern-most part of Salsette Island. This region is called South Mumbai. The western part of Mumbai Suburban district (to the west of Sanjay Gandhi National Park) is called the Western Suburbs and the eastern part of the district is called the Eastern Suburbs.The northern-most portion of the island which is outside Mumbai city limits, lies in Thane District.South Mumbai, the Western suburbs and the Eastern Suburbs are not officially defined divisions of Mumbai and as such different people may include different areas in each division. This article uses the most popular divisions.

Transport

Air

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is located in Andheri. Most 5-star hotels are located nearby. Juhu Aerodrome, which is used by small private aircraft and as a heliport, is located in Juhu.

Rail

Each of the suburbs that make up the Western Suburbs has a railway station. Bandra and Andheri are important junctions. A branch of the Harbour Line terminates at Andheri. Bandra is also a terminus for long-distance trains.

Road

The Western Express Highway (WEH) connects Dahisar, the northern most suburb of the Western Suburbs, to Bandra and then Worli and South Mumbai via the Bandra–Worli Sea Link. WEH runs parallel to the Western Line, which is on its western side. SV road (Swami Vivekananda Road) is another major road in the Western Suburbs.However, connectivity from the Eastern Suburbs is poor. The Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road and the Andheri-Kurla Road are the major road links between the Eastern and Western Suburbs.Bus services are provided by BEST. The "200" & "300" series buses serves the Western Suburbs.